Consumer complaint received 2020-06-06
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: IL
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement

Complaint:
I purchased two flights separately ( totaling around {$1200.00} ) using my CapitalOne XXXX card. I was unable to contact the airline and cancel my flight so I launched a dispute with CapOne, who promptly returned the credit to my card and told me they would wait for the airline to respond. Once COVID-19 escalated and caused for travel disruptions my flights were cancelled and I received an email from the airline indicating that I may either request a refund or claim a " credit plus 20 % '', I opted for a refund and made a request. 

Three months after my initial dispute I noticed that the money was charged back to my account after it was previously returned to me. I contacted CapOne who told me that the merchant denied my dispute. I let them know that the flight was cancelled and that I asked for a refund a month prior but the airline was not being responsive. The airline removed all contact information from their site and further research online showed that a a class action was launched by people similarly situated to myself. The CapOne representative told me that a letter was being sent to my home address which would require me to send all documentation I had in an attempt to plead my case to Visa.

Once I received the letter I faxed Visa all information I had including the email indicating my flight was cancelled, my request for a refund which was never made, and a letter further explaining what happened. I did not hear back for two weeks so I called CapOne again and spoke to someone for well over two hours. This was incredibly frustrating as I was told that Visa denied my dispute due to the fact that I did not provide enough information to prove th
at I did not agree to the airlines terms and conditions. She could not help me and directed me to Visa who directed me back to CapOne. They are bouncing off each other and are leaving consumers with no other options.

Overall, the airline cancelled my flights valued at over {$1200.00}, CapOne and Visa are siding with the airline and refusing to return my money to me and they are telling me that since I agreed to this. The airline is non-responsive, cancelled all their future flights, and removed all contact information from the website. I paid for these flights and they were cancelled. If I had cancelled these flights myself, I would understand, but the merchant cancelled my flights and are refusing to refund me ( and others ) while the credit card company is not helping me. The dispute process is created for instances like these and I understand that this pandemic is leaving companies confused but that is no excuse for Visa to allow this company to keep {$1200.00} for a flight they cancelled on me. There is no other proof I can provide for them I have sent them everything I have. The woman on the phone admitted that she herself could not contact the airline. This is a ridiculous situation and the fact that CapOne and Visa both have no answers for me and keep directing me to the other is incredibly frustrating and leaving me no other options but to make this report or to file a suit. The airline is ripping me off and Visa is allowing it all because they do not know how to handle such issues during a pandemic. Everyone is suffering through financial hardships at the time, myself included, so excuse my frustration. 

THE AIRLINE CANCELLED MY FLIGHT AND WILL NOT RETURN MY MONEY SO I DO NOT KNOW WHAT OTHER INFORMATION VISA NEEDS FROM ME.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief