Cop says United Airlines wouldn’t give him a refund on canceled flight. Now he’s suing
Before the coronavirus landed on U.S. soil, a police officer in Minnesota said he spent about $1,500 booking flights through United Airlines for a weekend in early April.
Then the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic.
Jacob Rudolph said he tried to cancel. But according to a federal lawsuit filed Monday, United wouldn’t give him a refund, offering him a travel voucher for a later trip instead.
“United has engaged in unfair, deceptive, and unjust conduct: it is refusing to issue refunds to passengers for coronavirus related flight cancellations,” the lawsuit states.
Rudolph is seeking to represent a class of customers who purchased tickets through the airline after March 1 and were unable to get their money back after the flights were canceled — either by their own volition or at United’s behest, his attorneys said.
A representative from United declined to comment on the litigation, but she did outline the airline’s cancellation and change fee policy in an email to McClatchy News.
Passengers are allowed to rebook flights without being charged a change fee, according the airline. They can also “request an electronic travel certificate” for a later flight.
“Eligible travelers on domestic flights – and customers with international tickets – can request a refund on United.com or may call our contact centers if their flights have been severely adjusted or service to their destination suspended either due to government mandates or United schedule reductions related to COVID-19,” United said.
According to Monday’s complaint, Rudolph booked three tickets in mid-January from Minneapolis/St.Paul, Minnesota, to Hilton Head, South Carolina, for $1,521.45.
The flights were scheduled for April 4 with a connection in Chicago, the complaint states.
On March 16 — the same day counties in California began restricting residents’ travel under shelter-in-place orders — Rudolph submitted a request for a refund, his attorneys said in the lawsuit. But United agents reportedly told him the tickets didn’t qualify.
“Instead, on March 31, 2020, United represented in writing that Plaintiff was only allowed a rebooking or ticket credit for travel within one year of the original ticket issue date,” the complaint states.
According to the lawsuit, United changed its cancellation policy four times within one week in March.
“United took a variety of steps to make it difficult, if not impossible, for consumers to receive any refund on pandemic canceled flights,” Rudolph’s attorneys said in the complaint. “Defendants wanted to retain the money paid to defendants, given the severe economic losses it was incurring related to pandemic flight cancellations.”
The lawsuit, filed in Illinois federal court, makes claims for violations of various state consumer protection laws, unjust enrichment, conversion and fraudulent misrepresentation.
Rudolph and the proposed class are seeking certification, damages totaling the cost of tickets passengers were reportedly not refunded, and attorneys’ fees.
This story was originally published April 6, 2020 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Cop says United Airlines wouldn’t give him a refund on canceled flight. Now he’s suing."
