Dear Travel Troubleshooters: I purchased a flight from Boston to Madrid through Iberia's website, but I did not receive a confirmation email. When he called Iberia, the representative said they could not verify the purchase and advised him to dispute the charge with his credit card company, which he did a week later.
On the same day, I received a confirmation email from Iberia. I called the bank the same day and withdrew the dispute. The bank representative told me to ignore the written communication and the dispute would automatically end. I followed this advice and considered the ticket valid. That wasn't the case.
When I tried to check in for my flight, the system showed my ticket as “pending.” I was advised by an Iberia representative to dispute the charge again and purchase a new ticket, so I followed this advice. In fact, Iberia received $776 from my bank (Capital One), but my ticket was still suspended. I would like to receive a refund. Can you help me?
— Joel Reville, Providence, Rhode Island
answer: You should have a ticket for a flight from Boston to Madrid. The problem is obvious. An Iberia representative disputes the charges without the necessary annotations on Iberia's part and later tells you not to “contest” them. As a result, my ticket has become invalid.
I shouldn't have challenged this accusation in the first place. To be sure, credit card chargebacks under the Fair Credit Billing Act cover products and services that you purchased but did not receive. But you didn't give Iberia time to resolve this issue on their side. It turns out that Iberia ultimately processed your transaction and that's what caused this mess.
My advice: File a credit card dispute after a few days, not hours. (You can learn more about credit card disputes in a free guide on my consumer advocacy site Elliott.org.)
If someone tells you that you should appeal and you decide to follow their advice, try to get it put into writing. Or at least have the system create a note for you. Apparently Iberia had no idea what you were doing, as it didn't include anything in your flight log.
Additionally, simply refusing to answer questions is not sufficient to end the dispute. Yes, eventually the case will be closed and resolved in the seller's favor, but more is required for issues like this. I would have asked for something in writing that fully explained the situation and confirmed that your dispute was dropped.
I list the name, number, and email address of Iberia's customer service manager on my consumer advocacy site. A short and polite appeal to one of them might have helped.
Was there a better way? Maybe. A qualified travel advisor may have verified that you have a genuine Iberia ticket. Sure, you'll have to pay a little extra for your flight ticket, but your travel agent will ensure that everything on your flight goes smoothly. (We also have a guide on how to find a travel advisor.)
I have contacted Iberia on your behalf. The airline issued a refund for the original ticket at the customer's request.
Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve problems. Email chris@elliott.org or contact elliottadvocacy.org/help/ for assistance.(c) 2024 Christopher ElliottDistributed by King features Syndicate, Inc.
