Expedia Refund for British Airways flight

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Hi All,

One year ago I purchased 2 x BA flights via Expedia.

British Airways staff went on strike and the flight was cancelled.

I have been chasing a refund ever since.

During this time, I have been promised countless return calls that never happen. My last call (more time and money spent chasing) resulted in the Expedia staff member claiming that the problem may be due to them being unable to contact British Airways, that the telephone number they had for them did not work and that the refunds department they deal with had closed! I was shocked to say the least. 20 seconds later I had aquired BA's refunds dept line via google and gave them a call. They refuse to deal with me directly as I made the booking via Expedia, however they did point out that the Expedia excuse was nonsense and they could always get hold of trade support should there be a problem. They also said that Expedia should refund me 1st and then come to BA.

I recently started an online campaign via Twitter and Facebook to try and get the attention of Expedia. I have had an email saying they are looking in to it... but one year after the initial transaction date and many such promises... i wont hold my breath!

Anyone have any advice? Surley this is illegal?

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This is the email I got from Expedia on the 8th. No telephone number and a generic email address. Not very personal is it?

Still nothing. Expedia have promised this type of personal attention over the phone many times.

Just words. It means nothing. They lie.

>>>>


8th March 2011

Case reference: 108113609

Dear Mr XXXXXXXXX

I am in receipt of your case from our PR team and would like to assure you that I will be investigating your complaint personally. I have now escalated your booking to Senior Management in our Refunds Department and as soon as I receive an update, I will be in contact with you immediately.

Please accept my apologies for the delay.

Kind regards

Niketa McClenaghan
Priority Complaints Manager
Expedia.co.uk

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Just got off the phone to Expedia and they were as unhelpful as ever. It took ages to get to speak to a manager. Once I did... they said they couldn't refund the money on to my card until it had gone via a foreign office. They said if that hadn't taken place by 4pm that it would be processed from the UK. I insisted that if they had the capability of refunding me now... they should. After one year, you would think they would take control of the situation and do the right thing.

I then asked how much they planned to refund on to my card... she said "£200"... the amount is actually £625.80 so I wasn't happy about that. One year on and they are still getting my case wrong. After some checks they confirmed the real amount and then offered to refund there are then.

Fine. So what about compensation?

Expedia: "We do not offer compensation".

Me: But I can see you do. A quick google search reveals several cases where Expedia have offered a 'gesture of goodwill'.

Expedia: "I can't comment on other cases but we do not offer compensation" "You will have to speak to customer support".

Me: "I dont remember agreeing to finance Expedia for one year, free of charge and having to dedicate time, money and resources in order to recover the money.


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So now I have to write to a support email address for compensation. More time, more effort. Expedia is a horrible company