Originally Posted by WineCountryUA

Not sure what you are expecting but since you did use the outbound, your refund will be for just the return portion.

You might say 1/2 refund is appropriate but UA will look at the outbound ticket and if a higher fare class than the return, the split will not be 50/50 and it is very plausible the this would lead to a less than 50% refund or more than 50% refund. Without the ticket / fare construction details it is impossible to tell.

The fact you independent rebooked yourself let UA off the hook for what you purchased. That may be hard to take but that is the way it works.

Eight months later it is unlikely a charge back will work and once UA demonstrate to the credit card company you took the outboard, you would have not gotten a 100% refund.

So what are your expectations? With that we can help you determine if they are realistic or not.

You may be able to get some flight credit as compensation and departing from FCO there may be EU 261 compensation.
But again more info is need especially on what you have been requesting.

The DOT complaint is a way to get a higher quality representative but first you need to understand what you are entitled to and we can help with that. (with more information)
If you know it, what was the reason for the cancellation
Did you receive any compensation to date
The $1,000 was it a credit or refund (sort of sorts like EU 261 comp)
Your outboard and return fare classes
Are these number for a single passenger or were there multiple passengers?