2 years later, WestJet refunds London, Ont. woman for cancelled flight

After a two-year struggle, a woman from London, Ont., has finally received a refund for a WestJet flight that was cancelled due to circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

On March 3, 2020, Randi Gamble booked a trip to Trinidad for April, hoping to spend her birthday with family who live there.

Just over a week later, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of COVID-19 a pandemic, prompting Trinidad and many other countries to close their borders.

Gamble then reached out to WestJet via Facebook Messenger and was told at one point by an employee responding in the conversation, “you might be best to cancel and rebook it.”

“The country had shut down for the pandemic, so there really was no choice but to cancel because they couldn’t offer a reschedule date,” Gamble told Global News.

WestJet refunded the $26 Gamble paid for seat selection on the cancelled flight, but refused to pay her the $464.99 she spent on the ticket.

Instead, she was offered a travel credit equal to that amount that could only be used toward WestJet flights.

“I didn’t pay in travel credit, so why can’t I have my money back? It doesn’t make sense,” Gamble said in an interview prior to receiving her refund.

Gamble eventually used the travel credit toward another flight to Trinidad set for this summer and had to pay an additional amount of nearly $200 to cover the cost of the new ticket.

That flight was also cancelled due to circumstances outside of Gamble’s control, and while WestJet refunded the additional amount she paid, the $464.99 from the 2020 ticket was returned again as only a travel credit.

“If they weren’t sure they were even travelling to that destination, why would they allow me to book it again and still not give me my money back on top of it?” Gamble said.

Gamble tried numerous times to request a refund from WestJet, only to be denied.

One rejection email from the airline read, “in order to be eligible for a refund to original form of payment the flight must have been cancelled by the airline as a result of COVID-19 where no reaccomodation flight option was available.”

When Global News first brought the matter to WestJet’s attention, a spokesperson responded in an email, “upon reviewing her file, our records indicate that Ms. Gamble proactively cancelled her original reservation to Port of Spain, Trinidad on March 18, 2020 rendering her itinerary ineligible for a refund to original form of payment.”

“Regarding Ms. Gamble’s second booking, as this was a WestJet initiated cancellation, her itinerary was eligible for a full refund to the original form of payment which as noted, would have returned what she had used from her Travel Bank and the remaining to her credit card,” the spokesperson added.

It wasn’t until Global News brought Gamble’s Facebook Messenger conversation with WestJet to the spokesperson’s attention that a refund was provided.

“We do understand and acknowledge that Ms. Gamble acted in accordance with the guidance provided to her at the time by one of our support agents,” the spokesperson said of WestJet’s review of the messages.

“We apologize once again to Ms. Gamble for the inconvenience and stress this has caused her.”

For Air Passenger Rights president Gabor Lukacs, Gamble’s story is a familiar one.

“WestJet was the earliest to come out with a promised refund to passengers, but seems to be very slow with living up to that promise and still there are people out there, like Randi, who are looking for their money,” Lukacs said.

“From an ethical perspective, those airlines are not providing refunds, period. Whether they provide a cake, a bicycle or a travel voucher is irrelevant, they are not providing refunds, which is what passengers are entitled to.”

Air Passenger Rights is a nonprofit organization that advocates for its namesake, while also educating travellers. Its website provides comprehensive guides for passengers dealing with various issues, including a guide dedicated to getting refunds for flights cancelled amid the pandemic.

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For passengers who booked a flight with a credit card, only to have their flight cancelled due to COVID-19, Lukacs suggests using a statutory chargeback, a three-step process that essentially tasks the card issuer with collecting the refund from the airline.

An Ontario-focused guide on how to conduct this process is also available on Air Passenger Rights’ website.

The first step is a notice of cancellation to the airline that demands a full refund.

If no refund is provided within 15 days, passengers then have 60 days to send a notice of dispute to their card issuer that asks the card issuer to reverse the charges on the passenger’s credit card.

If the card issuer fails to do so within 60 days, Lukacs suggests clawing back the money from the card issuer.

“In other words, spend down an amount equal to the amount in dispute and close the credit card account and tell them, ‘Sorry, I don’t owe you this amount because you owe me this refund,'” Lukacs said.

“If the credit card company has a problem with it, then it will be the credit card company that has to go to court, not you as the consumer.”

Global News previously wrote about an air passenger in B.C. who successfully used a statutory chargeback when Sunwing refused to refund her pandemic-cancelled flight.

As for Gamble, she was able to continue booking regular flights to Trinidad through Caribbean Airlines after swearing off WestJet for good following the two-year ordeal.

While she’s relieved to finally get her money back, she’s happy to now have a certain way to travel to and from Trinidad, especially during the pandemic.

“We have family (there) and it’s very important. Life is short right?” Gamble said.

“Being so far and not being able to see each other all of the time, it’s hard for us.”

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