Alex says:
USAirways charged me an extra $25, on top of what the agent said was the amount that "includes all taxes and fees", when I booked 2 tickets on the same itinerary, one of them discounted using an E-Air Check Plus (which was issued for a previous inconvenience). Now, the EACP cannot be used on line, and therefore USAirways' policy is to let you book on the phone without a booking fee (I checked this).
When I called back to ask about the mystery charge the agent told me the following two contradictory things—-
1. They probably charged a booking fee because the SECOND (non-discounted) ticket could have been purchased on line.
2. The booking fee for my ticket (international travel) should be $35, not $25, so she wasn't sure it was a booking fee.The agent asked her supervisor if I could get a refund, and the response from the supervisor was (not surprisingly) no.
But here is the great advice: the supervisor suggested that I issue a chargeback. Really. I seriously doubt this is official USAirways policy, since chargebacks cost them extra money, but I was very surprised to hear this advice from anyone at their call center, let alone a supervisor.
I've contacted Executive Customer Support and requested the dispute paperwork from the Credit Card company. Any advice? If I dispute the mystery charge (which is charged separately from the travel on my cc), can they cancel my tickets?
We have never tried a chargeback for just an airline fee before, so honestly, we have no idea what is going to happen. It really depends on the bank and the airline.
Before you go ahead and follow the supervisor's advice — try contacting US Airway's executive office again. You can also try emailing your story to this address.
Has anyone out there tried a chargeback for just a fee? Did it work? Would you recommend it? Help Alex out in the comments.
(Photo:Zonaphoto.com)
]]>Win?
...Snark aside (and I'm flying to Europe on the miles they finally coughed up, so hey), I'd go with a paper letter to their main customer-service HQ (4000 E. Sky Harbor Blvd. in Phoenix--full address is on the site)--it seemed to get results MUCH faster than trying to deal with their phone reps once every couple months for ten months. The faxes didn't reach anybody so far as I can tell.
]]>Sprint double billed (surprise!) me for a phone when I first switched over to them. When I called in to explain that I did not need two phones for one line of service (and didn't even receive two phones), the rep told me to do a chargeback for the second billing.
Cue about a month later, when the chargeback went through, my service was abruptly shut off with no warning. I tried to make a call to my husband, and was instead rerouted to Sprint where they informed me that my service had been shut off. It was the first time I used my phone in days, so who knows how long it had been shut off for. I walked away with a free month of service in compensation.
They will probably cancel your tickets when the chargeback goes through. Depending on the timing, don't do the chargeback more than a week before you fly.
]]>U.S. Airways corporate headquaters is in Tempe, AZ. Call the police in Tempe, AZ and report the credit card fraud.
]]>Charge it back!
]]>@Susan Reed Clark: You received actual better than average customer service from United then...
see www.untied.com (as spelled) for the "real" fun people have had with united airlines
]]>It's gotta happen more and more -- airlines are charging more fees; gotta expect that some of them would get charged back.
]]>Just be careful during boarding... "Oh, Mr. Alex, we have a SPECIAL seat for you..."
]]>"The airline companies are losing money because of their own incompetence and their own inefficiency! ... Airline motherfuckers! You pieces of shit!"
It was a long, long time ago that I decided that if my feet have to leave the ground to get there, then it's not an important place for me to go to. If these people can't be trusted figure out something as simple why they're overcharging somebody $25, then why should they be trusted with my life?
]]>Really does anybody still fly US Air? I have moved my trip to a different day to avoid using them, I will never give them my business.
]]>Finicky bastard!
]]>I had the exact same thing happen to me. $25 fee showed up, I didn't authorize it. Amex would not allow me to dispute the charge, either. I ended up just submitting it for expense reimbursement.
This was on a corporate Amex card.
]]>Call 1-800-WE-CARE-2, select option 5. The first part of the message, will be CO telling you to do what US suggested to the OP.
]]>It's a legitimate concern.
]]>It's like filing a multi-million dollar lawsuit over a pair of supposedly ruined, dry cleaned pants. Or over-prescribing antibiotics to irresponsible idiots and causing a rising in drug resistant germs.
There are appropriate times to cause trouble for a company, and at this point filing a chargeback would be frivolous. There's still USAirway's higher support tiers and the BBB to consider. Part of being an effective consumer is being a responsible one.
]]>probably because the refund of $25 might be coming out of the supervisor's 'allocated refund funds' for the month....
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