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Inadequate refund policies

drjsh
Explorer C

Very dissatisfied with SWA today.  Very important business today that has been scheduled for a month scrapped becuase flight cancelled.  Refunded for the ticket by means of a voucher to use on another flight, which is fine.  However, the ticket was purchased with a discount code given to me by SWA and this cannot be refunded once used on a purchase.  Complianed to Customer Relations after on hold for thirty minuets who stated they could not refund it.  When I asked for them to simply mail me another to use on the flight I am now going to have to re-schedule, she stated they could not do that.  Asked to file a formal complaint with follow up and she stated she would file the complaint (2295894115010), but I would receive no follow-up.  Trying to find a place on the SWA site to lodge my complaint, but this is not easy.

 

I think it is poor business policy to issue someone a discount and have them purchase a ticket with it and then cancel the service by no choice of the customer and then do not refund the cost plus the lost discount code.  Now, a new ticket must be purchased without the discount for a latter flight which will amount to twice that contracted for.  The obvious solution would be to re-new the code or issue a new discount code to be used on the new purchase.

 

I word of advice to others who may come upon these discount codes issued to be used on tickets: if your flight cancels for some reason and you are issued a credit for another flight, you just lost your discount code.  BAD BUSINESS DEALING     

8 REPLIES 8

Re: Inadequate refund policies

DancingDavidE
Aviator A

My suggestion @drjsh would be to ask for some LUV. There are very few people in the company that can refund cash for a non-refundable purchase, and I would assume that someone who can issue official discounts, etc. would be similarly elusive.

 

However there are many more people who have authority to issue a voucher for inconvenience - they still may not be able to do it in this case solely due to the loss of your code, but you should call the customer relation line and explain the situation and see if they can do anything.

 

I wouldn't continue to ask for a discount code to be re-issued, for a number of reasons I think that would be a long shot - the person on the phone won't be able to say "yes" to that question.

 

 

Home airport MDW, frequent visitor to MCO to see the mouse.

Re: Inadequate refund policies

dfwskier
Aviator A

Sorry to hear your flight was cancelled.

 

Several things come to mind

 

1) Southwest gives you the option to rebook your flight (same routing) anytime within the next 14 days at no increase in cost on any flight with available seats. So if  you're holding a $60 ticket  and want to bokk a flight and the fare is $400 you get the $400 seat.

 

2) If Southwest cancels your flight, you can get a refund -- even on un refundable fares. You cannot do that yourself by simply cancelling the reservation. If you do that you'll get trvel funds. You have to call or e-mail the company. Note that if you use a gift card, the only type of refund you can get is ravel funds.

Re: Inadequate refund policies

drjsh
Explorer C

The first thing I did was contact Customer Relations.  They could do nothing and said once you use it, no matter what happens next it is gone forever.

Re: Inadequate refund policies

chgoflyer
Aviator A

@drjsh wrote:

The first thing I did was contact Customer Relations.  They could do nothing and said once you use it, no matter what happens next it is gone forever.


 

Unfortunately, this is true. Once used, a discount code cannot be reissued if the flight is cancelled (by you or by Southwest). 😞

 

You should have been able to rebook to the same destination on the next flight with available space for no additional cost, which would have effectively retained your discount. If that wasn't feasible, you could have requested a full refund of the fare paid. This is all you're due per the Southwest Contract of Carriage.

 

I'd suggest emailing and requesting a voucher equivalent to the amount of the discount you received. You may get a sympathetic rep to understand your concern. Good luck!

 

 

 

Re: Inadequate refund policies

DancingDavidE
Aviator A

@chgoflyer wrote:

@drjsh wrote:

The first thing I did was contact Customer Relations.  They could do nothing and said once you use it, no matter what happens next it is gone forever.


 

I'd suggest emailing and requesting a voucher equivalent to the amount of the discount you received. You may get a sympathetic rep to understand your concern. Good luck!

 


If the discount was hundreds of dollars and they balk hopefully something lower would also make you feel a little better. I don't want your call to be hung up on "give me a discount code" - that's unlikely - but if you ask for a voucher, they still may not but there is at least some chance since you'll be talking to people that have the power to give vouchers. They don't have the power to give disocunt codes.

 

 

Home airport MDW, frequent visitor to MCO to see the mouse.

Re: Inadequate refund policies

RippedOffBySW
Explorer C

Yeah, if you miss your flight ebcause someone rear ends you on the way to the airport, guess what?  You not on lose the money for that flight, but Southwest STEALS the money for your return flight as well, so if you get to your location you still have to buy ANOTHER return ticket.  They are scammers who should be investigated by the USDOJ.

Re: Inadequate refund policies

dfwskier
Aviator A

@RippedOffBySW wrote:

Yeah, if you miss your flight ebcause someone rear ends you on the way to the airport, guess what?  You not on lose the money for that flight, but Southwest STEALS the money for your return flight as well, so if you get to your location you still have to buy ANOTHER return ticket.  They are scammers who should be investigated by the USDOJ.


Sorry you got run into.

 

Actually,  if you had gotten to the airport late, the airline would have put you on a later flight. It's happened to me more than a few times. If you couldn't get to the airport, I suspect that a call to customer service with an explanation of the problem would have gotten some type of accommodation.

 

As far as the return flight goes, EVERY AIRLINE treats it the same way. If you no show for the outbound flight, then your return gets cancelled. That is why it's important to either call customer relations or show up late at the airport.

 

BTW, I always book two one way flights instead of one round trip to avoid the situation you described.

 

I'd suggest contacting the airline to see if anything can be done.  Good luck. 

Re: Inadequate refund policies

DancingDavidE
Aviator A

I hope you are okay from the accident. That sounds like the worst to be rear-ended on the way to the airport.

 

Southwest allows cancellation up to 10 minutes before departure, but I can imagine in the heat of the moment it would be difficult to call them to let them know, or if the accident was bad enough that you weren't able to make it to the airport (where they unofficially give you a two-hour "flat tire" rule to be re-accomodated.

 

I'm not sure about it if you weren't able to come to the airport - that cost should go on that other guys insurance. I don't know if that's actually possibile, but it's not a cost you should bear. 

 

Since you came on here to post, I assume you did already try Customer Relations contact number to get re-instated at least for the return trip?

 

 

Home airport MDW, frequent visitor to MCO to see the mouse.