I've used an Amex and Chase a a couple of times to help resolve such issues when poor customer service and/or lack of response from the merchant was the cause. I've always been successful. At a minimum, it forces the merchant to respond. If they don't, typically by default the matter is decided in favor of the card holder.

That said, I don't abuse privilege of transaction disputes. I also suspect my generally high use of cards and strong repayment history plays a role in how the issuer chooses to handle such gray area disputes.

I agree not to do a chargeback - after all you accepted the additional charge. It doesnt matter if that was your only choice.

Even though i am thankful for everyone's opinions and advice, i have to admit that i do not intend to ask for a charge-back, bc the amount is negligible and i have a long-lasting relationship with USairways with no major problems.

I would not even file a complain, if i weren't concerned about the possibility of this practice becoming a policy..

Please elaborate about the "risks." You gave no real details in your earlier posts aside from referring to other FT'ers who have encountered non-specifiied "problems."

(putting on my airline executive hat)

The *worst* thing for the airline (and BEST for you) is to go thru the U.S. DOT Consumer Protection group as this can fall under fraudulent pricing
(i kid you not, this happened at another airline and I had to handle it after an agent made an error in a reservation, and it too, was "fixed" at check-in.. customer complained, then i get a nasty gram from DOT along with a copy of the laws regarding pricing)

http://airconsumer.dot.gov/CP_AirlineService.htm

this gets recorded AND MARKED... and it goes to a different level of customer relations folks (outside the zombies paid $9/hour that just do auto-replies "screw you").

That's important. No relationship is wrinkle-free, and I'd give them every chance to correct their mistake befoire going to DOT.

If the email (as described in post 9) doesn't bring satisfaction, call the CP Desk and ask to speak with the duty supervisor. Saying something like, "One of the CP Desk agents has made a mistake in my reservation, and I'd like to speak with a supervisor" should get you past the initial screening.

Then explain that you've been througn Refund and Customer Service and gotten nowwhere, that you've had a long relationship iwth US and believe you're right and would prefer to settle this in-house before going elsewhere.

Best wishes.

Well I would immediately do a chargeback of the $150, you did not receive what you paid for.

This is really not the case at all. If the OP had cancelled at the airport, that wouldn't bring the $150 change fee back.

US charged $150 to change the ticket, then demanded further payment later which wasn't part of the agreement. That is not just poor CS, it's fraud. Credit card charge-back of the amount obtained fraudulently at check-in is totally reasonable.

First of all, thank you all for your advice and suggestions!! I received a message from USairways that they are going to refund the additional amount to my credit card. I think that they did the right thing!!

Here is the message i received:

Dear Mr. Nikolaos

Thank you for contacting Customer Relations at US Airways. We appreciate hearing from our customers and having an opportunity to address their concerns.

I apologize for the error when the agent was working to rebook your ticket. On your behalf, a refund request has been submitted to our Refunds Department for the additional fare. Please allow up to three weeks for review and processing. The refund will be credited back to the original form of payment. When a credit card is used for payment, it may take 1 to 2 billing cycles for the refund to be reflected on the statement. After allowing three weeks for the refund to be processed, you may check the status of your refund online. Please direct all future refund status inquiries to our Refunds Department using the following link:

http://www2.usairways.com/en-US/cont...fund_info.html

Please reference your 13-digit ticket number

We appreciate and value your business and are working hard to earn your continued patronage. I sincerely hope we have an opportunity to restore your confidence in our service.

Sincerely,


XXXX XXXX
Representative, Customer Relations
US Airways Corporate Office

A concise inquiry to the correct dept does MIRACLES!^

Kudos to the US customer service agent who handled this complaint!

Funny that refunds take forever and charges are immediate.

If you mean it's funny in the same way that Jodi Foster's camera recording 18 hours of static in _Contact_ was funny, then yes, I agree with you.

Ottermatic

(1) They are not entitled to change the deal that was made at the time of offer and acceptance. t&c is not the law.
(2) This "Poor CS" DOES translate to legal right to claim as "billing error" under Fair Credit Billing Act.
(3) For Credit Card issuer a "chargeback" is the legal obligation and it is paid for by the merchant, not the card issuer.
(4) credit card issuer that retaliates against its customer for making "chargebacks" is in violation of Fair Credit Billing Act - such and similar actions are verboten by law.
(5) it is true that many credit card issuers have very poorly trained "chargeback" people - the worst offender I know are Barclays and Bank of America; American Express after being loosing with NY State Att'y General is far the most properly applying fair Credit Billing Act rules for chargebacks.
(6) USAirways does not supply proper documentation during chargeback procedures so it is incumbent on you to force the bank to obey the FCBA to the letter.. Barclays for example does not obtain ANY documentation of improperly resolves "chargebacks" based on telephone conversation with USAirways -- but if you persist - the FCBA forces them to present documents - if they got none they must rule in your favor.

Well, i guess i talked too soon!! This is what i got a few minutes ago from the Refunds Department..


I called the Chairman's Desk and asked to talk to a supervisor. Initially he couldn't see the change fee that i originally paid. After providing the number on my US MasterCard statement, he found it and apologized, but he said he could not override the Refunds decision.

Following his suggestion, i e-mailed back Refunds, asking for a supervisor
to review my case otherwise i will file a complaint with DOT and the Bureau of Consumer Protection.

I can't believe that i am doing all these for $100 (which is very negligible compared to my monthly spending on US airways), but these people are starting to really piss me off..

Sorry, for resurrecting the thread, but I wanted to inform everyone that I finally got my refund!!

What's weird is that nobody informed me about the refund, as the last response I had gotten was negative. Either the CS department's decision dominated the one from the Refunds department or Refunds changed their mind and lack the CS communication skills..

Finally, I would like to thank everyone for their input one last time!!