TP Wildbeast

Hello, First time poster, long time reader!
I just booked two award tickets for my children to London for July 2015, and paid for one child at the same time. United has a policy that they do not have a category for child award tickets (only adults) and therefore they have been charged the $111.10 UK Air Passenger Duty, which children under the age of 12 are exempt from. I spoke to United CS and the supervisor said she was really sorry but because of the award ticket classifying all tickets as adults there was nothing she could do. Any idea how I can fight this?

kmfdm91

I'd go straight to the DOT.

UA still has US$200,00 they stole from me from charging me 2 x the APD for SWU upgrades on a fare BRU-MAN-IAD when they had no right to charge it.

That said, UA's systems are absolutely awful and their employees most of the time are fairly ignorant on the rules regarding taxes/fees and will tell you pretty much anything they can to get the passenger off their back.

I didn't even know there was a rule that kids under 12 are exempt from APD, but if that's the truth (I need to do some reading now), I'll definitely consider flying to/from England now that I have a 2 year old and another on their way - that is one of the reasons I avoid the whole of England like the plague.

But, go through DOT, file a complaint, and I guarantee you'll hear back from UA once the DOT forwards the complaint to UA. That's the ONLY time I get messages on dollar refunds from UA (as a 1k). Once I cancel a flight, and do NOT get money back within 2 business weeks, I go straight to DOT, since i've waited weeks in the past without any word back from UA '1k' desk.

Good luck, and please post back to this forum - i'm really curious on what happens, since i'll travel to the UK in the next 10 years if I can avoid that fee for at least one of us!

-jeremy

aacharya

I imagine UA has not yet updated software to incorporate this exemption, which is as of April 2015. But they don't have to waive it yet, from what I read re: advice from Treasury. What they do have to do is refund the money eventually.

Let's stop the DOT prattle if it doesn't apply to the specific situation. I highly doubt the DOT will intervene with interpretations of a UK tax.

azzurro

United has ALWAYS refunded the APD when charged to me incorrectly (on several occasions, although I have never paid it on an award ticket) - but you have to request it in a specific manner (I agree should not have to be that way, but...)

AFTER the flight is completed (yes, you are giving them an interest free loan until then) go to UA site and click the drop down under RESERVATIONS, then the REFUNDS link. Enter your data and state the reason that you are eligible for an APD exemption. They will process a refund to your card in about a week to 10 days (yes, DOT rules say they have 7 days). Given that the ticket did not have a booking option for a child under 12, you may need to save documentation of the child being on the flight (customs declaration, pictures, etc). I would hope that they don't put you through the ringer asking for such proof but better to be safe having saved it... and I would create a M+ account for the child and attach it to the itinerary so they have more proof of passengers age.

TP Wildbeast

Thanks for all the advice guys. The rule does come into effect after April 2015 for children under 12, but what drove me crazy was the fact that they applied the correct duty and taxes to my paid ticket, but told me that my children would have to pay an incorrect duty and that there was nothing I could do. Azzuro...I think I will wait it out until after the trip and then "call in the loan". If that doesn't work I can always go nuclear and try the DOT route.
Cheers for the advice.

mgcsinc

Use the DOT as your first route.

UA has made a practice, largely through technical issues it doesn't bother to fix, of charging pass-through taxes and fees that don't actually apply, and that you can be darn sure it never actually pays. The only way to end this practice is to keep going directly to the DOT every time it occurs. For everyone that requests a refund, there are countless others who get ripped off.

TP Wildbeast

How do I complain via the DOT?

mduell

http://www.dot.gov/airconsumer/air-t...t-comment-form

TP Wildbeast

Thank you!

garykung

OMG...

APD for under 12 was just abolished 3 weeks ago.

And it is all the way to DOT??

Come on...you know how slow UA's IT right?

cfischer

According to the OP it sounds like UA does not intend to ever refund the $200 they charged in error. This IMO should go to the DOT because UA charges a tax which does not exist and pockets the money. I'd write to UA and demand a refund of the $200 and only if the written response is negative mail it onwards to the DOT for resolution. I found the DOT to be very responsive attaching written communication from UA which clearly states what they are doing.

kmfdm91

Yes, absolutely, right to the DOT (no sarcasm at all). UA has no intention of fixing anything that pockets them money and forces the passenger to KNOW the rules/laws and call/request money back. The big kicker here is that there are easily hundreds/thousands of passengers who don't read FT or know the rules and have no clue that they are owed money. UA is still keeping all those funds.

In addition, if this was reversed and a new fare was ADDED 3 weeks ago, I guarantee that UA would have their systems fixed to COLLECT that money on Day 1.

Again, the DOT needs to hear this error in fare calculation, since UA [even if they intend to fix it] should be penalized, even in the form of 'number of complaints received' for having this still as part of the fare.

-jeremy

mduell

I bet the UK Treasury (or HMRC?) would love to hear about taxes being collected in their name and not remitted. The taxman tends to take a very dim view of that sort of behavior (even moreso than not collecting the tax).

kmfdm91

Absolutely...and the crummy thing is that there are bunches of people being charged this tax (APD) that do not owe it. And I'm sure there are much fewer of said set of people who read FT, go through the arduous process of asking 'pretty please, United, can I have my money back that I shouldn't have paid in the first place', actually getting their money back, and THEN filing a claim with the DOT. That larger set of people would be pretty damning, if there ever was an Audit on UA for this group of people (especially in the group of SWU usage that use the UK as a transfer only).

-jeremy

Wombat1

This has been my experience as well even though UA was not a fault. I arrived in the UK on another carrier less than 24 hours before departing on a UA flight and the APD was refunded in less than two weeks upon presentation of the appropriate documentation without any fuss at all.