"I felt as if the airline was trying to deny the refund," she says. "They wouldn't tell me specifically what they wanted, and everything I sent them was not sufficient, according to them."
Before she contacted me for help, Bianucci had done everything she could to get her money back. She'd re-sent her hospital records several times and tried to contact the airline by phone. But Virgin would communicate with her only by fax or e-mail. "It's a real nightmare," she says.
Passengers have complained about the slow pace of airline ticket refunds ever since there have been airline tickets to complain about. Like other businesses, air carriers are reluctant to part with the revenue they collect from customers, even when they're supposed to.
The Transportation Department, which regulates airlines operating in the United States, requires air carriers to reimburse your credit card company within seven business days after receiving a complete refund application. But the government allows some wiggle room, noting that the rule doesn't apply to all payment methods and warning air travelers that the credit "may take a month or two to appear on your statement."
That kind of wishy-washiness is all the license an airline needs to delay or deny a refund, passengers claim. Indeed, over the long term, the industry-wide practice of delaying refunds — of customers being sent countless form letters and having to communicate with a fax machine — is enough to make some travelers walk away from the process, essentially leaving their money on the table.
Virgin Atlantic says that in Bianucci's case, the delay wasn't deliberate. After I contacted the airline on her behalf, it reviewed its records and said that her refund had been on hold pending receipt of a document verifying her medical condition and subsequent hospitalization. It apologized for the delay and said that it had located one of the faxes she had sent. "All is resolved now," said Nadia Basil, an airline spokeswoman.
What's behind the sluggishness? There are three leading causes, and they have nothing to do with dark airline conspiracies to pocket the money for unused tickets.
The first cause is something called a ticket tariff. It spells out the specific rules governing the ticket, including the circumstances under which a fare would be refunded. Strictly speaking, every airline ticket is refundable. For example, if an airline cancels a flight, it owes you a refund whether you're flying in first class or in the back of the plane, and whether you paid with cash or with frequent-flier miles. Ticket tariffs often are long, complex documents rendered completely in capital letters and subject to various interpretations. (It isn't unusual to find a tariff with confusing or contradictory language.) Before issuing a refund, an agent must first determine whether the tariff allows it, which isn't always easy.
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