A reader IM’d us about getting help with a billing dispute a friend of theirs was having on the phone with CheapoAir.com.

[12:45] booboo: hey there, im a loyal consumerist reader and i have a problem i wanted to know if you could help. my friends ordered airtran airways tickets through cheapoair.com (i know, bad move right) and they have charged one $40 less and the other $40 more. They ran the card of the girl with the $40 more twice for $265 which with fees as it reads on her confirmation totals $302 and a third time at $294 with fees which appears on her credit card statement $339 she called airtran (quick CSR 🙂 ) and they said that something wasnt right she called cheapoair and they said that their system says she was only charged $302 so they will not refund the additional charges…any suggestions?

(Photo: JohnKit)

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[12:47] benpopken: She should tell them to refund it or else she will call her credit card company and initiate a chargeback for the difference
[12:47] benpopken: If they still refuse, she should call her credit card company and do that
[12:48] booboo: so basically she’s screwed on her plane tickets though huh?
[12:49] benpopken: um, what?
[12:49] booboo: like if she does the chargeback are they going to dissolve her reservation?
[12:49] benpopken: nope
[12:49] booboo: okay awesome
[12:49] benpopken: as long as she’s not asking for a refund in full
[12:49] benpopken: just the difference between what she ordered and what she paid
[12:50] booboo: okay she’s calling right now, thank you!
[12:50] benpopken: np

Time passes…

[13:06] booboo: update: they said they are charging her more because the flight went up in the time it took to run her card the additional two times. Thats fine. BUT they never informed her does she still have leverage?
[13:07] benpopken: Why was the card run twice?
[13:07] booboo: they said there was an error with it
[13:07] booboo: so they ran it a total of three times
[13:08] benpopken: with the card… or with their system?
[13:08] booboo: i think it was the card
[13:08] benpopken: did she enter her numbers wrong?
[13:08] benpopken: what’s wrong with the card?
[13:08] booboo: no, there was a block on purchases online so she had to fix that
[13:08] benpopken: oh
[13:08] booboo: so they just kept running it
[13:08] booboo: and never told her the price increased
[13:09] benpopken: if the price increased they should have to ask for her permission
[13:09] booboo: thats what we thought
[13:09] benpopken: ask for them to point out where in the terms of service it says that they’re allowed to rerun the card at a higher price without getting customer authorization

Time passes…

[13:20] booboo: they refunded her the difference consumerist saves lives once again!
[13:22] benpopken: hooray!
[13:23] benpopken: highfive!
[13:23] booboo: ::highfive::

— BEN POPKEN

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