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North Okanagan woman unhappy with WestJet’s handling of refund

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North Okanagan woman unhappy with WestJet’s handling of refund
North Okanagan woman unhappy with WestJet’s handling of refund – Jan 13, 2016

NEAR VERNON – She cancelled a planned trip to Florida after a cancer diagnosis. Now a North Okanagan woman is speaking out about how WestJet handled her refund.

Ruth Roper was set to visit Disney World with her extended family in November. They booked flights with WestJet for seven people. But Roper says in August she was diagnosed with cancer so she called to cancel the flights.

She says WestJet, at that time, asked if she wanted the cost of the trip credited back to her credit card or in the form of WestJet travel credits.

“I didn’t know that that would be the only chance that I would have to be able to make that choice,” she says. “They ask you the question on the phone and you just [say], ‘Oh, we will just put it back into the travel bank because we do plan on making the trip.’”
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However, when she changed her mind, Roper was told her travel credits cannot be traded in for a credit card refund.

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To beat the dropping Canadian dollar and help pay for the trip in the future, Roper says she is hoping to get the refund and put the cash into a U.S. dollar account “to try to preserve the value of the money so that when we rebook the trip I’m not having to add a bunch of money to it.”

She still plans on taking the family trip to Disney World some day.

“[We] promised the grandkids that they will be going to Disney World. We just don’t know when that is going to be,” says Roper.

WestJet says it can’t discuss the specific case for privacy reasons.
“WestJet is always happy to work with a guest to solve an issue. WestJet has clear, flexible and robust promises governing booking, cancellations and credits. We hope the guest reaches out to us again so that we can bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion,” airline spokesperson Lauren Stewart said in an emailed statement.
Roper says she plans to follow up.

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