WineCountryUA

Any suggestion on getting Philippine Airlines to provide a refund for a canceled flight? Query for daughter and husband.

Booked via Expedia (Nov 2019), SFO-MNL-SFO, departing 8 June but canceled by PAL a week earlier and no alternative provided (or wanted). First tried Expedia for refund, they said PAL did not approve a refund (may have not even responded). Expedia offer rebooking credit expiring Nov 2020.

Then emailed PAL (not able to get them on the phone) - after 3 weeks no response. Now pursuing DOT complaint. A chargeback is an issue as the card was canceled months prior to the flight.

Seems an easy, clear cut refund situation. Understand some carriers are taking months to process refunds but so far unable to get PAL to response at all.

SpeedAdvantage

Hope this helps. Flight cancelled by Philippine Airlines, flight date March 18. Booked via Agoda so had to deal with them not PR. Initially agoda refused to provide a refund and reiterates PR only issues travel voucher. PR website says I'm entitled for a refund if my flight is cancelled. Went back and forth with Agoda until they relented. Got the refund around May (2 tickets) and June (2 tickets) total of four tickets with different PNRs.

I'd say if the refund request is properly executed by OTA which in your case Expedia, can't see why PR would refuse to refund.

WineCountryUA

Expedia has agreed to make another try with PAL

Often1

A chargeback should not be an issue, but will need to be initiated before August 7 (60 days from the day on which the service was to have been provided). It will simply need to be done in writing to the address provided by the card issuer on the statement because there is no longer online access and as a former customer, it will be important to track the requirements of the statute and contract..

Along with the request, you should supply a copy of the DOT rule, the e-ticket receipt, the cancellation notice, the request for a refund and the response.

It will be for the carrier and Expedia to sort it out internally, but the chargeback is against the vendor initiating the charge (which could be either).

The chargeback should eventually appear as a credit and you will then have to contact the card issuer to request a check.

Good luck.

TomYoung

In January I bought direct from PAL a ticket MNL/BNE/MNL for my son, out in Feb, rtn in Apr. He flew in Feb but in Mar PAL cancelled his return flight. After the flight was cancelled I claimed a refund by email for the return flight. On May 5 PAL advised me that the refund had been processed and gave me a reference number but also advised that I would have to wait up to 90 bank working days for it to appear in my credit card statement. I am still waiting. Contrast this with Cathay Pacific who have sent me 7 refunds each within 20 days of my lodging my claim for refund. Neither I nor my son will be flying on PAL ever again if I am buying the ticket.

Often1

You don't provide your location or the location of your card issuer (bank). But, it seems that a credit card chargeback was in order quite some time ago. There should not be any reluctance to file these and to be certain that they are done in writing and include all of the backup documents in the packet (uploaded or otherwise).

TomYoung

I have now been advised that "due to the high volume of requests and limitations from the enhanced community quarantine" I should now allow 5 months from the date when the refund was processed for the [refund] amount to be credited to my [credit card] account. What a joke. I wonder how they can maintain their fleet when it takes them 5 months to make a payment!

Armchair Flyer

Not for no reason were Philippine Airlines Banned with a capital B from flying to many countries not so long ago........

As for the refund, if they stay in business, which, now given the economic and quarantine situation in Philippines I suspect like many other carriers hangs in the balance, you should get it. I purchased a pair of defective Sennheiser earbuds from Sennheiser through a well known online Retailer here in PH well over 2 months ago. Only last week did they tell me they were (finally) processing the refund which could take up to 45 banking days to hit my account. So 5+ months worst case.

It’s the way here. But at least you should get it.

AF

WineCountryUA

Just to close the loop on this, daughter did eventually get a refund for the PAL/Expedia flights. Took a couple of follow-ups with the US DOT
So possible but took close to 7 months.

TomYoung

I received my in December after squatting in their downtown Makati office where a lovely lass took pity on me and squeezed their payment folk. Nothing could be achieved remotely.