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Damn Expedia!
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| Big Boss |
So I book a trip earlier this year with Expedia and going through hell trying to get a refund from them. Don't know what to do, but maybe TA can help me out.
This is all the same trip...
I booked the same trip 3 times. The first time, had to change the flight and they told me they would void the trip, no charges, and re book.
I book the second time and realize that it was too expensive but because the same day void was in place I could always void it and not get charged.
Finally, I rebook again, with my finacial situation changing. Because they told me I could same day void, I wouldn't have canceled the second booking, but since I could, I voided it and rebooked later.
Now I am being charged for the hotel rooms on all 3 bookings but not the flights. I'm not the type of person to call and complain, so I call maybe once a week for the past 4 weeks and each time a different rep tells me the refund is coming and not to worry. It should occur within seven business days, and it's a month later.
Nobody is getting back to me, (all calls with a we'll call you back today, but the refund is coming) and I received an e-mail stating they would get back to me within 7 days and now it's day 9 and nothing.
What should I do to get these guys to give me my refund? It's getting really annoying now... |
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| The Highroller |
| quote: | Originally posted by Big Boss
I'm not the type of person to call and complain, so I call maybe once a week for the past 4 weeks and each time a different rep tells me the refund is coming and not to worry. It should occur within seven business days, and it's a month later. |
Although calling to complain may be annoying, this situation has long ago passed a reasonable amount of time to wait. I would be call them again, tell them that you are fed up with waiting, and you want to know when your payment is arriving. When they tell you, get the name and employee number of the person who promises it to you, and be sure to let them know that if it does not come in time you will be immediately contacting their supervisor to find out why it didn't come.
If it doesn't come, do exactly that. Ask to speak to the supervisor, explain the situation, and say that if you are not repaid immediately that you will be registering a complaint with the Provincial Ministry of Consumer Protection.
Make sure to write down dates, times and names that pertain to the conversation.
Here is a tip sheet to help you register a formal complaint if the situation doesn't get resolved:
http://www.consumer.ca/1657
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| VERTiG0 |
See if sending something to The Consumerist results in some good. They feature tons of horror stories like this, and 9 times out of 10 the issue is resolved and then some.
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| Frenchie |
| Message Theresa. I think she used to work with Expedia and she may be able to help :) |
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| Superstring |
| Or, if you get charged the hotel , just call your credit card and claim false charges. After all, you never DID stay in the hotel for which you're being charged. |
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| Theresa |
| quote: | Originally posted by Big Boss
So I book a trip earlier this year with Expedia and going through hell trying to get a refund from them. Don't know what to do, but maybe TA can help me out.
This is all the same trip...
I booked the same trip 3 times. The first time, had to change the flight and they told me they would void the trip, no charges, and re book.
I book the second time and realize that it was too expensive but because the same day void was in place I could always void it and not get charged.
Finally, I rebook again, with my finacial situation changing. Because they told me I could same day void, I wouldn't have canceled the second booking, but since I could, I voided it and rebooked later.
Now I am being charged for the hotel rooms on all 3 bookings but not the flights. I'm not the type of person to call and complain, so I call maybe once a week for the past 4 weeks and each time a different rep tells me the refund is coming and not to worry. It should occur within seven business days, and it's a month later.
Nobody is getting back to me, (all calls with a we'll call you back today, but the refund is coming) and I received an e-mail stating they would get back to me within 7 days and now it's day 9 and nothing.
What should I do to get these guys to give me my refund? It's getting really annoying now... |
LOL.... this is classic.
Unfortunately, Expedia has a very high level of security when it comes to their refunds. It has to go through a ridiculously extensive process to verify that it is in fact refundable, why it is refundable, etc. etc.
They likely have the refund pending, it's just a matter of having the button pressed. Once the "button is pressed" your refund does take 7-10 business days.
I have a couple of suggestions.
Call them during the day. Ideally between 6AM and 3PM EST. This is when the big bosses are around that have the ability to get done. Stay calm. You will get a hell of a lot more push back if you're screaming and yelling. No one wants to go out of their way for "the ".
Ask for the agents name, (first name only, they are not allowed to give out their last name), their agent ID and to speak to a Supervisor. Specify very clearly that you do NOT want to speak to a Team Lead, you want to speak to a Supervisor. Whoever you get on the phone, ask "Do you have refunding capabilities, and are you a Team Lead or a Supervisor?" If they aren't the right person, escalate it.
When a supervisor gets on the phone, STAY CALM!! They would rather make you wait if you're going to be a prick. Again, ask for their name and agent ID. If they tell you that they don't have one, insist that you get it, because they do have one. Explain your story COHERENTLY and in order of the times it happened (and nicely). Tell them how long you have waited and request to be assured that the refund was actually "done" (aka the button has been pressed), and not just sitting there waiting for the refund team to be refunded.
The key to success is being nice to whomever you talk to. It's just natural to want to help someone who is being nice to you, and feel resentment and a lesser desire to help those who are being pricks.
If they give you a hard time, just tell them that you thank them for their time, but you will e-mail Shawn Shannon (this will scare the out of them) to see if he can help you out, and that you will also be filing a complaint with TICO.
If that doesn't get the problem resolved, I have another way... so PM me and I will give you the heads up. |
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| Theresa |
| quote: | Originally posted by The Highroller
Although calling to complain may be annoying, this situation has long ago passed a reasonable amount of time to wait. I would be call them again, tell them that you are fed up with waiting, and you want to know when your payment is arriving. When they tell you, get the name and employee number of the person who promises it to you, and be sure to let them know that if it does not come in time you will be immediately contacting their supervisor to find out why it didn't come.
If it doesn't come, do exactly that. Ask to speak to the supervisor, explain the situation, and say that if you are not repaid immediately that you will be registering a complaint with the Provincial Ministry of Consumer Protection.
Make sure to write down dates, times and names that pertain to the conversation.
Here is a tip sheet to help you register a formal complaint if the situation doesn't get resolved:
http://www.consumer.ca/1657
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That's useless. They wont care.
| quote: | Originally posted by Superstring
Or, if you get charged the hotel , just call your credit card and claim false charges. After all, you never DID stay in the hotel for which you're being charged. |
You can't do this. Not only is it illegal, but it's a SERIOUS pain in the ass. |
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| activate |
| quote: | Originally posted by Superstring
Or, if you get charged the hotel , just call your credit card and claim false charges. After all, you never DID stay in the hotel for which you're being charged. |
doesn't exactly work like that, but he could call and explain the situation to the card issuer and ask for a charge back. they will normally investigate and if there're grounds for a charge back they'll give it... or if the vendor doesn't respond to them they'll also be more likely to do the charge back. |
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| Theresa |
| quote: | Originally posted by activate
doesn't exactly work like that, but he could call and explain the situation to the card issuer and ask for a charge back. they will normally investigate and if there're grounds for a charge back they'll give it... or if the vendor doesn't respond to them they'll also be more likely to do the charge back. |
Not in this case.
Expedia takes the charge on hotels and then in a separate transaction pays the hotel. If you call the hotel, they wont have any idea what you're talking about. |
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| Theresa |
Actually... is the thread poster still online? I may be able to get this resolved sooner.
I need your itinerary number though. |
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| rabbitjoker |
Cancelling or getting refunds for anything travel related is pretty much a no go (unless you are buying higher-priced refundable fares).
I bought a flight to Palm Springs for $765 (total) on a Thursday night. Saturday morning (less than 36 hours later) I saw the same flight for $475. Obviously, the new fare being 40% less is the one I want - so I call Air Canada to make the change.
Air Canada was no help as they cannot just change the fare (I need to cancel and rebuy). Since I did not buy a refundable fare (apparently $765 is not high enough for a refund) I'm out of luck.
I ended up cancelling the $765 flight (and keep the value for future credit) and buying the $475 flight. In the future, when I use the $765 credit I will have to pay a $50 change-fee (each way, $100 total). Even with the extra $100 my $475 ticket to Palm Springs is cheaper.
So then I call to use the $765 credit and it turns out you can only use the credit in the name of the original purchaser (I can only use the credit myself).
I don't mind the fact the ticket is non-refundable, it was in the fine print - I don't even want a refund...
However there needs to be some reasonable time-period of price protection after purchasing tickets. Having the price drop by 40% in 36 hours with no recourse for the purchaser is unreasonable. Further, it is also unreasonable to not allow the purchaser to deed the ticket-value to someone else - once purchased an airline ticket should be able to be used by whomever shows up at the check-in with the ticket (subject to security verification of course).
I wrote a letter to the Air Canada complaints ombudsman (who replied via postal mail thanking me for chosing Air Canada). I've since forwarded my complaint to the CTA (http://www.cta-otc.gc.ca/doc.php?did=272&lang=eng); we'll see where it goes. |
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| Superstring |
| quote: | Originally posted by Theresa
You can't do this. Not only is it illegal, but it's a SERIOUS pain in the ass. |
I guess I don't see how it's a pain in the ass? Call the CC company, tell them you're NOT staying at this hotel, and in fact have called Expedia repeatedly to cancel the charge. They promised to do it, but nothing has happened, and you still got charged for not staying somewhere... Seems pretty clear-cut to me. |
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