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Southwest cancelled my flight - how do I get a refund?

barbyez422
Explorer C
 
6 REPLIES 6

Re: Southwest cancelled my flight - how do I get a refund?

bec102896
Aviator A
Solution

I would reach out to customer relations on Monday at 855-234-4654 or you can message Southwest on Twitter or Facebook for a quicker response. 

 

-Blake

Re: Southwest cancelled my flight - how do I get a refund?

Kindred
Explorer C

I actually attempted to reach a customer service agent today.  Called and opted to have them call me back.  After waiting 45 minutes for the call back, I was then put into another queue, where I waited 2 hours and 5 minutes and still no answer...then suddenly they just disconnected my call.  Wow!  At least come up with a way for us to get through to someone to understand how to get our money back for cancelled flights.  This makes a bad situation feel much worse.

Re: Southwest cancelled my flight - how do I get a refund?

N82EZ
Adventurer B

A couple of options here. Call back and try it again. Probably the most effective as those poor people on the answering end have been hearing an earful of frustration. BUT keep notes (times, people spoke to, steps you took etc.) A last ditch effort when the industry get back to "normal" for an appeal... You are not alone in your frustration. Computer problems do drop calls (love technology when it works) I'm going to be faced with the very same thing in a day or so as I have a few trips to cancel along with companion pass with earlybird boarding for my companion and I don't see it as going to get easier. Try calling early or late at a potentially slower (yeah right?) time. I failed to note the hours before I started this but I'm sure they are pretty much 24/7 and they rotate call centers in different time zones base upon time of day and workload.

Re: Southwest cancelled my flight - how do I get a refund?

dfwskier
Aviator A

Customer relations is not en on weekends. Just Monday thru Friday normal business hours.

 

That would explain why no one called you back.

Re: Southwest cancelled my flight - how do I get a refund?

SWDigits
Aviator A

@bec102896 wrote:

I would reach out to customer relations on Monday at 855-234-4654 or you can message Southwest on Twitter or Facebook for a quicker response. 

 

-Blake


@barbyez422  the Twitter & Facebook teams are available 24 x 7, that is probably your best bet.


Customer | Home airport DCA

Re: Southwest cancelled my flight - how do I get a refund?

chgoflyer
Aviator A

You need to contact Customer Relations, not the "regular" reservations department, and their phone line has limited hours/days. Plus, when they are open, they're overwhelmed. I wouldn't recommend calling right now, your best bet is to reach out via Twitter or Facebook private message (they're staffed by Customer Relations). You'll get a quicker response, and you'll also be creating a paper trail.

 

If you qualify for a refund (your flight was cancelled by Southwest)

  • Make the refund request clear and unequivocal, and in writing. Document everything.
  • If you're denied, or offered anything other than a full refund, reply once, insist on the refund, and cite the DOT enforcement order. (You may have just reached an misinformed agent earlier. Give Southwest a chance to correct any mistakes. Them initiating the refund is still the quickest way to get one.)
  • Carriers must process the refund within 7 days. Note that it may take your bank another 1-2 billing cycles to actually put the funds back in your credit card account.
  • If you don't receive notification that the refund has been processed within 7 days, dispute the charge with your credit card bank. Banks are also overwhelmed these days, but there should be a way to initiate a dispute via their website. They have 30-45 days to respond, but they will likely issue a temporary credit to your card account quicker than that.
  • If you're ultimately denied a refund, file a DOT consumer complaint.

 

The good news is that you'll most likely not have to take things that far.

 

Despite a brief period of non-compliance, Southwest has corrected themselves and, I suspect, wants to do the right thing now (and avoid DOT fines or other enforcement action). Agents may continue to initially offer travel funds (or vouchers for EarlyBird Check-In fees), but if you're clear about needing a refund it's likely they'll understand and comply.