Credit card chargeback for canceled Avianca fligt
 

Avianca canceled a flight I was booked on in July and refused to give a refund; what are my chances of making a successful chargeback claim (Citicard)? The fare was non-refundable, but it was Avianca that canceled the flight!

Call AV again. Chargeback is the last resort as the credit card issuer is likely to side with the airline if AV replies that there is no refund/the fare is non-refundable.

Do you have documentation of the cancelation and the refund request? If so, initiate the chargeback with those.

Chargeback works best when the other party affirmatively agreed to refund you (but did not)

Partially related - I had a ticket for a flight that had a significant change of schedule. Under normal circumstances probably would have gotten a refund no problem. However, this was in March, so I simply could not get through to Expedia in time (no one answered the phone for several days). So, was unable to cancel before the flight. Tried chargeback - CC sided with Expedia. It "should have" been a refund, but was not.

That is dreadful, though in UK you would have section 75 recourse as CC is jointly liable for delivery of services. With a proof of having tried to contact expedia this should work (again only in UK)

I had initiated a charge back with credit card company, which they have now declined. Their denial states:
"The merchant has informed us that credit was issued as a future flight credit that is available for you to use. Based on the information available, we have closed our investigation and reversed our credit"

How do you suggest I respond to this? An early response would be appreciated.

You should ask Citi to prove that AV has issued a flight credit.

:confused: How should Citi prove this? Nonsense...such reply/request to Citi will just be ignored/will lead nowhere.

If the OP wants to pursue the charge back further - which will most likely be fruitless - the OP needs to reply to Citi and contest that he/she received a flight credit.

In the end, that's the same that I was suggesting:

The answers to these question depend on the jurisdiction. Also, not to be confused are situations where the carrier cancelled and the passenger cancelled (even if for good reason).

For tickets covered either by EC 261/2004 (EU carrier or any carrier departing the EU) or US DOT rule (any US carrier ticket anywhere or any carrier to or from the US), the passenger is entitled to a full refund to the original form of payment, that refund to be initiated within 7 days (14 if a third-party such as a travel agent).

The key to successful chargeback is to do everything in writing and to document the chargeback fully. It ought to include: 1. Copy of e-ticket receipt. 2. Cancellation notice (or something showing flight cancelled) 3. Request by passenger for refund. 4. Any response from the carrier or a note from passenger that no response has been received and no refund initiated.

Finally, make it clear that you do not accept a flight credit or other form of voucher.

In the case of a ticket covered by US DOT rules, also file a complaint. The form is online and free. DOT does not enforce individual claims, but it does require the carrier to respond in writing with a copy to DOT. A properly documented complaint (which is forwarded to the carrier) makes it hard for the carrier to do much other than respond that it has issued or agreed to a refund.

Unfortunately this was a US to South America journey, so EC261 does not apply. Also, this was something that AV canceled - not I

Have filed DOT complaint but that does not get my money back. The question is how to escalate this dispute with Citi to make them return my money?

You have a crossed wire with Citi. I would "appeal," make certain that you are providing the documents noted above and that you do not want a credit, but a refund (as you are entitled to under US law). Keep it simple and short, but in writing.

I also had my flight (originating in MIA) cancelled by Avianca on Mar 17 and they continue to say my refund is "in process", but do not pay me. Barclays would not honor a charge back even with all the documentation listed above. They denied my appeal too ! I will file the DOT complaint but it does not look good. Think twice before handing over your hard earned cash to a foreign corporation domiciled in a country where consumer protection is effectively nonexistent.

Sorry to hear that some of you are having problems with chargebacks/disputes.

I had a cancellation from Avianca in April - after about 5 weeks of “your refund is being processed” I filed the dispute with my card - Discover.

They immediately posted a temporary credit to my account and - about 3 weeks later - said that Avianca had not contested the credit and closed the dispute in my favor.

I have another dispute in process — Iberia/Priceline and a Chase card — that is not going as smoothly. I’d suggest finding a phone number for the “disputes office” and trying to explain the issue to a real person (with some authority for disputes, not just customer service).

The previous poster is correct - make sure to have lots of documentation available.

Good luck!

Bill

Did Barclay really wrote you something like that? Or are this information only based on phone calls?