Are you ready for our next unsolved mystery? This one comes from Terri Fitzgerald, who wrote to us recently about a Travelocity trip that went awry.
Fitzgerald used Travelocity to book a “trip of a lifetime” on Icelandair to see the Northern Lights. She purchased travel insurance through the online agency.
“I had a medical emergency requiring hospitalization for four nights and a month out of work,” she says. “I called and canceled.”
Travelocity refunded everything but a 50-percent penalty from Icelandair. A Travelocity representative encouraged her to submit her medical documentation, saying she might be able to receive a full refund. She did as Travelocity advised.
“Well, months later, we’re going back and forth,” she says.
Interestingly, when we asked for her paper trail, she only sent us her side of the conversation. It’s possible that she unsuccessfully tried to attach some emails to our correspondence. Then again, she may have neglected to do so.
What was in them? We don’t know.
Fitzgerald needs the other 50 percent ($700) in order to afford a new trip. But she says Travelocity has dragged its feet on her claim. She’s heard from neither the agency nor the airline since February.
Here’s the thing: Icelandair handles refunds on a case-by-case basis. Each situation is dependent on the rules and restrictions of the ticket originally purchased, according to the carrier. The 50 percent refund may have been the airline’s best offer. It’s hard to know.
Then again, Travelocity may have been correct. Maybe there’s a full refund waiting for Fitzgerald. These things just take time.
But here’s what happened next. Our advocacy team contacted Travelocity. No response. Then we followed up with Fitzgerald. No response.
I’m an optimist, so my first instinct is that Icelandair sent the money back to Travelocity and that they all lived happily ever after. Yeah, that’s what probably happened.
Or did it?
What if Travelocity lost all her claim information and she just gave up? What if Icelandair — or maybe Travelocity — simply kept her money? After months of waiting, I might also feel like ignoring the emails from a consumer advocate. That’s OK.
But the question before us now is: What actually happened?
As we do with cases like this, I put that question to you.
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