Charged over $1000 for canceling a flight!
Mar 27, 2015, 3:14 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 1
Charged over $1000 for canceling a flight!
I usually don’t like to complain online about anything, but I just want to share my experience because this may happen to other people. Emirates charged me over $1000 for canceling my flight, while its own employees had told me the cancelation fee would be $100.
I booked a flight from Tanzania to USA but had to cancel it because of work. On its website, there was no information on the cancelation fee. So I called the Emirates office in Dar es Salaam twice and asked about refund. Two different staffers both checked my reservation and told me that I had a full-price ticket, so I would get a full refund minus $100, which would be the charge. And, I visited the office and talked to a staffer in person about cancelation. She told me to do it online and said the charge would be $100.
Then, I thought I had the correct information, so I went on its website, canceled my flight and requested for a refund. I spent about $1700 all together (I had to upgrade my discount ticket to a full-price ticket in order to cancel my flight), and it took them two weeks to calculate my refund amount. And that refund amount was $652.40. So my total loss was over $1000.
I went back to its Dar es Salaam office to complain, and the same staffer who had talked with me in person admitted that she had given me wrong information but couldn’t help. She told me to write to the headquarter but said that I would probably get the same answer. It’s been a month since my first email to the headquarter was sent. I’ve sent out a few more after that but haven’t heard anything back. At least until now, they’ve been ignoring me.
First, Emirates employees provided a customer with wrong information, but it punished the customer for its own mistake. Second, charging over $1000 for canceling a flight was ridiculous. Third, it took Emirates weeks to figure out my refund amount instead of letting me know before I tried to cancel online. I can’t actually believe Emirates is decades behind. This is the worst experience. So you know what to do: don’t trust Emirates.
I booked a flight from Tanzania to USA but had to cancel it because of work. On its website, there was no information on the cancelation fee. So I called the Emirates office in Dar es Salaam twice and asked about refund. Two different staffers both checked my reservation and told me that I had a full-price ticket, so I would get a full refund minus $100, which would be the charge. And, I visited the office and talked to a staffer in person about cancelation. She told me to do it online and said the charge would be $100.
Then, I thought I had the correct information, so I went on its website, canceled my flight and requested for a refund. I spent about $1700 all together (I had to upgrade my discount ticket to a full-price ticket in order to cancel my flight), and it took them two weeks to calculate my refund amount. And that refund amount was $652.40. So my total loss was over $1000.
I went back to its Dar es Salaam office to complain, and the same staffer who had talked with me in person admitted that she had given me wrong information but couldn’t help. She told me to write to the headquarter but said that I would probably get the same answer. It’s been a month since my first email to the headquarter was sent. I’ve sent out a few more after that but haven’t heard anything back. At least until now, they’ve been ignoring me.
First, Emirates employees provided a customer with wrong information, but it punished the customer for its own mistake. Second, charging over $1000 for canceling a flight was ridiculous. Third, it took Emirates weeks to figure out my refund amount instead of letting me know before I tried to cancel online. I can’t actually believe Emirates is decades behind. This is the worst experience. So you know what to do: don’t trust Emirates.
Last edited by eightblack; Mar 27, 2015 at 4:03 am Reason: formatting
Mar 27, 2015, 3:22 am
#2
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 9,307
Mar 27, 2015, 8:11 am
#5
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 84
I think it would be very difficult to get a full refund, simply because your commitment to the purchase of the original, non-flexible fare is incontrovertible. You'd be relying on any applicable consumer laws in the country where the fare was sold from.
By the refund amount, I'm guessing that Emirates only refunded your taxes and the portion of the fare difference that was spent on the upgrade. It's probably written in the T&Cs that only the fare difference you paid is refundable.
If you simply went ahead and upgraded to a full-fare "refundable" ticket without asking Emirates, your claim will be standing on very weak ground. In this case, the best you can probably hope for is for EK to reinstate your full-fare ticket (in return for paying back to them the refunded portion of the fare).
If the EK agent explicitly advised you over the phone to upgrade your ticket to a refundable fare, and said that you would then receive a refund of the full amount, you have a better case. Then you could reasonably expect your ticket to be reinstated as the originally purchased special/saver fare, and for all upgrade costs you paid to be refunded.
By the refund amount, I'm guessing that Emirates only refunded your taxes and the portion of the fare difference that was spent on the upgrade. It's probably written in the T&Cs that only the fare difference you paid is refundable.
If you simply went ahead and upgraded to a full-fare "refundable" ticket without asking Emirates, your claim will be standing on very weak ground. In this case, the best you can probably hope for is for EK to reinstate your full-fare ticket (in return for paying back to them the refunded portion of the fare).
If the EK agent explicitly advised you over the phone to upgrade your ticket to a refundable fare, and said that you would then receive a refund of the full amount, you have a better case. Then you could reasonably expect your ticket to be reinstated as the originally purchased special/saver fare, and for all upgrade costs you paid to be refunded.
Mar 27, 2015, 12:59 pm
#6
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,584
What was the order of the evens. Based on the upgrading the flights it sounbds like
Originally purchased a discount ticket
Was unable to cancel for a refund
Paid to upgrade to a full fare ticket
Then asked what refund was due and the agent saw it was a full fare ticket but missed that it was originally a discounted ticket and said it was refundable
Cancelled ticket
Received a refund of the difference between the non-refundable fare paid and the full fare
This could be correct. It is not possible to subvert the restrictions of a restricted ticket by later paying extra for refundable one. The original amount paid will still be subject to the original restrictions
What was the original amount paid and what was the restriction on the original ticket?
Why did you pay for a higher fare rather than just cancelling the fare which you had?
If the penalty on the original ticket was $1000 then that is just how it is. What were the penalties of the original ticket?
If the original fare had a lower penalty , then contact EK and ask why the refund isnt in line with the original penaly
Originally purchased a discount ticket
Was unable to cancel for a refund
Paid to upgrade to a full fare ticket
Then asked what refund was due and the agent saw it was a full fare ticket but missed that it was originally a discounted ticket and said it was refundable
Cancelled ticket
Received a refund of the difference between the non-refundable fare paid and the full fare
This could be correct. It is not possible to subvert the restrictions of a restricted ticket by later paying extra for refundable one. The original amount paid will still be subject to the original restrictions
What was the original amount paid and what was the restriction on the original ticket?
Why did you pay for a higher fare rather than just cancelling the fare which you had?
If the penalty on the original ticket was $1000 then that is just how it is. What were the penalties of the original ticket?
If the original fare had a lower penalty , then contact EK and ask why the refund isnt in line with the original penaly
Last edited by Dave Noble; Mar 27, 2015 at 1:19 pm
Mar 27, 2015, 10:57 pm
#9
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 36
The idea that Emirates charges $1,000 to cancel a fully refundable ticket is absurd on its face. The value of these tickets is that they are refundable, that is why people purchase them.
The idea that you can avoid a cancellation fee on a non-refundable ticket by upgrading various parts of the ticket also absurd.
They should I believe refund you the fully refundable portion less any charges ($100). If that did not happen then you have a claim.
The idea that you can avoid a cancellation fee on a non-refundable ticket by upgrading various parts of the ticket also absurd.
They should I believe refund you the fully refundable portion less any charges ($100). If that did not happen then you have a claim.
Mar 29, 2015, 11:00 am
#10
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: JFK/LGA
Programs: DL DM, HH Gold, SPG Platinum 100, National Executive Elite
Posts: 1,687
The idea that Emirates charges $1,000 to cancel a fully refundable ticket is absurd on its face. The value of these tickets is that they are refundable, that is why people purchase them.
The idea that you can avoid a cancellation fee on a non-refundable ticket by upgrading various parts of the ticket also absurd.
They should I believe refund you the fully refundable portion less any charges ($100). If that did not happen then you have a claim.
The idea that you can avoid a cancellation fee on a non-refundable ticket by upgrading various parts of the ticket also absurd.
They should I believe refund you the fully refundable portion less any charges ($100). If that did not happen then you have a claim.
OP clearly did not understand and was misinformed.
Mar 30, 2015, 11:53 pm
#13
Join Date: Mar 2015
Programs: HH Diamond, GHA Titanium
Posts: 1,961
OP had obviously already did the upgrade prior to asking the EK agents about the cancellation.
Mar 31, 2015, 7:58 am
#14
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Netherlands
Programs: SQ S, IHG Diamond/Amb, Accor S
Posts: 703
I recently upgraded a ticket on SQ from V class (non refundable) to Q class (refundable for a fee) so that I would get more miles (and reach gold status).
I got a new e-ticket which explicitly stated the following:
I agree with previous posters that this makes perfect sense and I would not expect otherwise.
Anyone taking a closer look at the e-ticket (pax and staff) should notice the restrictions. However when just looking at the itinerary in the system I suspect that only the actual booking class will be shown.
I assume that the situation at Emirates will be very similar. So the OP upgraded his/her ticket to a higher booking class (maybe falsely expecting that would allow cancellation). The e-ticket should have a remark about the restrictions somewhere, but the OP did not notice or neglected that. He/she then called Emirates and visited their office and asked about the cancellation fees, without pointing out that he/she had upgraded the ticket. Apparently three different agents looked at the itinerary which showed full fare booking class, but did not check the specific restrictions on the e-ticket. Although I would say the blame is largely on the OP, if the agents would have checked the e-tickets thoroughly they would have probably noticed the restrictions and could have given the OP the correct information.
I got a new e-ticket which explicitly stated the following:
Restrictions: REFUND V-CLASS RULES APPLY.NO RFND/RERT/ENDO
Anyone taking a closer look at the e-ticket (pax and staff) should notice the restrictions. However when just looking at the itinerary in the system I suspect that only the actual booking class will be shown.
I assume that the situation at Emirates will be very similar. So the OP upgraded his/her ticket to a higher booking class (maybe falsely expecting that would allow cancellation). The e-ticket should have a remark about the restrictions somewhere, but the OP did not notice or neglected that. He/she then called Emirates and visited their office and asked about the cancellation fees, without pointing out that he/she had upgraded the ticket. Apparently three different agents looked at the itinerary which showed full fare booking class, but did not check the specific restrictions on the e-ticket. Although I would say the blame is largely on the OP, if the agents would have checked the e-tickets thoroughly they would have probably noticed the restrictions and could have given the OP the correct information.
Mar 31, 2015, 8:17 am
#15
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
You get the answer to the question you ask. Disclosing all of the details, rather than hiding some, will get you a more accurate answer.
Here, if OP had asked, "I hold a restricted ticket. If I pay the difference to a flexible ticket and then cancel, will I obtain a refund?" He would have received a "No". But, if simply asked about the refundability of a flexible ticket, the answer is "Yes". I would not expect an agent to go back through a PNR and research every entry.
Here, if OP had asked, "I hold a restricted ticket. If I pay the difference to a flexible ticket and then cancel, will I obtain a refund?" He would have received a "No". But, if simply asked about the refundability of a flexible ticket, the answer is "Yes". I would not expect an agent to go back through a PNR and research every entry.