Expedia double-charged me — can I get a refund?

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By Christopher Elliott

Laura Pang has two airline reservations on Expedia. But she only needs one. Now the online agency refuses to refund the second charge. Is there anything she can do to persuade it to help her?

Question

I recently booked one airline ticket through Expedia. At least that’s what I thought. I paid $310 for what I thought was one ticket, but when I was using the site, it felt a bit slow. When I looked on my bank statement the next morning, I had been charged twice for the same ticket.

I’ve called Expedia four times over the past two days, e-mailed two different representatives, and contacted them on Facebook and Twitter. But they claim the extra charge does not appear on their database and that therefore they have no obligation to refund me.

My bank says I should get in touch with the vendor, which I have. The subject heading for both charges is identical.

I am extremely upset having tried every method possible to get back that $310, but to no avail. I’m a postgraduate student and can’t afford to lose this much money — it goes toward schoolbooks, phone bills, housing. I’m panicking and I’m at a loss. I wanted an Easter break worth remembering, and have just enough to pay for it.

If only Expedia would be better than this; I need this extra charge deleted. I live on a very tight budget and these kinds of things make my life far more difficult than it needs to be. Please help me. — Laura Pang, Sheffield, UK

Answer

It’s difficult to tell if this was an actual charge or just a phantom double-charge. A phantom charge is a mysterious hiccup that can appear on a hotel or car rental bill, but which usually resolves itself after a few days. I’ve experienced it a time or two.

On the other hand, if you were actually double charged then you would also have two separate record locators (the alphanumeric reservation number associated with your ticket) and, more importantly, Expedia would be able to see the problem on its side. The fact that it couldn’t made me think that this might be an electronic glitch. (Here’s how United’s promise of a prompt refund for Peter Hodges’ canceled flight to Norway turned into a three-month wait for his $2,086.)

The “website running slow” scenario is an old standard from the ‘90s, as far as travel complaints go. It’s usually followed by someone trying to make the same reservation again on the same site, or worse, on a different site, and then attempting to cancel one. (Here’s a reader who received an incomplete vacation package from Expedia and now she is struggling to get a refund.)

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24-Hours notice

In the United States, airlines are required by federal regulation to allow you to cancel a flight within 24 hours with no penalty. In the UK, some airlines offer a “courtesy” cancellation if you want to change your flights within a day. If you’d called your airline directly within 24 hours, you probably would have been able to remove one of the reservations without penalty. (Here’s how to find the best travel advisor.)

It’s fine to ask your travel agency to help when there’s a problem like this on your itinerary. But Expedia was right; you should have phoned your airline to get this fixed. I also list Expedia’s emails on my site.

I contacted Expedia on your behalf and it processed a refund.

Who is ultimately responsible for this double booking?

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Christopher Elliott

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that empowers consumers to solve their problems and helps those who can't. He's the author of numerous books on consumer advocacy and writes three nationally syndicated columns. He also publishes the Elliott Report, a news site for consumers, and Elliott Confidential, a critically acclaimed newsletter about customer service. If you have a consumer problem you can't solve, contact him directly through his advocacy website. You can also follow him on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn, or sign up for his daily newsletter. He is based in Panamá City.

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