Lufthansa refuses to refund a cancelled ticket!
Jun 14, 2022, 11:47 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2022
Posts: 4
Lufthansa refuses to refund a cancelled ticket!
In February I bought a LH ticket for travel from DC-Ankara in May. When I checked the ticket status a few weeks prior to departure, it had been cancelled. LH never informed me of the cancellation, and when I called their help desk, they refused to reinstate the ticket or to provide a refund. They claimed I had requested a cancellation, but in fact I asked their customer service team to refund a seat assignment fee for a flight that had been rebooked, and the team mistakenly cancelled the ticket. I had to purchase a second ticket to complete my travel plans. This is a very dishonest company, not fair to customers at all!
Jun 14, 2022, 12:12 pm
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 11,578
Did you speak to LH over the phone or via email? If written then its easy to prove you asked only for ASR refund.
If over the phone I strongly suggest recording all calls with LH Group because they lie so much. It's very easy to prove matters if you need to. Do NOT rely on their own call recording which means you need to use GDPR to get access. It's easy to record on an Android device.
If over the phone I strongly suggest recording all calls with LH Group because they lie so much. It's very easy to prove matters if you need to. Do NOT rely on their own call recording which means you need to use GDPR to get access. It's easy to record on an Android device.
Jun 14, 2022, 12:46 pm
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Stoke on Trent, UK (MAN ), BUE, BKK, DBV
Programs: LH HON***,UA,BA.EK Gold,AV.
Posts: 11,638
In February I bought a LH ticket for travel from DC-Ankara in May. When I checked the ticket status a few weeks prior to departure, it had been cancelled. LH never informed me of the cancellation, and when I called their help desk, they refused to reinstate the ticket or to provide a refund. They claimed I had requested a cancellation, but in fact I asked their customer service team to refund a seat assignment fee for a flight that had been rebooked, and the team mistakenly cancelled the ticket. I had to purchase a second ticket to complete my travel plans. This is a very dishonest company, not fair to customers at all!
Jun 14, 2022, 1:05 pm
#4
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: USA, France
Programs: LH HON*****, AF/KL Gold; HHilton Diamond; Marriott Gold; IHG Platinium; Avis PresClub
Posts: 934
Was your email address stored in the details of your reservation? Didn't you receive any email post your phone call concerning your seat reservation reimbursement demand?
Jun 14, 2022, 1:40 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2022
Posts: 4
Did you speak to LH over the phone or via email? If written then its easy to prove you asked only for ASR refund.
If over the phone I strongly suggest recording all calls with LH Group because they lie so much. It's very easy to prove matters if you need to. Do NOT rely on their own call recording which means you need to use GDPR to get access. It's easy to record on an Android device.
If over the phone I strongly suggest recording all calls with LH Group because they lie so much. It's very easy to prove matters if you need to. Do NOT rely on their own call recording which means you need to use GDPR to get access. It's easy to record on an Android device.
Jun 14, 2022, 1:44 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2022
Posts: 4
Yes, they had my email address, but I received no notification whatsoever concerning the cancellation or reimbursement. It was only when I went to check my flight status a few weeks prior to departure that I discovered that the ticket was cancelled.
Jun 14, 2022, 2:44 pm
#8
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Stoke on Trent, UK (MAN ), BUE, BKK, DBV
Programs: LH HON***,UA,BA.EK Gold,AV.
Posts: 11,638
Jun 15, 2022, 1:37 am
#9
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Denmark
Programs: TK Elite
Posts: 11,846
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Jun 15, 2022, 8:53 am
#11
Join Date: Mar 2022
Location: WAW
Programs: LH FTL, AY+ Gold, BAEC Silver, AF FB
Posts: 122
What a disappointing experience. My two cents of advice: whenever you call CS (any airline, not just LH) to have something in your booking modified, don't hang up when you think you are done. Tell them to ask to send you an email confirmation and kindly ask them to patiently wait with you on the line while you wait for this email to come through or while you log into your booking to see the changes reflected as desired. It usually just takes 2-3 additional minutes, but it can be worth a lot in case the agent messes up and you are able to address it right away instead of ringing again and trying to explain and clear up someone else's mess to a totally different agent.
Jun 15, 2022, 9:41 am
#12
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 11,578
When I change a booking by phone, I get an email titled "Changes to your booking" from [email protected] with a reply address of [email protected].
It doesn't have a PNR and if it has a ticket number, it's the old one because the booking is NOT ticketed. The only number that is there is the FQTV.
After some time its not unusual for these changes to be cancelled by the robot because the ticket is not reissued in-time and this email is basically useless.
It doesn't have a PNR and if it has a ticket number, it's the old one because the booking is NOT ticketed. The only number that is there is the FQTV.
After some time its not unusual for these changes to be cancelled by the robot because the ticket is not reissued in-time and this email is basically useless.
Jun 17, 2022, 4:35 pm
#13
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: OSL/IAH/ZRH (time, not preference)
Programs: UA1K, LH GM, AA EXP->GM
Posts: 38,265
I had reservations reinstated that were wiped by the system.