IntVic

Rang AA on July 4 requesting to change the time of my LAX -SFO flight which was part of the itinerary SYD-LAX-SFO-LHR for flights on July 8.
AA agent verbally confirmed I could change the flights and charged £79 for the change of flight fee. In checking the app and website, no flight change appeared and I rang AA on July 7 when they said the flight change could not be made and was verbally promised a refund of the £79.
A week passed and no refund was made so I submitted a refund request online with AA but no response.
Rang AA customer service but they couldn’t help and suggested I email a complaint which I have done.
I raised a dispute with American Express to the £79 charge, but AA sent documentation to AmEx showing all the flights I took to and from Australia. Of course I took the flights, I am not disputing that, just the £79 they charged me.
It is not a great deal of money, but where do you suggest I go from here? Could I request a copy of the calls I made assuming AA records them?

Often1

I would just wait for a response. Every time you contact AA, it is effectively resetting the "clock" on your submission. Calling will not make this any faster or slower. I certainly would not expect to hear anything for a good 45-60 days from your last submission.

You could complain to DOT (onlune and cost-free), but that is frankly not going to help here in that AA will simply respond with the same documentation it provided to Amex.

You could also sue AA in small claims court. It is unclear to me where you are located, as your profile does not give a location, but one suspects the UK based on payment in £ and BAEC status. Thus, small claims is likely to be an unworkable solution.

mikew99

I wouldn't deal with AA anymore about this; it looks as if you have done all you can with AA.

I would deal directly with Amex. Assuming there's no discrepancy between the flight that you booked and the flight that you flew, then for what is the £79 charge? If it shows up as (or AA verifies it is) a flight change fee, then that makes it easier for Amex to rule in your favor.

Even without this, I have had credit card companies give me a (permanent) credit as a courtesy, which they might very well do given your explanation of the issue.

IntVic

Yes I am based in the UK, and thanks for the info re dates. I will wait and see what AA has to say.

IntVic

Thanks for this suggestion. I am and will chase this up with American Express who when I spoke with an agent said it looks like AA are stating in their submissions that you purchased a one way ticket from Australia to UK for £79.

Dave Noble

Respond to American express that there is no dispute that those flights were flown, but the GBP79 charge was for a change fee where the change was refused to be made by the airline after receiving payment - American Express will then handle it

Don't bother talking to AA

dwugson

Agree totally. American Express is wonderful at sorting these things out. I would let them deal with AA, they've been able to help me in the past with a similar situation.

reeg2

Sometimes, they're great. Sometimes they do what has already happened to OP - they get information and do not apply any rational thought.

I had an issue where I ordered something, confirmed with company a delivery date as it was needed for a presentation. Company did not ship as promised, so I called and emailed telling them not to bother, do not ship. They shipped anyway, then wouldn't refund shipping charges. Had to go back to Amex three times asking what I could have done differently - was promised something, didn't get it, asked through all available means to cancel, then got the run-around.

Amex finally came around...

Often1

The issue with Amex on small amounts such as this is that Amex sometimes eats the chargeback amount depending on how it values the customer. It is entirely possible that a merchant vendor does dispute a chargeback, but that Amex pays out anyway and eats the funds. Apparently not in OP's case.

puchong

I think £75 is not an easily digested goodwill credit, even for Amex

Often1

For a high-end customer who hasn't abused this in the past, it's far from too large.

Dave Noble

It is normal chargeback processing
Customer disputes the charge
Card company contacts the merchant that then has a time limit to respond
If Card company gets response , it passes it to customer
If reason is invalid, it is for the customer to inform card company of how the defence is invalid
Card company goes back to company with this

It isn't for the card company to apply thought , rational or otherwise

In this case, it is simply a service was charged for and not received and I am sure will be dealt with.

IntVic

Update.... American Express came through and stated that they will refund the money AA charged . Took a few days for AmEx to sort it out, but I'm pleased as AA was useless in resolving this matter.

dwugson

Thanks for letting us know, have always found the cc companies and American Express in particular, great at resolving this type of issue.

Often1

If this was resolved this quickly, it is almost a certainty that Amex ate the £79. It may or may not recover from AA depending on the AA response, but it is a matter of customer goodwill to take the risk on a smallish amount.