churnandburn42

Hey all, follow up on my hopeless attempt to get a refund for a TAP flight booked through Chase's UR portal.

I've been focusing on dealing with Chase as I figured they'd have the most pull as far as getting a refund.



4/15: requested refund via TAP's site (assumed it'd be a voucher and I'd have to fight for cash)

5/26: spoke with Chase rep, they said they'd email TAP requesting a refund and I should hear back in 1-2 weeks. No response.

6/9: received TAP vouchers via email. Numerous attempts to chat/call TAP stating I don't want a voucher, I want a refund. No response or they'd say to contact chase for a refund.

6/10: filed DOT complaint

7/9: called chase, spoke with supervisor. She called TAP, no answer. Said Chase's "special team" would look into it and I'd get a response in 72 hours. No response.

7/13: received response from DOT about my complaint, said TAP had 30 days from now to respond.

7/16: called chase, spoke with supervisor. she couldn't get through to TAP and acknowledged previous chase reps had reached out. she said if TAP didn't issue a refund that I'd get a "travel credit" for the amount that a) has to be used on TAP and b) expires March 2021. I brought up the DOT laws stating that I'm owed a refund and she was VERY quick to basically say "yes that's true but no one's really enforcing that. so if TAP doesn't issue a refund then we won't issue one to you either." Wow.



So that's where I'm at, basically waiting for a response to my DOT complaint. That "travel credit" is the same to me as getting $0 so really hoping it doesn't end up going that route.

I guess I'll look into a ANAC complaint as well if a few people had luck there, but I can't seem to find an english version of the site where you can submit a complaint. The link below is in portuguese and clicking "english" at the top takes you to a different page: https://www.anac.gov.br/fale-com-a-anac

Any advice or tips would be appreciated! Glad to see others suffering in the same mess as me.

FLYDCA

How did you pay for the ticket? If you paid with Chase UR points then the best you can hope for a refund of those points. If you paid with money via credit card then you should talk to the regular credit card customer service and request a credit card dispute of the TAP charge. Note that the travel booking department for Chase is outsourced and run by Expedia. The travel folks don't deal with credit card chargeback disputes so instead, call the number on the back of your card. I was successful in getting a full refund via a Chase credit card dispute. Don't mention the vouchers just say that the services were not delivered and that you have made a good faith effort to resolve it yourself directly with TAP.

churnandburn42

I should've been clearer: I paid with UR points and yeah, all I'm looking to get is my points refunded. Unfortunately that's posing a problem since TAP has only issued vouchers and Chase doesn't seem too eager to push them harder.

To make this situation even messier... so I made the booking with UR points through Chase which had 3 legs on the ticket. The ticket was then owned by AA (meaning Chase bought the ticket from AA). Then "something weird" (quoting a rep) happened where AA partially split the ticket — AA continued to own one leg and they transferred ownership of the other 2 legs to TAP. I have no idea why this happened, but I was then given a separate ticket number for the now-owned TAP flights.

The AA leg was a pretty easy refund to get, they refunded Chase and Chase refunded my points. But the TAP part has been a nightmare.

One angle I may look into is filing a DOT complaint against AA since them splitting/transferring the ticket caused this problem, and no one seems to know why that was done.

FLYDCA

Since you paid with points your primary leverage is via the Chase Travel Agency. Expedia is good at fixing problems only when the issue is fairly simple. For anything, more complex Expedia simply does not seem to have any phone reps that are empowered with problem-solving skills that vary from a fixed list of scripted responses. You might still try to demand a further escalation and see what happens. Airlines rarely resolve travel agent issued ticket problems directly with the consumer. The consumer must ask the travel agent to resolve problems on their behalf.

For the DOT complaint, it will cause them to send the carrier a letter strongly asking them to do the right thing. Airlines will pay attention to that however DOT rarely takes enforcement action beyond the initial complaint.

churnandburn42

Yeah that seems to be what Chase has been saying, "welp, we've tried contacting TAP but we can't force them to issue a refund. And the DOT isn't enforcing the rules stating they should be issuing a refund in this case anyway." I can try pushing for it to be escalated next time I call but Chase hasn't been much help thus far.

tobiashenry

Just wondering if anyone how long does it take for TAP to issue refund coupons recently?

Often1

You might try filing a DOT complaint against TP as the refund rules specifically require TP to make the refund.

In your complaint, make it clear that you are entitled to a refund to your original form of payment and that a TP voucher is not the equivalent of your Chase points as those are more broadly useful.

Bear in mind that DOT does not urge carriers to do anything. It simply forwards your complaint to the carrier and requires the carrier to respond to you with a copy to DOT. DOT is not likely to conduct any enforcement anytime soon, but that does not mean that carriers ignore it as enforcement may come and complaint levels may affect other authorities TP needs from DOT.

Don't plan on success here. Do plan on either being stuck unless you are willing to sue in SCC and note that depending on the jurisdiction, you may only be entitled to money damages if you can make the case that the points have value.

saaveraward

Booked flights last December for travel this July. TAP canceled my flights. No email from TAP.

Filed a dispute with my credit card. TAP let the clock run out and never responded. Permanent credit by Citi mastercard.

Ernesto Perez

HI!

I had flights for this summer from Spain to the USA, and obviously, they have been cancelled by TAP. I asked for a refund on Twitter, and they gave me a ROR number that I have to check regularly on the TAP Portugal site.

My refund says "Your refund is successfully valued." I don't know if that means it has been approved or whatever, but after reading it can take several months to receive my money back, I want to ask if there is any other option to speed up the process a little bit. I have read something about a DOT complaint, but being Spanish, not American, I don't know if I can fill it or not, and if it could help me in the process.

Any help would be much appreciated. Best regards!!

saaveraward

Welcome to flyertalk!

Do you have any rights disputing the charge with your credit card issuer? There's also good info in this thread about filing a EU complaint and also a complaint with the Portugal air authority.

FLYDCA

Any passenger with a flight booking to or from the US can file a DOT complaint. DOT accepts all valid complaints regardless of residency or passport. Go ahead and file a complaint.

Often1

DOT rules apply to any commercial air ticket sold for travel to, from, or within the US. In your case, you have both a complaint to Spain's NEB under EC 261/2004 and to DOT. The former will do nothing. DOT also is unlikely to take any direct action, but it will forward your complaint to IB with a requirement that IB respond directly to you and supply a copy to DOT. Air carriers are not monolithic and the practical impact here is that a more senior or better-trained analyst will review the response to you before it is sent out and that generally has the impact of the carrier looking carefully to make certain that it is in compliance.

saaveraward

Just a note this thread is for TAP, not Iberia

maustro

I believe I am in the same boat as you. Sending you a PM

maustro

• Feb 22 : Booked TAP flight through Chase Travel using UR points
• April 29: I checked & Outbound connecting flight changed to leave before I even arrive. Never received any notification emails from Chase nor TAP. Called Chase to get a refund, they said TAP should respond shortly.
• April 30: I checked again, and both Outbound & Return flights were fully cancelled and rebooked to different dates with a 24 hour layover! Again, never received any notification.
• From April 30 to 5/5: Called several times and the last rep on 5/5 said she can send another request on my behalf as now the original flights have been cancelled & rebooked. Got an email from Chase later in the day stating that it would take 45 days to get a refund from TAP.
• 5/5 to 6/2: Called Chase several more times. No updates from TAP.
• 6/2: Filed DOT complaint against Chase. To this day (7/20) still have not heard back. I had included a 25 page document with emails and a detailed call log showing that I am eligible for a refund and they're not giving me anything.
• 6/17:
  • Noticed my TAP flights were fully cancelled. I saw on Chase Travel portal that I was getting an airline credit. Called Chase to complain and they gave BS answers stating that it's the airline policy.
  • Called TAP and went off on the poor guy. He said the itinerary was cancelled as the flights were no longer flying, but they still need to receive a refund request from Chase. I told him they already sent it multiple times, and he said he can't check that.
  • Called Chase again, and this time a nice guy helped me out and confirmed he saw the notes that I am eligible for a full refund due to the flight being cancelled by TAP. He read the updated policy and said he needs to send a refund request (sound familiar?). He mentioned this will take up to 10 weeks.
• 7/20:
  • Called Chase to get an update. Rep mentioned I am eligible for a full refund, but TAP hasn't responded yet. Nothing I can do but wait
  • Called TAP. Rep's phone was jacked up and I could barely make out a word. He said my itinerary was open and the airline needs to submit a refund request. I said we already did several times now over the past 3 months. He said refunds take up to 90 days to process, but that my request has not even been received yet. He said he can't check the system that receives the emails from airlines. I asked him for the refund department contact info and he gave me [email protected] which I hear never gets a response. I translated my email to Portuguese and sent it just to score some sympathy points.
  • Filed a new DOT complaint against TAP
  • Called TAP again and got a more helpful agent that said all she can do is give a voucher and that the 90 day waiting period for refunds is only for refunds booked directly w/ TAP. For a cash refund, it must come from the travel agency & another dept is handling that with no ETA. I ended up getting the travel agency help desk email from her (the same one that Chase emailed on my behalf).... sent a request detailing what's going on in English & poorly translated to Portuguese w/ Google Translate lol. Basically let them know that Chase has been trying to reach them, I just need them to process the refund so Chase can then refund me, etc. I received an automated response with a case #, which is better than the blackhole that is the rarefunds.tps email, but still not holding my breath as Chase still hasn't received any email responses back from them.
• 7/21: Updating this on 7/21 as I ended up receiving a DOT complaint response from my initial complaint from June 2. Responded back and let the gentleman from DOT know that I filed a new complaint as the original one was only against Chase; asked for his recommendation on how to proceed.

Throughout this time I tweeted / DMd TAP and they were unable to help me.