I’m a lawyer – how you can get DOUBLE what you paid for a flight in your airline refund
FLIGHT after flight has been cancelled due to recent fatal storms plaguing the United States.
If your travel plans have been cancelled due to the
AT least 57 people have died in America’s bone-chilling ‘bomb cyclone’ as the deadly storm continues to pummel the nation.
A number of drivers were reportedly found dead in their cars after being left stranded on snow-covered highways and interstates.
Thousands of Americans are still without power as temperatures plunge to dangerous levels.
Erie County’s Mark Poloncarz said it is “not the end yet” and labelled the blizzard “the worst storm probably in our lifetime.”
Unsuprisingly, this meant endless flights were grounded, and many may continue to be thrown off schedule, over-booked, or cancelled altogether.
LEGALLY REFUNDED
Taking to social media, attorney and personal finance expert Erika Kullberg, who is the founder of Plug and Law, revealed exactly what you should say when an airline bumps you from a flight.
Citing the Department of Transportation’s rules on the issue called “involuntary denied boarding,” she claimed that the customer is entitled to compensation.
When the next flight they can get you in has a one or two-hour arrival delay, you are entitled to 200 percent of the price of a one-way fare.
If it’s over two hours delay, then you are entitled to 400 percent of the one-way fare. Even if it’s a 12-hour delay or more.
This means that if the next flight they can get you on is 90 minutes after the flight you were bumped from, you can get a $500 voucher for a flight that only costs $250.
In fact, according to Kullberg’s video, you should tell the airline: “Based on the terms, since the next flight you can get me on results between a one to the two-hour delay, I’m entitled to two times the cost of the one-way fare.”
Not only are you entitled to compensation, but they also have to book you on the next available flight without you having to pay extra.
Of course, this only applies to when you are bumped from a flight involuntarily and not when you give up your seat or when you miss your flight due to your own doing.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, “an airline is required to compensate you after involuntarily bumping you from an oversold flight in certain situations.
“However, there are many situations where you are not entitled to compensation.”
Some of these situations include aircraft changes due to operational or safety reasons, weight or balance, when you are downgraded from a higher class (passenger is entitled to a refund for the difference in price), charter flights, small aircraft for 30 passengers or less, and international flights to the United States.
Despite many people being grateful for her advice, many questioned how they could actually say this without coming off “as a Karen” or someone who belittles service industries and refuses to abide by rules.
One person quickly responded: “Do it as you would when you’re having a normal conversation … like it ain’t hard to sound polite and simply ask a question.”
A second person added: “The desk clerks are NEVER this agreeable. Even when you’re right.”
And many others wondered if they would be taken seriously if they approached desks clerks with these demands.
