Online Travel Booking and Bidding Agencies - Expedia: I am truly astounded. :(

The pretty web site with all the handy tools, the detailed descriptions, the familiarity: it's so easy to just head over there whenever you need to book travel. The simple fact that I only have to remember one password makes it tempting. But these clowns have dry-reamed me in such a way that I don't think I can ever give them another cent.

Oh, I was excited when expedia.es finally came to Spain and I could use them for booking tickets. Lord knows the alternatives here are pretty bleak. Two months ago , I cancelled a couple of full-fare J tickets on AF by phone. The woman I spoke to told me they would issue the refund but it could take up to 30 days because, you know, airlines and banks and all that. I emailed them today to find out where my money is and got a form letter back that informs me it may take up to six months, because this refund business is very complicated. Except it's all automatic and there's nothing they can do. Please don't bother us again, you'll get it when you get it.

Meanwhile I cancelled another full J ticket on LX last week and the refund showed up on my Amex within 24 hours (this one booked directly with LX).

Let me get this straight:

- Expedia is going to sit on my 4.000€ for six months and I can just go pound sand.
- They're not going to pay me interest on the 4.000€ for the six months they're using my money.
- I have no recourse.
- This is SOP for them.
- They're still in business.

Really, this is the kind of thing that makes people go postal.

I cancelled a Royal Jordanian ticket with expedia.com and they told me not to expect the refund for as long as three billing cycles on the card I used to make the original purchase.

The time it takes must depend on the airline.

I've had my problems with Expedia in the past but they upgraded me to "elite plus" status and it seems like I get better service. They now allow me to cancel "Expedia Special Rate" hotel rooms with full refunds.

Charge. Back.

Oh, and send them a bill for 30% annualized interest.

Alan,

Do credit cards in Europe allow you to "contest" charges as they do in the US? Here, if you do that, you get an immediate credit while they research the issue... and you are not held accountable for any interest charges if they find in your favor.

I find it amazing how these companies feel they can get away with this.

They do, but it's a complicated, time-consuming process that will involve a trip to the bank. I figured I would calm down over the weekend but I'm still just as mad. I'll probably stop by tomorrow and tell them to reverse it.

UGH... I can contest online... yes, if I had to go to the bank... of course, I do not even have my credit cards through my bank... would be a problem.

They do not make it easy for you, do they?

In addition to the other "services" expedia offers, they DO NOT find the lowest fare. I was trying to find a fare from JFK to Welligton, NZ. The best fare that they found for my travel dates was $2,400. I then searched Air New Zealand (as well as AA and UA) and came up with a fare of $1,814 for the same dates. I then searched Expedia, and it did not show the flights I had. The outbound was the same, but the inbound flights were different by 30 minutes. That fare was about $2,000.00.

I thought that I could find the lowest fare on Expedia, but they seem to hide it, even when you know flight ties. The taxes they charged were also about twice as high as the ones charged by the airline.

BEWARE.

Call your cc company and dispute the charges. They will remove the charge from your bill (during the investigation) and they are likely to resolve the issue faster.

You aren't the only one.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=707906

- Expedia is going to sit on my 4.000€ for six months and I can just go pound sand.
- They're not going to pay me interest on the 4.000€ for the six months they're using my money.
- I have no recourse.
- This is SOP for them.
- They're still in business.Expedia does not have the 4,000 euros, either Air France or the IATA Clearing House (http://www.iata.org/whatwedo/finance/clearing/ich.htm) have it. Was your card charged for the tickets by Expedia or Air France directly?

Expedia does not have the 4,000 euros, either Air France or the IATA Clearing House (http://www.iata.org/whatwedo/finance/clearing/ich.htm) have it. Was your card charged for the tickets by Expedia or Air France directly?
But why do I get my money back within days if I cancel with the airline directly? When I cancelled last time with KLM ( canceled a C fare and booked a Z fare on the same phone call ) the refund was on my Amex before the new flight had been charged. I don't know, where the money is, but it must have to do with Expedia.

However they NEVER find deep discounted Business Class fares. Might be they recognize Z or I fares not as Business.

But why do I get my money back within days if I cancel with the airline directly? When I cancelled last time with KLM ( canceled a C fare and booked a Z fare on the same phone call ) the refund was on my Amex before the new flight had been charged. I don't know, where the money is, but it must have to do with Expedia.

However they NEVER find deep discounted Business Class fares. Might be they recognize Z or I fares not as Business.

This may depend on the country- I believe Germany has very strict laws regarding this.
The last time I cancelled a direct booked fully refundable Air France ticket in Italy it took FIVE MONTHS to get the credit.

AF charged the card on 03 Sept. I cancelled the tickets on 2 Nov.

In the meantime I have purchased J tickets on LX and I cancelled and the refund happened immediately. Bought on their Spanish site, just like Expedia.

I spoke to the bank today and they said they'll be happy to contest the charges, though I'm essentially claiming fraud and it's an arduous legal process for all parties. I'm going to call Expedia's corporate offices on Monday and see if they really want to put themselves through it.

I don't doubt that AF is just as at fault as Expedia in this case; I also don't care. Expedia took my money and they need to give it back. If it really is legal and SOP for a refund to take five or six months, well, it's an election year here and that sounds like a great example waiting to be made out of someone.

AF charged the card on 03 Sept. I cancelled the tickets on 2 Nov.

<snip extraneous info>

I'm going to call Expedia's corporate offices on Monday and see if they really want to put themselves through it.

<snip>

Expedia took my money and they need to give it back. It really seems to me that you'd be much better off working with Air France since by your own admission they are the ones who have your money, not Expedia.

I booked a hotel in Charleston, SC through Expedia and the price was $196, almost instantly charged to my CC.

When I checked out of the hotel the bill they gave me was for $161. Should I just eat the $35 or call Expedia to find out why?

No, I wouldn't. Air France didn't take my money. Expedia did. I don't give a rat's ... who they gave it to after they took it from me.

I booked a hotel in Charleston, SC through Expedia and the price was $196, almost instantly charged to my CC.

When I checked out of the hotel the bill they gave me was for $161. Should I just eat the $35 or call Expedia to find out why?
that $35 was expedias profit on the room they sold you.

Bumping this back up to point out yet again what a bunch of lying criminals are behind Expedia. It's now MAY. I'm trying to get a refund for tickets bought in SEPTEMBER. I've tried reversing through the bank but they're being stonewalled. Evidently Expedia España, even though they have a mailing address in Madrid, is actually in Germany, and all my bank's correspondence has been going in the round file.

I finally got through to an angel at AF who tracked the matter down and told me that Expedia has never cancelled the itin nor asked for a refund (note that on the Expedia site, my itin first showed as cancelled then later disappeared completely). AF have been kind enough to issue the refund to my Amex directly and I hope to see it in the next few days.

I'm not going to stop going after Expedia though. It is clear that they never had any intention of refunding this money. I hope they go out of business. I hope their management meet horrible, grisly fates. Yes, I'm still livid.