[rgoldbaum]

I was booked on flight 1553 on 11/1/12 from RDU to San Francisco. The flight was cancelled without explanation on 10/31/12. None of the flights offered to re-book worked for my travel plans. Because of the cancellation, my entire trip had to be cancelled and I lost $500 on a cottage rental in California. Now I am told I must wait 7 to 10 days to have my refund confirmed. Why is that? It only took minutes for my credit card to be charged when I booked the flight. When United cancels the flight, why can't they credit my account immediately?

I usually fly Southwest because they tend not to lose luggage or have delayed or cancelled flights. However, United's offer of a non-stop flight with the option to pay a reasonable fee for more foot room was very attractive. I don't mind paying a little more for better service. I also understand that flight operations on the east coast were disrupted by Hurricane Sandy. However, it would have been helpful for United to explain why my flight, originating in a city 700 miles away from the worst weather, was cancelled. Furthermore, there is absolutely no reason why it should take over a week to refund my money. Unnecessarily holding onto my money for several days when it could have been credited back to my account with a few keystrokes is clearly a shady business practice. I won't be flying with United again.