Consumer Law, Warranties Refund policy with 100% cancellation fee

[jSkyer]

Several weeks ago I booked travel and lodgings through Travelocity, online, for a board meeting that I was invited to attend. I later learned that I was not required to attend this board meeting and subsequently requested a refund from Travelocity. This is their refund policy:

• Please note this trip includes airfare that is non-refundable. After purchase, you may only cancel the complete trip (air and hotel together). A cancellation service fee and other charges will apply.
• If you cancel prior to Sat, Sep 19, 2009, you will be refunded your purchase price, minus any flight or hotel cancel fees totaling $ 472.35.
• This trip is non-refundable on or after Sat, Sep 19, 2009.


I interpret this as saying that I CAN cancel the ENTIRE trip if done so at least a day prior to the actual trip. It also says that I can expect a refund, minus cancellation fees. However, it then says that the cancellation fees are 100% of the purchase price. I interpret this as them defining refund as forfeit.

I have worked my way up from telephone customer support to the Executive Offices of Travelocity finally receiving the following "resolution":

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Thank you for taking the time to advise us of the situation you encountered with your reservation. Our priority is to offer complete and accurate information as well as superior customer service at all times. We apologize for the delay in responding to your issue.

After a review of your file, Travelocity has determined per the terms and conditions agreed to online your reservation is non-refundable and is subject to a full penalty. Once airline tickets are issued they are subject to the rules and polices of that specific airline. The airline tickets on Alaska Airlines are non-refundable but can be used for future travel on any Alaska Airlines destination. Per the rules and policies of Alaska Airlines, you will retain the credit in the amount of $341.20 for one year from the date of issuance, August 8, 2010, less the airline reissue fee of $75.00 plus any additional fare difference. The fare rules also state if your ticket was issued by a travel agency and if you contact Alaska Airlines directly, the reissue fees increase to $125.00. As goodwill, Travelocity will waive our $30.00 reissue fees.

The Hyatt Regency Bellevue also has a penalty of 100% if cancelled after September 16, 2009. We may be able to recover this cost for you and refund the hotel portion in the amount of $131.15. Currently, your reservation is still active and if not cancelled before the travel date you will forfeit the value of your airline tickets. Please contact our customer service department to cancel your reservation at your earliest convenience at 888-709-5983.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Please be assured that you are a valued customer and we look forward to your continued patronage. Should you require additional information, or if we may be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.
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To me this is just a long and friendly way of rewording their no-refund policy. However it also includes warnings not to contact either the hotel of the airline directly or I will suffer further penalties in what they are calling a credit.

I have also contacted the credit card company I used to make this purchase online requesting cancellation of the charges. I was told that Travelocity's no-refund policy prevents them from doing this.

As of today this trip is still in the future. In other words, I am asking for a refund on services I no longer need, that they have not yet rendered, and which they can easily resell.

Is there any way I can get a refund for these unused services, or do I have to just sit back and let them get away with this theft?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I read the paragraph - I might not have worded it that way but it's still quite clear what they intended. After all, why did they write the next sentences? Moreso, the third sentence says if cancel all services a fee will apply, doesn't it? Then the next paragraph tells you what those fees are.

I understand you're angry but was this really not understandable to you? Did you read this too quickly when you purchased the tickets? Did you even read the cancellation policy at all? Travelocity is a big company. This happens a great deal and, if you're right about it, there is probably a class action lawsuit. Regarding this language, I don't agree with you that it's terribly ambiguous. I understood it the first time around. I wonder if others read the same as you did and they can pipe in.

 

[jSkyer]

The fact that they say the trip is non-refundable after Sept 19 implies that it IS refundable prior to that. It's their application of a 100% cancellation fee to this refund that I am objecting to. Yes, I read their policy, and yes I understood what they meant to say. But that's not what they said. I would accept a reasonable cancellation fee. 100% is NOT reasonable, and there is no reason for it that I can find, or that they are willing to share, other than, as a big company, they can get away with it. Thanks for the suggestion on the possibility of a class action suit. I will investigate further.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I don't understand. It seems that the hotel should be able to be canceled. What is the 100% cancellation fee you are talking about?

I can see a couple of things that are bothersome. There are so many fees which come from all over the place that it would be nice for a consumer to know might exist before purchase. It seemed to me that this was the deal:

If you cancel prior to Sat, Sep 19, 2009, you will be refunded your purchase price, minus any flight or hotel cancel fees totaling $ 472.35.

What does the above mean? How much was the cost of the trip? It almost seems as if you'd get your purchase price back minus fees totaling the above amount.

 

[jSkyer]

Travelocity insists that both Alaska Airlines and Hyatt Regancy also have no-refund policies. The cost of the entire package was exactly $472.35. And essentially I am getting the purchase price minus the cancellation fees. Unfortunatley $472.35 minus $472.35 equals $0.00. They warn me against contacting either the airline or the hotel directly but say that they "may" be able to get me a refund on the hotel reservation if I abide by everything else they are suggestion prior to Sept 16. Getting the hotel charges back would at least be something.

 

[MRam]

We just encountered a similar problem with travelocity and their cancellation policy. On thier policy it does not indicate that the cancellation needs to be made within the time according to Central Standard Time only. They would only refund one night of our reservation due to this and had the oddacity to blame it on the hotel and their policy. The hotel charges them anyways. Thier policy in unclear and misleading. I will never use Travelocity again!!!!!

 

[shrinkmaster]

MRam did you not notice this topic is from 2009!?