Calling Res Agents-Policy for Non-Refundable Tickets?

[DrBeth]

What is the policy for cancelling non-refundable tickets the same day of purchase/by midnight/within 24 hours? I did online chat and got these two answers:

You may cancel your reservation by midnight the day of your ticket purchase in order to avoid a penalty for a non-refundable ticket.

The other agent said,

No. We do not have a 24 hour cancellation policy. When you book a nonrefundable ticket it is nonrefundable from the time we enter the credit card. There would be a fee to reschedule at a later time.

Also the US Airways website says,
http://www.usairways.com/awa/content/about...erviceplan.aspx

Allow Reservations to be Held or Canceled
Each airline will allow the customer either to hold a telephone reservation without payment for 24 hours or (at the election of the carrier) to cancel a reservation without penalty for up to 24 hours, in order to give customers an opportunity to check for lower fares through other distribution systems, such as travel agents or the Internet.

 

[Fly4Free]

There is something known as "buyer's remorse" that allows you to cxl within 24 hours. Place a phone call and talk to the supervisor if you have to. Be sure to mention buyer's remorse.

 

[US1YFARE]

I thought HP, i mean US, changed that policy after the merger because they were incurring too many fees from credit card refunds. My understanding is that they will HOLD the reservation for 24 hours and the fare will not change--even if it is a 7-day fare and you book it on the 7th day and pay for it on the 8th day. That recently happened to me on an A fare and they said, no problem, just pay for it tomorrow even though it is in the 7-day window.

 

[flyingcat]

I think people are confusing two different things. Holding a reservation means reserving but not paying for seat. Something that used to be very common in the travel agency days, now less so.

Anyone can call an agent get a quote and ask them to hold the seat until a specific time,at which it can be purchased at an earlier quoted price. The advantage is that seats may have sold since the seat was held and if the seat was not reserved you would have to pay a higher price.

When you buy the ticket,it becomes a ticketed reservation, you are usually stuck with a nonrefundable fare unless there is a mistake.

The problem is when people do not realize the mistakes within a timely manner. That is where the gray area comes in and you are left to the whim of the agents and their supervisors as to how lenient they will be.

The link you gave refers to something that does not apply to your situation however the chat responses do contradict each other. However the agent may have misspoken.

 

[CynicalResAgent]

As a travel agent we can void tickets within 1 calendar day for a $30.00 fee. We can do this for most airlines though not all. FL, NK, WN and a few other low cost carriers are the exception.

 

[philly rocks]

Like i've stated in many threads, the trainer told us that it is virtually impossible to get a refund once the ticket is issued. Besides, if a refund is processed, it is sent to that big abyss in Tempe with no return.

 

[DrBeth]

Like i've stated in many threads, the trainer told us that it is virtually impossible to get a refund once the ticket is issued. Besides, if a refund is processed, it is sent to that big abyss in Tempe with no return.

I like your answer the best--even if I were to get a credit for a future ticket or a refund by a willing agent or supervisor, it might get lost in Tempe!

I have posted this question on two forum websites and I have gotten all sorts of responses! However, the policy on the website does apply and if it does not apply, it should be either removed or reworded so it is not ambiguous. As I stated on the other forum, the online statement has two clauses:

1. EITHER to hold a telephone reservation without payment for 24 hours
2. OR (at the election of the carrier) to cancel a reservation without penalty for up to 24 hours

The OR clause is not the same as the EITHER clause. If it were, there would be no need for the OR clause!

And if the reservation was unticketed and unpaid, there would be no reason to cancel because it would cancel out on its own within 24 hours. Therefore it seems that the second part of the statement refers to ticketed reservations and the first part refers to reservations on hold.

 

[avion]

the policy in effect since 2000 which our "Customer Commitment Program" was initiated when complaints were being filed to the DOT from consumers about the lousy service they were getting from airlines.. the airlines got together and decided ok. this is what the consumer will get and this is what you are not going to get. the only airilne that really did not participate was Southwest.. they said we promise the consumer nothing but a good price.. that is why they always have the least amount of compliants of all the rest since when you dont offer anything but a good price there is nothing to complain about.. We named our Customer Commitment. it has NOT changed.. if you book a rez with us you pay for it up front.. you have 24 hours to cancel it .. WITHOUT penalty except you are out the 10.00 rez fee and the 20.00 ato fee. if you are paying cash/check you have 24 hours to go to a travel agent or ATO to purchase it. Our program as well as the other airlines at the time had to comply with goverment mandates.. DOT.. and come up with something back then and also provide brochures on the program. I havent seen the brochures in awhile but we should get them back considering the type of operation we have been running lately and people looking for compensation.. its in black and white.

 

[avion]

to phillyrocks.. im surprised that the trainer said nearly impossible to get a refund on a nonrefundable.. that is totally false.. the trainer needs to go back on the field. etkts could be refunded invol in SABRE back to the credit card. i know this because like you we work with the regular customers and they recieved their refund.. with this pig system you can request a refund on etkt but it goes back to PHX accounting and you have know way to tell why it should be refunded..going back to my last message about our Customer Commitment Program we had 7 day to refund a credit card ticket and 10 days to refund cash/check. if cash immediate refund if cash available in your cash fund. with going back 25 years in this system we work on.. you can imagine they are doing everything PAPER and its takes awhile

 

[philly rocks]

It is not totally false it is 100 percent true. In sabre, we could put it right back to the credit card. If you purchased a ticket we could have refunded it within 24 hours. Same might be stated in shares but the agents can't find the ticket number first of all, you put in to Tempe for a refund and its like a trip with "no return". You'll see, give it time when our cockroaches start really rioting. We have one on this thread that already does.
Listen, its okay to admit this system sucks. Face reality brother !

 

[avion]

heh philly rocks. thanks for the reply.. you are also TOTALLY correct.. man someone who knows what they are talking about.. besides the two of us.. there are 30,000 other agents who will agree with us. i have always admitted this system is a pig.. that was your words.. im the one who said it was our version of WMD.. WEAPON of MASS DESTRUCTION.. hmm 30,000 agents do we still have that many? oh thats right half left at the last buy out.. the remaining hoping and a praying for another one.

 

[olivia]

the policy is as follows:

If you buy a domestic ticket online that
is nonrefundable...it is immediately nonrefundable forever. No more 24 leeway.

If it is an international ticket...someone
told me you still have 24 hours to cancel.
Even after purchase.

If you call res and hold a nonrefundable ticket..we hold it without a credit card and guarantee the price we stored the airfare at.
As long as you call within 24 hours and purchase the ticket as you booked it.

hope this helps......Commit No Five has
been gone from res since sep 2006. following HP policies now.

 

[avion]

you are correct on the online booking issue. once booked you own it. back in 2000 the push to book online was not pushed like it is today.. since then everything is online online. that is why today we closed our city ticket offices and closed all our rez offices but winston salem.. thousands lost their jobs. during the last 3 months the amount of etkt refunds im sure is in outer space. nonrefundable doesnt always mean nonrefundable when it comes to involuntary situations.

 

[philly rocks]

The old saying goes,"use it or lose it"!

 

[avion]

truer words never more spoken.. it amazes me that the public thinks that we are subsidized by the goverment and this is not a business to make MONEY. Oh what do you mean you cant waive this and waive that. you bought the ticket you are explained the terms and you agree when you pay for it. DUH.. they never told me this when i booked it online because i cant read.. i was only looking at the price. the prices have been good for the consumer and thats good even airline employees will buy a full fare ticket because its worth it. without the aggravation of flying standby.. but man you get the ones... Well i was in them woods skinning a rabbit and all of a sudden i see this UFO> im sorry sir the Southwest ticket counter is in another terminal..