On March 8th United made it so that a schedule change of 25 hours was required for a refund, previously a schedule change of 2 hours was what was needed. United then said that schedule changes of 2-25 hours would result in a travel credit after the backlash received by the new policy (keep in mind this affects tickets before this change was made). After even more backlash United said it would be determining who was eligible for a refund on a ‘case by case basis’. United has now changed this policy for the 4th time and is stating (as per live and lets fly):
When schedule changes occur, more than 90 percent of our customers are being automatically re-booked on a flight that leaves within two hours of their originally scheduled flight. Any customer whose travel is disrupted by more than 6 hours because of our schedule changes will be eligible for a refund. The relatively small percentage of customers who are delayed by 2 to 6 hours are eligible to cancel and retain the value of their ticket for future use. In the case of special circumstances, customers can work with the United Contact Centers to find a resolution.
I’d challenge United when they say there is a relatively small percentage of customers who are delayed by 2 to 6 hours, if that was the case then it certainly wouldn’t hurt to offer them a refund. This is especially true for people who booked tickets before United made this ridiculous change. If you’ve had a schedule change of 2 to 6 hours and United refuses to offer a refund, my advice is to still file a complaint with the Department of Transport and also with your state’s Attorney General.
I honestly don’t expect this to be the last time United makes a change to this policy. If United wants to make a change then that’s fine, but to retroactively apply it to existing tickets is wrong.
