There's a long history when dealing with Aeroplan about agents essentially making up their own rules ... hence the phrase HUCA (Hang Up Call Again). I would suggest you try that at least once.

If Aeroplan insists on keeping the dollars .... I think it's misleading at the very least. The web site (https://www.aeroplan.com/faqhelp/531...entLanguage=en) does state that the change/refund fee is NN dollars "plus taxes" .... but the clear implication to me is that they are only talking about "plus taxes on the change fee" (GST, etc). For them to keep all of the airport taxes, carrier surcharges, landing fees, navigation charges, etc ... personally I think that's unconscionable. I've read through the terms and conditions (https://www.aeroplan.com/terms_and_c...entLanguage=en) and can't find even a hint that that's true (they all say "plus taxes", without any additional clarity about which taxes).

I'm not sure what to suggest about next steps, and IANAL - but for $1200 it might be worth a trip to small claims court.