Programs: UA 1K (first time), AA LT Plat, Hilton, Hyatt, US Air, Delta
Posts: 400
United Denies Cancellation Credit ???
I may have to cancel a non-refundable ticket in the near future and based on past experience I’m leery of United’s ability to differentiate between a cancellation and a no-show.
My prior experience involved a ticket I purchased on line 14 months ago for travel a year ago which I cancelled by phone 1 day prior to departure. I tried to use the “credit” 4 months ago, about 9 months after purchase. Even though I had the confirmation code and ticket number, phone reps denied any record of the ticket and refused to apply any credit to the ticket I was trying to purchase. I ended up buying the ticket, without any credit, on line a day or 2 later. I sent an email through the website and received the following reply:
“We regret that we cannot issue the refund requested, and would like to explain why: United Airlines offers a wide variety of fares that appeal to different segments of the traveling public. Some fares, such as yours, are highly restricted and valid only on designated flights. The fare purchased carried the restriction of being non-refundable and non-transferable. It was designed to accommodate customers who are price conscious to receive a substantial savings over a regular full fare ticket. These highly restricted, non-refundable tickets must be reissued or cancelled prior to the initial outbound travel date if they are not used as purchased. All non-refundable tickets not reissued or cancelled prior to the outbound travel date have no monetary value.”
I sent them another message: “Thank you for your quick reply. However, there is an error in your evaluation of this situation. I'm aware of the fare rules for the ticket but contrary to your explanation below, I called one day prior to the flight (i.e. I called on January xx, 2012) to cancel the ticket and therefore, as per the fare rules, it should still have a value of $2x.xx ($17x.xx fare paid less $150.00 fee). If the record of that call was lost as a result of your recent merger, that should not impact my refund. Please reevaluate this situation and apply the appropriate refund to the ticket I purchased yesterday. Thank you very much.”
As you all know, this led nowhere. Because it was only 20 bucks, I just gave up.
The ticket I now may have to cancel was over $300 which will leave a significant value if cancelled. I spoke with UA and was told they do not send confirmations of cancellations (the way most hotel companies do). I was told to just keep the record locator and ticket number and that would allow me to get the credit in the future (sounds familiar).
Wondering if I cancel on-line if I’ll receive confirmation of the cancellation. Are there ways to obtain a record of a cancellation so that UA cannot in the future (so easily) deny the cancellation?
Re: your question about your current trip -- if you cancel a united.com itinerary online you should get a flight cancellation confirmation page that you can print to a .pdf. You may or may not get a cancellation notification e-mail (I don't usually get them when I do this via self-service online; I used to get them in the past, dunno what changed).
Assuming that you associated your MileagePlus number with this reservation, you'll also be able to see it online under "Cancelled" trips. That is, when you log in to united.com you'll see three tabs of trips -- "Current", "Past", "Cancelled". This reservation should show up under the third tab once you cancel it. If you use credit from this reservation to book a new trip, the new active trip may continue to show up under "cancelled" — that's an old Web site bug that may not have been fixed yet.
Note that under the "new" rules that came into play on 3 March 2012, if you cancel a $300 flight it can be used to buy $300 of travel later, but you'll have to pay the cancellation fee out-of-pocket (i.e. give United $150 more cash) in order to unlock access to the rest of the credit on the ticket.
Re: your question about your prior trip, probably what happened is that the CS rep who handled your support request was unable to research your case thoroughly enough to find your old fare rules. They probably decided to send you a boilerplate e-mail that was almost, but not quite true, and hope that you wouldn't press the issue (taking the risk that if you did press on, they would claim they had accidentally misread the fare rules and give you the $20 or whatever). This is faster for them *and* better for the company's bottom line; great! Not great service.
I also check online to see the credit is there to make sure that the ticket was cancelled. I don't like to just trust a phone rep. since I normally call when canceling a ticket.
Programs: UA 1K (first time), AA LT Plat, Hilton, Hyatt, US Air, Delta
Posts: 400
Thanks all. On line and save screen shot is a great idea. And I’ll certainly be looking forward to receiving an email cancellation receipt. Calling to confirm credit is also an excellent idea. (Obviously I don’t trust them either.)
Related questions: How far ahead of time must a non-refundable ticket be cancelled in order to retain residual (after fees) value? Is it anytime prior to departure?
The ticket I may have to cancel is for a companion. I purchased both tickets (mine and companions) on line, same confirmation code, with my credit card. I was told by phone rep that to cancel my companion’s ticket they would first have to split the reservation and then cancel the ticket and my companion could then use the credit at some time in the future. Is that correct? (Presumably I would then have to give the information (confirmation code, ticket number) to my companion.) The reason my companion may not travel is family (mother’s) illness. If my companion (who rarely flies) chooses to write to United to try for a full refund and that refund is approved, would the refund be sent by check to my companion or would it go back to my credit card?
Programs: UA 1K, Marriott Platinum, Enterprise Exec
Posts: 6,700
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr Jabadski
Thanks all. On line and save screen shot is a great idea. And I’ll certainly be looking forward to receiving an email cancellation receipt. Calling to confirm credit is also an excellent idea. (Obviously I don’t trust them either.)
Related questions: How far ahead of time must a non-refundable ticket be cancelled in order to retain residual (after fees) value? Is it anytime prior to departure?
The ticket I may have to cancel is for a companion. I purchased both tickets (mine and companions) on line, same confirmation code, with my credit card. I was told by phone rep that to cancel my companion’s ticket they would first have to split the reservation and then cancel the ticket and my companion could then use the credit at some time in the future. Is that correct? (Presumably I would then have to give the information (confirmation code, ticket number) to my companion.) The reason my companion may not travel is family (mother’s) illness. If my companion (who rarely flies) chooses to write to United to try for a full refund and that refund is approved, would the refund be sent by check to my companion or would it go back to my credit card?
Thanks very much again.
You can split the reservation now and then give the companion the new PNR - the eticket is already only the companions - not quite linked to yours.
If a full refund is given (unlikely) it would go on your credit card.
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Programs: Rapid Rewards, American AAdvantage, former CO Platinum, Overentitled UA 1K (since 2012)
Posts: 177
The last non-refundable ticket I cancelled was last summer. I got an email confirmation of the cancellation shortly after cancelling online. One can also check "My Account" on united.com under the "View All Reservations" function. Your cancelled trip with confirmation # will show up under "Cancelled" or "Inactive". UA sometimes has to do extra research for your ticket number to show the ticket is still valid. This has happened to me. Take a screenshot of the UA webpage where it shows your cancelled ticket just in case something weird happens and your proof disappears into "Never-Smisek-Land".
I jump in here just to re-emphasize the point that under the present rules, cancellation of a non-refundable ticket before departure will yield a credit of the full amount of the ticket's value. BUT the penalty must be paid in fresh dollars; eg a C class ticket to say, CDG, will retain it's full value in credit, but only upon the customer paying the $400 penalty. This is NOT deducted from the ticket, but is a fresh transaction.
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP, HH Gold, Hyatt Diamond, Starwood Gold, BD/BA Gold, Kingfisher Silver
Posts: 17,289
Sometimes the phone people can do things that cannot be done online (I suppose that goes without saying).
For example, when you use an ETC, you cannot cancel a non-refundable online--even within 24 hours--it will give you no residual value (you can change the ticket). But call and you'll get the refund and the ETC back with a new PIN.
I jump in here just to re-emphasize the point that under the present rules, cancellation of a non-refundable ticket before departure will yield a credit of the full amount of the ticket's value. BUT the penalty must be paid in fresh dollars; eg a C class ticket to say, CDG, will retain it's full value in credit, but only upon the customer paying the $400 penalty. This is NOT deducted from the ticket, but is a fresh transaction.
I'm not sure I understand. If I have a $500 ticket to use towards a $1000 fare, and I have to pay with "fresh dollars" isn't the result the same? $1000-500+150 equals $1000-(500-150)? Does this just mean the cost is now split into two charges to the card?
In that case, yes.. However, if you're using a $1000 cert to buy a $300 fare, you will pay the $150 change fee up front and have $700 left, instead of paying nothing up front and having $550 left. If you fly often enough, it will all work out in the end, except for having to pay the money earlier than if the fee came out of the ticket.
These highly restricted, non-refundable tickets must be reissued or cancelled prior to the initial outbound travel date if they are not used as purchased. All non-refundable tickets not reissued or cancelled prior to the outbound travel date have no monetary value.”
I called one day prior to the flight (i.e. I called on January xx, 2012) to cancel the ticket and therefore, as per the fare rules, it should still have a value of $2x.xx ($17x.xx fare paid less $150.00 fee). If the record of that call was lost as a result of your recent merger, that should not impact my refund. Please reevaluate this situation and apply the appropriate refund to the ticket I purchased yesterday. Thank you very much.”
As you all know, this led nowhere. Because it was only 20 bucks, I just gave up.
The ticket I now may have to cancel was over $300 which will leave a significant value if cancelled. I spoke with UA and was told they do not send confirmations of cancellations (the way most hotel companies do). I was told to just keep the record locator and ticket number and that would allow me to get the credit in the future (sounds familiar).
Wondering if I cancel on-line if I’ll receive confirmation of the cancellation. Are there ways to obtain a record of a cancellation so that UA cannot in the future (so easily) deny the cancellation?
Yes you will receive an e-mail confirmation of the cancellation and if you don't call and ask for one because as you previously learned. "NO tickee NO laundry"!
, this led nowhere
. Because it was only 20 bucks, I just gave up
. 
