I sent this to DOT on August 17. I've redacted a bit, but it explains the situation.
On August 5, I booked a flight itinerary on expedia.com.
The Expedia itinerary number is 7xxxxxxxxxxx2. Later that day, I called to cancel for a refund. The transaction posted to my credit card on August 6 in the amount of $6,xxx.xx. I called them on August 17 (9 business days later), as I had not yet received a refund, and they told me it would take 6-8 weeks.
In the past, DOT has issued consent orders (for example,
https://www.transportation.gov/sites..._2013-8-27.pdf) with the following statement:
"Regulation Z of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1601-1693r and 12 CFR Part 226 (Regulation Z) and the related Department of Transportation (Department) implementing rule, 14 CFR Part 374, establishes that, with respect to refund requests involving airline tickets purchased with a credit card, a creditor—here United—must transmit a credit statement for a passenger refund to the credit card issuer within seven business days of receipt of full documentation for the refund requested."
Expedia is in violation of these regulations.
So in summary, they refused to issue the refund, and want me to wait 6-8 weeks. As it stands right now, I have over $6000 extra on my credit card. Since the statement has closed, this is now affecting my credit score, and if I am unable to pay off the balance by the due date (not really an issue in my case, but it's a LOT of money to have to front for something I ended up buying elsewhere), I'll have to pay interest too. So the regulations are clearly there to protect consumers.
I received this email on August 18 (1 day later).
GENERAL COUNSEL
1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E.
Washington, DC 20590
Case # PC201708xxxx
Dear Mr. Kennedy:
This responds to your communication regarding Expedia.com. The U.S. Department of Transportation seeks to ensure that all airline passengers are treated fairly. Complaints from consumers are helpful to us in determining whether the airlines are in compliance with our rules and to track trends or spot areas of concern that warrant further action.
Based on the information you have provided, your complaint appears to fall under the Department's rules. I will forward your complaint to the company and ask it to respond directly to you with a copy to us. I will review the company's response. If you need to contact me please email me at
[email protected]. Please include your name and case number (see above). I will make every effort to reply to your message within one business day.
If my review of your complaint and the response from the company discloses a potential violation of our rules, our office may pursue enforcement action. Generally, our office pursues enforcement action on the basis of a number of complaints which may indicate a pattern or practice of violating our rules. Your complaint may be among those considered and may lead to appropriate enforcement action including the assessment of civil penalties. However, our office has no authority to order compensation for individual complainants.
I have entered your complaint in our computerized industry monitoring system, and it will be counted among the number of complaints filed against this airline in our monthly Air Travel Consumer Report. This report allows consumers and air travel companies to compare the complaint records of individual airlines and tour operators. The data in this report also serve as a basis for rulemaking, legislation and research. Consumer information for air travelers, including the Air Travel Consumer Report and our pamphlet Fly-Rights, a Consumer's Guide to Air Travel, can be found on our website:
www.transportation.gov/airconsumer.
Thank you for taking the time to contact us.
Sincerely,
xxxxxxxxxxxx
Aviation Consumer Protection Division
Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings
Still waiting, but I'm glad they're taking it seriously. Expedia's refund procedure is certainly not clear (I understand if it can't be instant, but this is a bit ridiculous), but apparently it's in violation of DOT regulations too.
I'm not looking for advice, just offering my experience on the matter, and confirmation that this is not permitted.
p.s. as of this post, I still haven't received a refund.