Q: Last year, I booked a trip to Las Vegas through a site called Traveluro. My airline canceled the flight, and I could not get another flight. So, I had to cancel my hotel reservation.
I contacted Traveluro, and a representative agreed to cancel my reservation and give me a full refund. But the refund showed up in my account as “pending” and then completely dropped off. It was never fully processed.
I filed a credit card dispute with my bank, but my bank denied my request. Traveluro is extremely hard to get in touch with. I call, and it rings once, then hangs up on me. I’ve been trying for months.
The one time I got through — other than my first call — a representative said they would escalate the situation and that somebody would call me within 24 to 48 hours. That never happened. Please help me get my $444 back! — Jessica Radosevic, Danville, California
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A: First of all, you might be wondering what Traveluro is. It’s an online travel agency operated by Holisto, a company based in the United States and Israel. Traveluro offers support in several European languages.
So, why didn’t Traveluro refund your hotel? First, online agencies don’t control refunds on nonrefundable rooms. They would have to ask the hotel in Las Vegas for a waiver, which would take some time.
It turns out the company was able to secure a full refund for your hotel, according to Elad Shmilovich, Holisto’s chief operating officer. “However, in parallel, the customer submitted a charge-back, which prevented the refund from being fully processed,” he says. “That’s why the customer saw a pending notification, which disappeared.”
“Not to worry,” Shmilovich added. “I’ve asked my ops team to issue a new refund, which should already be in her account.”
There’s an important lesson here. When a company promises a refund, you have to give it time. Sometimes a refund to your credit card can take up to two billing cycles, which is more than two months. If you lose patience and file a credit card dispute, it doesn’t just stop the refund process. It can actually reverse it, ensuring that you never end up getting your money.
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Christopher Elliott
Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy (elliottadvocacy.org), a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him at elliottadvocacy.org/help.
