The facts of this case:
1. July 2019 -- bought and paid thru Expedia, a one way flight on
American Airlines HKG/LAX for US$800, for travel May 2020
2. AA notified me on 12 March 2020 cancellation of flight with full cash refund, and confirmed on 21 April that refund had been processed and sent to Expedia
3. Expedia on 13 April wrote me and said that as I "wanted to cancel the AA flight that they (Expedia) has cancelled and that per AA policy, I am entitled to a voucher credit for US$800 for future travel only HKG/LAX". I replied saying Expedia's assertion is incorrect in that not me that cancelled, but AA cancelled, and I requested cash refund to my M/C card. Since then Expedia has not replied.

I am considering:
a. Asking bank that issued my M/C to do a chargeback, but payment (July 2019) is more than 60 days from my request, which I understand is the limit for requesting a chargeback. Is this 60 days limit universal (US only) or applies to all banks (bank is in Hong Kong)?
b. Filing a claim under my annual travel insurance policy for flight cancellation due to factors beyond my control, but not sure of outcome, and also for theft since once AA confirmed refund made, the cash refund now is my property. To do so, I would need to file a police report in Hong Kong against Expedia domiciled in Singapore, per their receipt of payment. A police report has to accompany any claim for loss under the travel insurance policy.
c. File a complaint to US DOT against American Airlines for not processing the refund to me, but to Expedia. American claims the fare is a "bulk fare" and that purchase is from Expedia and therefore refund should be from Expedia. AA of course has all details of this booking, ie my name, email, amount of purchase, booking record, etc. I have had a lot of transactions with Expedia in past (flights/hotels bookings) and have not had any issues with Expedia in past, until now.

Can anyone advise me further what I should do? I have documents of all of the above actions/communications, etc.

Thanks in advance.

Having same problem, but only 10 days have expired for me. Look at the article in the Washington Post last week that provides how to force a refund. There is a US statute that requires your credit card company to refund.

Thanks but bank and I also are in Hong Kong. US statute would do me no good. Just the complaint against
American Airlines might help though.

How is AA at fault? You booked through Expedia.

AA is the supplier of the product/service, and Expedia is merely the selling agent. As an example, if you
bought a GM Holden car from Aussie Car Sellers and the Holden falls apart after six months. According to
your reasoning, how is GM Holden at fault? You bought the car from Aussie Car Seller? Of course, GM Holden
has the responsibility to make good on its product/service.

Not quite the same thing.....(the "car" has not yet fallen apart, and the warranty is in fact promised by the manufacturer) But that is irrelevant. You purchased through Expedia, they are your Travel Agent. Hasn't it always been the case that until what, 24 hours before flight time (?) ALL dealings about a ticket must be made through the agent you purchased from? If you paid Expedia and not AA, why should AA refund direct to you? Was the payment processed as directly to AA? That would make a difference I suspect...

Trooper, I am just interested in getting a refund from Expedia or AA. It doesn't matter what your opinion is, and I have no desire to enter into a "who's right" type of discussion with you. Your beliefs are yours alone and don't affect or interest me in any way. For what it's worth, I have filed a complaint with US DOT and have sent a request to my bank to reverse the charge from Expedia. I'll let you folks here know whether anything develops from these two actions. I will also file a claim with my travel insurance policy writer and if they need, file a report with the police for theft and uttering a false statement and issuing a false document by Expedia.

Quick update: 1. I've filed claims with Bank for chargeback and with insurance company for claim due to cancellation and theft of monies. Both under investigation. 2. AA has replied that ticket purchased was a "bulk fare" and thus refund was applied for by Expedia and has been paid to Expedia. I have contested this that there was never any indication of Expedia being reseller, that I never instructed Expedia to cancel the booking, and that AA has viewed me as the passenger with direct contact, and to advise flight's cancellation. I have filed complaint with US DOT.

3. Expedia initially claimed AA's policy is for voucher/credit only for future flight, and has now acknowledged that I am due a refund, which would take 8 - 12 weeks to process to my original form of payment. 4. I have contested this that AA has claimed refund has been passed to Expedia, and I have given Expedia one week to process refund to me; otherwise I will file charge with police against Expedia, its directors and staff for theft and fraudulent claims.

And this is where we stand at the moment. If refund is properly processed, I will withdraw my claims with Bank and insurance company, or to claim only for actual direct loss I may suffer.

AA was absolutely correct and you were wrong.

You chose to purchase through Expedia, gave your money to Expedia and it is Expedia which owed you a refund when AA cancelled its flight.

The rest, including police complaints and the like is over the top hyperbole, will go nowhere, and will if anything, slow down your refund.

The lesson iearned is not to purchase through opaque third parties such as Expedia. Had you purchased from AA, you would have had a refund from AA, typically within 8-10 days of your online request. No phone calls, no arguments, and no wasted time.

I could care less whether anyone here thinks I am right or wrong. The point is that if AA claims that the product offered is an Expedia product as a reseller, then it's up to Expedia to make good on offering the flight on the Expedia product that I purchased. AA is irrelevant to me as purchaser of an Expedia product. Yet, Expedia and AA acted in the role that it's an AA product and Expedia is merely the selling agent of an AA product, from which the money flowed from me as purchaser to AA thru an intermediary agent to the supplier AA. Expedia is either a reseller or agent; it can't have it both ways and assumes one or the other depending upon which role it finds advantageous to it.

Regardless, I'm satisfied with the way I handled this, and whether anyone thinks my actions are over the top or time-consuming is irrelevant to me. I have not wasted any minute on phone calls; all messages done quickly via email. We all have different methods to achieve the objective desired.

Lesson learned: can continue to share experiences on Flyertalk, but recognize that there are some folks here eager to show how bright, smart, and correct they are.

Glad it worked out for you.

Did the police seek international extradition warrants for Expedia or AA directors or officers or was this simply processed as a refund?

You got to be kidding right? Criminal charges against Exp., its directors, etc.? Are you really expecting the police to take you seriously?
Rest assured that you will get your refund at some stage - it just take longer now due to the current unprecedented situation with a number refunds to be processed. You should acknowledge that, move on and wait for the refund to be processed eventually.

"Case # DKxxx

Dear (tangoll)

This responds to your communication regarding American Airlines and Expedia. The U.S. Department of Transportation seeks to ensure that all airline passengers are treated fairly. Complaints from consumers are helpful to us in determining whether the airlines are in compliance with the law and to track trends or spot areas of concern that warrant further action.

I will forward your complaint to the companies and ask the company to respond directly to you with a copy to us. Airlines are required to acknowledge receipt of a consumer complaint within 30 days and provide a substantive response to the complainant within 60 days. I will review the airline's response. If you need to contact me please email me. Please include your name and case number (see above).

If my review of your complaint and the response from the company discloses a potential violation of our rules, our office may pursue enforcement action. Generally, our office pursues enforcement action on the basis of a number of complaints which may indicate a pattern or practice of violating our rules. Your complaint may be among those considered and may lead to appropriate enforcement action including the assessment of civil penalties. However, our office has no authority to order compensation for individual complainants.

I have entered your complaint in our computerized industry monitoring system, and it will be counted among the number of complaints filed against these companies in our monthly Air Travel Consumer Report. This report allows consumers and air travel companies to compare the complaint records of individual airlines and tour operators. The data in this report also serve as a basis for rulemaking, legislation and research. Consumer information for air travelers, including the Air Travel Consumer Report and our pamphlet Fly-Rights, a Consumer's Guide to Air Travel, can be found on our website: www.transportation.gov/airconsumer.

Thank you for taking the time to contact us.

Sincerely,

XXX

U.S. Department of Transportation

Aviation Consumer Protection Division

(Attachments)
AMERICAN AIRLINES

05/03/2020

HKG/LAX/AA192

Description of Problem/Inquiry

Booking Record XXX Ticket purchased on 07/03/2019 from Expedia.com.hk for $XXX paid in full via Mastercard. AA cancelled flight on 03/12/2020, and claims on 04/21/2020 that refund paid to Expedia. Expedia claims I cancelled flight, which is incorrect, and offers only a voucher/credit for same amount for same itinerary HKG/LAX for future use. I request DOT to cause AA to refund the amount to me instead. Thank you.

EXPEDIA.COM

HKG/LAX/AA192

Description of Problem/Inquiry ( Same as above).

"End of reply"

Just as further update, my annual travel insurance policy paid 50% of the cost of the air ticket, as settlement for flight cancellation by AA. Pandemic/government regulation didn't enter into the consideration. Policy is to pay 50% of loss. There was no "cancel for any reason" clause.

If I am fully refunded by AA or Expedia or bank issues 100% chargeback, I will return the insurance payment to the insurance company.

Rest assured that your travel insurance will notify Exp/AA to withhold their part of any refund payable to you. Receiving full monetary refund after being indemnified by your travel insurers (wholly or partly) is unlikely - your travel insurers are not stupid.