[rsevenic]

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Background: My wife and I had purchased a round trip (Spokane, WA <-> Silver City, NM) for $1202.60 through CheapOAir and flew on US Airways to Phoenix, then on a partner airline Great Lakes Aviation for the remainder of the trip on October 10, 2013. We had to cut the trip short when my wife's mother suffered a stroke and needed our help. CheapOAir charged us an exorbitant $1394.80 just for the one way early return. This seemed incredibly predatory to me, but I went ahead. Subsequently, CheapOAir returned $100 when we pleaded a medical emergency and told us to contact US Airways for additional relief on the remaining $1294.80. I then sent a FAX to the US Airways Refunds Department dated October 23, 2013 in which I requested a refund for the $1294.80. It included a letter from the appropriate doctor verifying the medical emergency.
I then encountered an unusual problem in attempting to obtain a refund from US Airways - note that a refund was approved. I have itemized the scenario below to explain the problem with the sequence of events.
1. In response to our FAXed request, US Airways sent me 2 emails on November 1, 2013, each granting a refund of $200 per ticket i.e. $400 total - much less than the hoped for $1294.80, but that's not the problem. Each email indicated that the refund was "issued to your VISA credit card ending in 9038 for this ticket on October 31, 2013". There's the problem ... we do not have a VISA credit card ending in 9038 and did not use such a card to purchase the tickets! We used our Master Card.
2. I attempted to resolve this problem in an exchange of emails with the US Airways Refunds Department, eventually interacting with a person who did not seem to comprehend the problem and then failed to respond to further emails. Somewhere in the US Airways Refunds Department, there should have been someone able to resolve this simple issue.
3. I then attempted to start over, sending another FAX (dated November 25, 2013). I received no response.
4. A complication arose during this process. The company that issues my credit card (Capital One) experienced a security breach which compromised a large number of credit card numbers, mine included. Capital One has replaced my credit card. However, that complication should have no bearing on the failure of US Airways to resolve this issue.

There you have it - predatory charge followed by incompetence.

[stonecold_1981]

I am not entirely sure how the refund works but am pretty certain that money is refunded to the original source. You mentioned that the "one way early return" was purchased through CheapOAir. It is plausible that the $400 refund was issued to them (especially given the mismatch in credit card numbers). You may want to contact them about it.

[rsevenic]

Originally Posted by stonecold_1981

I am not entirely sure how the refund works but am pretty certain that money is refunded to the original source. You mentioned that the "one way early return" was purchased through CheapOAir. It is plausible that the $400 refund was issued to them (especially given the mismatch in credit card numbers). You may want to contact them about it.

A few days ago I filed a complaint with the US DOT which prodded US Airways into granting me further information which I just received. US Airways essentially told me what you said above, so I now have a further path for potential progress. It appears that

• CheapOAir gave me a $100 refund then said I must contact US Airways for further redress
• US Airways sent $400 ($200 per ticket) to CheapOAir in response to my request
• CheapOAir is sitting on that $400

Further investigation will tell and I'll post the result.
Thanks for your input.
Richard

[rsevenic]

I have in the past, occasionally used online air travel booking agencies. This current note describes my attempts at securing a refund based on an unexpected medical emergency. This note focuses mainly on my interactions with CheapOair (henceforth, COA) . In October of 2013, my wife and I flew, round trip, from Spokane. WA to Silver City, NM. The flight reservation was made through COA. During the trip my wife's mother experienced a medical emergency and has now moved from the hospital, to a local rehabilitation facility, and finally to our home. This forced us to shorten our trip and return on Thursday, October 17, 2013 rather than on the originally scheduled Tuesday, October 22. To make this change we again contacted COA, speaking with their representative Merlin Nasa. The net cost of the original round trip flight was $1202.60. The net cost of the one-way changed flight was an incredibly exorbitant $1394.80. When queried about the high cost, Mr. Nasa indicated that it was a complicated process and the flights were nearly full. [Subsequently we found that the first leg of the return trip was on a flight less than half full and that the second and final leg had 30 available seats left.] COA gave us a $100 refund in light of the medical emergency, bringing our new out-of-pocket expense to $1294.80. COA indicated that we should contact the airline directly for any further relief.

I then contacted US Airways, provided proof of the medical emergency, and a refund of $200 per ticket was granted i.e. $400 total refund). The refund email announcement was dated October 31, 2013. At this point I was confused because that announcement indicated that the refund was to a credit card other than mine. US Airways would not respond to my questions attempting to clear my confusion. However, after some prodding provided by a complaint to the US DOT, US Airways indicated that the refund was applied to the COA credit card, not mine. US Airways also provided the bank transaction numbers for each of the $200 refunds. A Us Airways representative told me verbally that US Airways charged COA $359.01 for each of the replacement flights for a total of $718.02, so COA seems to be profiting handsomely.

Let's follow the money:

• my cost for the original round trip $ 1202.60 which I paid
• my cost for the 2 replacement tickets $ 1394.80 which I paid
• COA' s initial refund $ 100.00 which I received
• Airline refund $ 400.00 still held by COA

My most recent interaction with COA was with Clara Jensen on Jan. 20, 2014. In her email she stated that "... we have forward [si] your concern to our waivers team department. However, we request you to allow us some time for some resolution."

Questions abound e.g.

• is the ongoing delay, from Oct. 31, 2013 to the present, a feature of COA's business practices?
• do people seeking refunds for family emergencies eventually give up?
• when COA delays and holds refunds already distributed by an airline, does COA or the customer earn interest on those funds?

The bottom line is that I am still awaiting my $400, currently held by COA. The credit card I used for the aforementioned transactions has since been replaced by the credit card vendor, after a hacking incident compromising many credit cards. I have informed COA of this complication.


In fairness, I will email a link for the above discussion to Clara Jensen at COA, who may offer useful information that makes COA look less like a predator. I would also appreciate advice from the experienced users of this forum.

[rsevenic]

When I get an email from CheapOair, it is typically by a representative new to me, as if the case is being passed ever onward. Is it a delaying tactic, incompetence, or for some reason yet to be revealed. I try to keep the exchanges via email so there is a trail of some sort. Here is the most recent email exchange (Jan. 29, 2014 - you'll note I'me getting grumpy in my reply):

From Kimberly Zapala of CheapOair:
Dear Richard,

My name is Kimberly from CheapOair. I am working with the airline to get the fees refunded. I am in need of the medical documents that stated that you have that shows you needed to return early. I am working diligently to get this done as fast as I can but the airline needs the documents to make any decision on this. Once you send them via reply to my email I will let you know that I got them and will then send to the airline,


I thank you for your patience on this and kindly ask for your prompt response.


Warm regards,

Kimberly Zapala
Customer Service Plus Waivers
135 West 50th St.
Ste 500
New York, NY 10020

Direct: 212-634-4112
Fax:212-634-0763

My Reply:
The airline (US Airways) already received and evaluated the medical documentation which I sent to them. They then refunded the money to you (CheapOair). I have, in prior emails, twice sent you the bank transaction numbers verifying the US Airways refund to you. So what you are requesting has already been done. Don't you keep a file on this case?

From the outside, this looks like either

• another delaying tactic by CheapOair

or

• incompetence.

Richard Sevenich

[Der Richter]

Originally Posted by rsevenic

• incompetence.

Yes, you are incompetent. Throughout the entire sequence of events you have only been a customer of Cheap-O-Air. US Air's only customer is Cheap-O-Air. When you tried to go around Cheap-O-Air and deal directly with US Air, you became the cause of the entire problem.

[rsevenic]

Originally Posted by Der Richter

Yes, you are incompetent. Throughout the entire sequence of events you have only been a customer of Cheap-O-Air. US Air's only customer is Cheap-O-Air. When you tried to go around Cheap-O-Air and deal directly with US Air, you became the cause of the entire problem.

Der Richter, das ist falsch. It was a CheapOair representative who said I must go directly to the airline for further redress - after CheapOair granted the initial $100 refund. Perhaps that representative was incompetent. I am often incompetent, but here have an excuse - but thanks for your input.

[rsevenic]

One principle of adequate customer service is consistent, timely communication. Don't abandon the customer in Never Never Land. I received the email below from Kimberly Zapata of CheapOair a week ago Thursday. She indicates that she "will be in touch tomorrow", but 'tomorrow came and went 6 days ago and I've received no subsequent email. I'm left hanging in Never Never Land and wonder what happened.

The email from Zapata:

Thank you for the info I will be in touch tomorrow as I am at the end of my shift what will be done.

Regards,


Kimberly Zapala
Customer Service Plus Waivers
135 West 50th St.
Ste 500
New York, NY 10020

Direct: 212-634-4112
Fax:212-634-0763

[Der Richter]

Charlie: That’s amazing. He should work for NASA or something like that.
Doctor: Ray, if you had a dollar and you spent fifty cents, how much would you have left over?
Raymond: About seventy.
Doctor: Seventy cents?
Raymond: Seventy cents.
Charlie: So much for the NASA idea.

[rsevenic]

After 3 months and one week, I received the $400 refund from CheapOair. It seems clear that this happened because I was persistent. When I needed missing information from US Airways, the complaint to the USDOT effectively pried that information loose after US Airways had become unresponsive. To get action from CheapOair, keeping an account of my travails on this social media site was crucial - sending links to CheapOair so that they were kept in the loop. This ultimately got my problem to the attention of an effective CheapOair representative, Kimberly Zapala. She solved the problem rather quickly, once involved. The financial end result was that changing to an earlier flight home via CheapOair was not any cheaper than just getting another flight through another booking agency i.e. pleading a medical emergency merely pared down CheapOair's exorbitant fee to a normal level. I'll not use CheapOair again


I had one prior interaction with an online airline booking agency where I pursued a refund when the death of an immediate family member required a flight cancellation. The airline was Delta and the booking agency was, as I recall, Expedia. The refund in that case went smoothly and with reasonable dispatch. I suspect that some good luck was involved.