D4 Friday, 07.24.2015 The Daily Herald
Can I get a refund from my airline?
DAILY CROSSWORD
Brenda Brown will never fly again. So why won’t United Airlines refund her nonrefundable ticket? Q: We booked tickets in April to fly from Charleston, South Carolina, to Toronto, on United Airlines. In May, I had emergency kidney surgery. My urologist said I am unable to fly again because of severe hydronephrosis that might occur due to a massive kidney stone. My doctor wrote a note, and we submitted that with the request for a refund because we had to cancel the tickets. When we called the United refunds department before canceling the tickets, a representative said that as long as we have a doctor’s letter, there will be no problem supplying us with a refund due to my medical emergency. But after we sent the paperwork, United told us that it does not issue refunds and will give us a credit that can be used within a year. That credit, when used, will have a service charge of $200 per person, plus the extra cost of the flight. So basically, the tickets are worthless because I can never fly again, as I might rupture my kidney, and the fees would equal more than we paid for the tickets. My husband explained this all to United, it has the necessary documentation, yet the airline still refuses to give us a refund for the tickets. This was not a planned event but an emergency event. Can
CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER
you help us? — Brenda Brown, Charleston, S.C. A: If United promised that it would refund your nonrefundable ticket, then it should — no two ways about it. But the second representative was correct: United normally offers a ticket credit, minus a $200 change fee and a fare differential, when you change your flight plans. Is that fair? No. Airlines like United claim that they are just giving their customers choices and keeping ticket costs low by selling these kinds of nonrefundable tickets. They point out that you could have booked a more expensive, flexible fare, which would have given you the option of a refund or a schedule change. Unfortunately, those tickets cost double or triple the amount of a conventional, more restrictive fare, and they’re meant for business travelers on expense accounts. Truth is, these “cheaper” fares are a huge moneymaker for
SUPER QUIZ Score 1 point for each correct answer on the Freshman Level, 2 points on the Graduate Level and 3 points on the Ph.D. Level. Subject: DEATH Use the information to identify the person who died on the given date. FRESHMAN LEVEL 1. Sept. 30, 1955: Actor killed at age 24 in his Porsche. 2. Feb. 14, 1779: British explorer clubbed to death by natives in Hawaii. 3. Oct. 2, 1985: Leading man died from AIDS-related complications. GRADUATE LEVEL 4. May 19, 1935: British war hero fatally wounded in a motorcycle crash. 5. July 12, 1804: Founding Father
CLASSIC PEANUTS
airlines. United pocketed $802 million in ticket-change fees last year, from customers like you — up from $756 million in 2013. What’s more, airlines take a hard line on refund requests. Normally, the airline only refunds tickets when a passenger dies or when it’s required by the government. I’ve seen plenty of deserving requests for compassionate refunds get met by a form letter saying “no.” Yours was a special case because your doctor said you could never fly again. In other words, the ticket credit would do you absolutely no good. Now, if United had told you “no” on a refund request all the way down the line, then there wouldn’t be much I could do. But the first representative, hearing about your medical condition, told you that United would refund the ticket. United needed to keep its promise. I contacted the airline on your behalf, and it refunded your ticket, minus a $50 “processing fee.” A representative claimed that the airline eventually would have done the right thing, but that its documents were “incomplete.” As an interesting aside, the document that put this request over the top was a doctor’s note that said you couldn’t fly for at least a year. That was all United needed to push this refund through, you say. I hope you feel better soon. King Features Syndicate, Inc.
BIRTHDAYS killed in a duel. 6. May 30, 1431: Heroine burned at the stake and remains cast into the Seine River. PH.D. LEVEL 7. June 27, 1844: Religious leader killed by mob who stormed the jail holding him. 8. May 30, 1593: English dramatist stabbed and killed in a bar brawl. 9. March 27, 1968: The first human in space, killed in a plane crash. ANSWERS: 1. James Dean. 2. Capt. James Cook. 3. Rock Hudson. 4. T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia). 5. Alexander Hamilton. 6. Joan of Arc. 7. Joseph Smith. 8. Christopher Marlowe. 9. Yuri Gagarin. North America Syndicate Inc.
Actor John Aniston is 82. Political cartoonist Pat Oliphant is 80. Comedian Ruth Buzzi is 79. Actor Mark Goddard is 79. Actor Dan Hedaya is 75. Actor Chris Sarandon is 73. Comedian Gallagher is 69. Actor Robert Hays is 68. Actress Lynda Carter is 64. Movie director Gus Van Sant is 63. Retired MLB All-Star Barry Bonds is 51. Actor Kadeem Hardison is 50. Actress-singer Kristin Chenoweth is 47. Actress Laura Leighton is 47. Actress-singer Jennifer Lopez is 46. Actor Eric Szmanda is 40. Actress Rose Byrne is 36. Actress Summer Glau is 34. Actress Elisabeth Moss is 33. Actress Anna Paquin is 33. Actress Megan Park is 29. Actress Mara Wilson is 28. Rock singer Jay McGuiness (The Wanted) is 25. Actress Emily Bett Rickards is 24. TV personality Bindi Irwin is 17. Thought for Today: “People who jump to conclusions rarely alight on them.” — Philip Guedalla, British writer (1889-1944). Associated Press
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