CofRed

If you get double charged by flightnetwork, be prepared to wait for couple of months for refund. Keep this in mind when you go purchasing your tickets from them.

In February, bought a one way ticket from Flightnetwork.com for $999 CAD. My credit card was double charged and I advised Flight Network right away (feb 16) regarding the double charge.

It is March 30th today, 44 days have passed and they are still "working" with the airline to issue a refund.


The $999 price was offered on plethora of travel websites but I chose to go with FlightNetwork because in the past I had purchased tickets from them and I had no issues at the airport.

But now, when the time comes to show their customer service, FlightNetwork has failed. And I will make sure I make this known to all my friends and family to never purchase from them again. If they get double charged, then they are out of luck

I purchased tickets from Flightnetwork and not the airlines! For me, Flightnetwork has double charged me and not the airline, so why do I have to wait for a refund waiver from the airlines?

While we are on topic, can I claim it as a fraud on my credit card if Flightnetwork keeps delaying refund? I am getting charged interest for the outstanding amount, entirely because of Flight Network.

MSPeconomist

It sounds like you purchased the ticket from Canada, so their credit card and consumer protection regulations would apply.

You could try calling your credit card and asking whether a chargeback would be appropriate in these circumstances. However, do it soon as there might be a deadline to initiate the process.

CofRed

Yes, I bought it from canada.

Contacted TD bank and they will look into it. My bank wants a proof that only 1 ticket was issued/1 purchase was made. The problem is I received 1 email with e-ticket and then shortly a second one with another e-ticket. At that time I simply ignored it as sometimes cell phone syncing can send email twice so I thought it was same e-ticket, and they looked identical, save from last 4-5 digits of the eticket (I purchased the ticket on PC).

Anyways, when I found out I was double charged, I contacted flight network right away, before the flight date and had them send me a valid e-ticket because now there were two, and I didn't know which one would be valid.

E-tickets had exact same information with same flights. How can they book same passenger twice?? Will that hold with my bank? I guess I will find out but I certainly don't have money lying around to be purchasing 2 tickets for same flight for only 1 passenger.

Often1

That is a separate issue. You weren't double-charged. You were charged for a ticket you did not authorize. If you told either the vendor or your CC issuer that you were double charged, that is likely what is holding things up.

I would call flightnetwork back and start this thing over properly. Explain that you purchased one ticket, but that they issued and charged you for two. Then call your CC issuer and explain the same thing. It may be too late, but you should nonetheless try.

For others, when these things happen, spend 30 seconds to double check things. OP has two tickets with two different numbers. If he didn't have time at the moment, he had time later. This was likely fixable on the spot.

CofRed

Flight Network (vendor) is aware of this. I told them before my flight that they had issued two e-tickets and I am charged twice on my credit card. They cancelled one ticket and sent me the valid one, this is mentioned in my second post.

I sent them both e-tickets, and my bank statement showing two charges.

This is the latest communication I received, on March 30th, I replied the same day and I still don't have any response. They take weeks to reply.

I really understand what you trying to say and i know its been 45 days alreday , However even we are helpless here because this reservation is no more under our control so airline has to approve the wavier for the same as they have taken the control on the reservation.

You book the reservation but ticket are issued from the airline so airline charge our card so once airline refund us back than we can ago ahead and refund you. We are just the intermediate between you and the airline.

As soon as we get any update will update you and we appreciate your patience.

MSPeconomist

Where is this outfit located? The English in their reply is horrible.

CofRed

It is located in Oakville, Ontario (Canada).

Exactly my thoughts! I mean my English is not all that better considering it is my 3rd language, but even I could see run-on sentences and lack of punctuation

It has been 13 days since they emailed me. When I call them, they tell me to wait for the email reply. I am not sure what to do anymore, I am out $1000 and I have no idea where to go.

I am just going to stick with my bank because I have all the communication proof that it was Flight Network's fault that they double booked a single passenger, on same date, for the same flight.

CofRed

Wow., I thought I was alone but looking at the complaints against them with Better Business Bureau, most of the purchasers had weird charges on their account and double charges.And they experienced the same terrible customer service experience that I am going through now.

http://www.bbb.org/kitchener/busines...lle-on-1148264

How much I wish I had seen these complaints before giving my hard earned money to these scammers.

jsn55

I think 8-10 weeks for a refund is fairly standard. Booking directly with an airline or hotel is always preferable. Putting an OTA in the middle of a transaction gets to be a big issue if there are problems. You can't fix the problems directly, you have to work through the OTA with little or no customer service.

If two billing cycles pass without the refund, I'd definitely dispute one of the charges with your CC. Find out now what their deadline is to dispute a charge.

MSPeconomist

IIRC for USA issued credit cards, the deadline for making a formal dispute is 60 days. Waiting for two billing cycles would not be a good idea.

The USA DOT also has rules about airlines giving prompt refunds, but I suspect that they don't apply to OLTAs.

CofRed

Just an update.
Flight Network is not responding to any emails at all. When I call their office, they keep telling me that I can't talk to a manager and to call back after an hour.

So I decided to contact my bank and gave them all my proof of communication with Flight Network. TD bank has accepted the charge dispute and they will refund the amount.

I simply explained my bank that I was first trying to resolve the issue with Flight Network and when they refused to help, that's when I went through the bank. I put in effort from my part.