SPQR63

Dear all,

First and foremost thank you for hosting me, and apologies if something like this has already been answered in the forum. I swear I searched it before starting this new thread but I couldn't find anything similar to my case.

I live in California and on June 17th I should have flown to Rome, Italy with Virgin Atlantic. We were at the peak of the pandemic so Virgin Atlantic canceled my flights.
I bought the tickets through Fareboom.com. Fareboom.com asked me $75.00/passenger as a reimbursement fee, which I paid, but after such a long time as I didn't get my money back yet, I am starting worrying I lost it.

The action I took so far was to file with AIG as I bought the insurance. I also filed a consumer complaint with U.S. Department of Transportation and also filed with my bank for the $75 refund fee because according to what I found online If a passenger is owed a refund, an airline, travel agent, or online travel agency must process it within seven business days if the passenger paid by credit card, and 20 business days if the passenger paid by cash or check and this has clearly not happened.

Not because I am a pessimist person, but after such a long time I am really afraid I won't see my money anymore.

Shall I passively wait, I know the civil aviation industry has been severely hit and they might have a lot of requests to process, or is there any other action I can take?

Thank you very much in advance for your kind answers/suggestions.

DYKWIA

If you paid by credit card, the ask the CC company to do a chargeback. It should be a simple case.

MSPeconomist

What do we know about this OLTA? To me, it sounds like a scam to ask a customer to pay $75 in new money for a refund for a flight that was cancelled by the airline.

If you paid with a USA credit card, do a chargeback and be careful about deadlines and other requirements (snail mail with proof of receipt?).

:D!

This is unusual. A reputable travel agent would simply deduct their fee from the refund the airline sends them. I have not heard of travel agents asking for payment in order to begin processing refunds before.

Their website says that refunds can take up to 8 weeks, therefore as it has been 8 weeks they have failed to fulfill their contract and you should ask your credit card company to file a chargeback for both the original ticket and this refund "fee".

Often1

If your air carrier cancelled your ticket, US law requires that you receive a full refund of the ticket price within 14 days (in the case of a third-party vendor such as Fareboom). It is unclear exactly when you requested your refund from Fareboom, but whatever that date is, is the date you should have filed a chargeback dispute with your credit card issuer. A DOT complaint is a good idea too, but it is the credit card chargeback which generates the refund. Note that since you chose to use Fareboom and agreed to its contract conditions, if it charges a fee, that is between you and Fareboom.

Your chargeback should be in writing and should include the following documents: 1. The notice of cancellation. 2. Your request for a refund. 3. Copy of the original e-ticket receipt. 4. Copy of DOT Warning Letter from March. 5. Any response from Fareboom.

Make certain that you do this immediately. While most card issuers permit a greater period of time, they are only required to consider a chargeback made within 60 days of the date the service was to have been provided. That was June 17, the date of your flight and thus, you are now beyond the deadline.

warakorn

Wow! This is the first time I am hearing about such a scam.
Basically, the passenger is asked to give fresh money in order get a vague "promise" of a refund.
Did Fareboom give you any update on the refund status, or is fareboom.com playing dead?

Often1

Because this is a public site and others rely on it for broader-based advice:

1. Don't use opaque third-party vendors such as this. It may not even be a TA, but rather simply a website which brings sellers & buyers together. A 30-second search reveals countless complaints with very few satisfied customers. Thus, a doubly bad idea.

2. If you absolutely insist on using one of these outfits, read the contract. Carefully. These guys charge a fee. If you agree to pay it, guess what? You are stuck paying it.

3. When things go sideways, do not wait around for a refund. US law is clear that when the carrier cancels or significantly changes the flight, that you are entitled to a refund within 14 days (when booked through a third party). If you request a refund and it does not arrive, you should start a chargeback on the 15th day. Don't wait. Time os not on your side.

paperwastage

which US law?

the DOT rule is only for direct airline purchase

https://www.transportation.gov/sites...%202020%29.pdf

SPQR63

Finally, I got a full refund today for the air tickets. Believe me, I was really worried. Thanks everyone for your time.

SPQR63

Remember I had also submitted a claim to AIG Travel Insurance? They just sent an email that the issued payment for my canceled trip. I am tempted to keep it. Just kidding, but I am curious to know what happens if I keep it and don't tell them I was already refunded by the airline company?

Often1

It is, of course, both mail fraud and possibly wire fraud to do so. Whether one is caught depends on whether the insurance carrier does a routine post-claim check with the air carrier to determine whether a refund was made. One would expect that most of those would simply result in a fairly sharp demand for repayment.

SPQR63

I was just wondering, I sent the payment back.