Originally Posted by
PHLFlyer
My experience requesting a refund from TAP today -
I have been checking the status of my booking (LIS-EWR on 4APR) daily, as I wanted it to be cancelled prior to taking any action. Today (20MAR) I checked my reservation on flytap.com and it had updated to "Flight is cancelled" so I used the refund link. Both my ticket and the document for the seat fee retrieved without issue, however the only refund option was for a voucher. I rang TAP at 11pm NYC time to request a refund to my original form of payment. Recording said estimated wait time was 6 minutes....and 40 minutes later I was connected with an agent who insisted repeatedly that TAP is issuing me a refund - in the form of a voucher. I stated that a voucher is not a refund which the agent disputed. I explained that EU261/2004 (including the reiteration issued by the EC on 18MAR) requires the carrier to refund the cost of my ticket however she stated that TAP is only issuing vouchers now because the coronavirus pandemic is a special circumstance. She was very sales-like during the call, seemed to have a lot of practice reciting the policy and touting that the voucher could be redeemed until March 2021 for travel thru Feb 2022. I refused the offer and stated I didn't want to take any action on my reservation at this time.
I'll initiate a chargeback with my credit card tomorrow, as it seems like the only hope to get my money back.I will also report to the contacts GarudaSoars mentioned.
My outbound travel is on Azores Airlines with a stopover in Ponta Delgada. I have low expectations for a resolution with them as well, but haven't brought myself to phone them yet as it requires an international call to the Azores (no US call center nor ability to manage the booking on their website) and as they have shuttered their entire operation as of yesterday I'm sure their call center is overwhelmed at the moment.
UPDATE: For my TAP flight (LIS-EWR) I filed disputes with Amex for all charges on March 21st. In mid-May, Amex stated that my disputes were closed in favor of TAP. One of the ticket disputes was refused as "TAP has advised you were offered but refused a voucher" and the other ticket dispute (for the same routing and same amount, but for a second passenger) was refused as "TAP confirms you are not entitled to a refund as you purchased a non-refundable service or product".
I reopened the disputes immediately by resubmitting all the same documentation from the first round. Amex stated that if TAP did not provide further supporting information within 15 days, the dispute would be ruled in my favor and all related charges would be credited. TAP subsequently failed to respond to Amex and the cost of the tickets and finances charges were refunded last week (3 months after initial dispute).
Similarly, Amex ruled my dispute against SATA Air Azores (PHL-BOS-PDL) for 2 tickets in my favor in mid-June. I am still waiting for a refund on 2 Azores Airlines tickets (PDL-LIS) that were paid with a separate card; by the time I took action on those SATA had finally opened a refund option on their own however they warned that it will take a long time to process.