I did not find a thread about chargebacks but if a suitable one exists, dear Moderators please merge.
There was recently a thread started by
Andaz about LH's rejection of a chargeback, and I experienced the same thing today.
I had a ticket from KBP to LHR via FRA for 03/26 and back on 03/29. Lufthansa canceled all flights from KBP 10 days before I was due to travel. Since I booked via Expedia I tried calling them to ask for a refund but it was impossible to get through, so after 2 weeks of trying I gave up, called my bank (Citi) and asked if it was OK for me to initiate a chargeback due to it being impossible to contact the merchant. They said that I should go ahead and so I did.
Citi forwarded Lufthansa's response today rejecting the chargeback, and that must have been the most ridiculous and dishonest response I have read. Lufthansa must have some boilerplate response that its agents fill in without bothering to check what actually happened.
The response started with stating that the passenger would not have been able to enter the country at his destination due to the travel restrictions effective in Ireland. Then there was a link to check all travel restrictions and words to the effect that according to Article blah-blah LH has the right to refuse to carry a passenger to prevent violation of applicable immigration laws. That was the first thing that raised eyebrows as I was not traveling either to or through Ireland.
Then it got more interesting as in the very next line Lufthansa wrote that I was travelling from JFK to KBP and due to the above-mentioned restrictions in Ireland I would not have been allowed to enter the country at KBP and therefore Lufthansa had the right to refuse transportation. Since the ticket was non-refundable I am due only taxes and fees, And then a long list of my options to rebook with a EUR50 bonus.
I honestly am not sure what to think of the response as it simply makes no sense. A) LH did not refuse transportation but simply canceled the flights 10 days before the travel. B). I was not travelling to KBP (they even attached a copy of the ticket with the complete itinerary). I was starting in Ukraine, which is where I live.
C) My destination was the UK which did not and still does not have any entry restrictions. Where did Ireland and JFK come into play is beyond me.
One would have to really try to come up with such nonsense.
This is not it as Citi has not closed the case but simply asked me to reply, and I am not sure how to find nice words to call out LH on their BS.
I did not mean to complain or anything with this post. I was just amused with the response and wanted to share it for entertainment and as a data point