Originally Posted by
FarCat
Has anyone had any experience dealing with OTAs and United's bereavement policy? We booked through an OTA but also lost someone in our family recently but United isn't able to help us. The OTA says they will refund us after they submit the refund request to United and it gets approved.
First, I am sorry to hear that you are dealing with this.
If you plan on travelling on United within the next year, the easiest thing to do is (1) cancel your flight now, before it departs, (2) in the future (within one year), use the remaining funds and pay a change fee (3) request a refund of the change fee through the link below.
It should also be possible to get a full refund, if you aren't sure you will use United funds within the next year. Still make sure you cancel the flight before to takes off (if that is soon). Normally I'd say request a refund request from your OTA but if they say try United first, you can use the link below to submit a refund request. Don't do it over the phone. If United comes back and says "refund is due from your OTA", then you have something to go back to your OTA with.
I would review the policies and make sure the family member qualifies under United's definition of "immediate family", etc. Also note you will need a death certificate:
https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/customer/refund
Click "Refund Policies" then "Refund request for nonrefundable tickets — unplanned event"
Best of luck!