Pregnant woman’s flight refund ‘sh*t show’

An Aussie woman has described her almost one-year saga to get a refund for a flight she was planning on taking last year as a “sh*t show”.

An Australian woman has described her almost one-year refund saga between a travel agency and airline as a “sh*t show” after learning she was pregnant and trying to obtain a refund.

In May last year, Isabella and her husband Stephen Symeoy, from Victoria, purchased return United Airlines flights to New York for December 23, 2023, at their local Flight Centre.

A few months after purchasing the $8000 flights, Isabella fell pregnant and her GP advised her not to fly.

She informed Flight Centre of this and asked if she could apply for a refund.

Isabella and her husband Stephen Symeoy, from Victoria.

However, according to Ms Symeoy, a Flight Centre staffer informed her she was not entitled to a refund.

She called United Airlines directly and says she was told she had grounds for a refund or credit note, but a medical certificate was needed to apply.

“Flight Centre told me they will try and apply for a refund but a few weeks went by and I still hadn’t heard anything from them.” Ms Symeoy told news.com.au.

“So I called the airline and they said a refund hadn’t been applied for – that the tickets haven’t been cancelled. At this point I was due to fly in a few months and (the travel agent) still hadn’t applied for a refund.”

“United Airlines told me over the phone my reasoning was valid and they didn’t want to be liable if anything happened when I had been given a doctor’s certificate advising me not to fly.”

After Isabella purchased the flights through Flight Centre in May last year, she found out she was pregnant and tried to apply for a refund.

Ms Symeoy said she contacted Flight Centre who informed her an application had been lodged, but was rejected.

“At this point I just tried to apply for the refund myself and then I got a response from United saying the tickets don’t belong to me, they belong to Flight Centre and they have to apply for the refund.”

The 25-year-old asked Flight Centre for proof of the application including the attached medical certificate.

“I was so frustrated at this point because I was told by the airline as long as I had a certificate, it was valid.”

Ms Symeoy claims that after organising her husband to meet with the local agency to apply for the application together, he was asked to leave.

The pair bought $8,000 United Airlines return flights from Melbourne to the US, through their local Flight Centre.

“They said they are cancelling the meeting because they no longer want to deal with us as the airline rejected the refund and there’s nothing else they can do,” she alleged.

After contacting the airline once more, it is claimed they told the mum-to-be they received a refund form, but no medical certificate was uploaded.

“It has been really stressful to be honest — it’s has been a sh*t show — and I am caught in the middle.”

“When I contact one, they said there’s no medical certificate attached and when I call the other they swear it has been. In situations like this, I, as a passenger, should be able to apply for my own refund — it is my money.”

An email dated on July 22, 2024, viewed by news.com.au, that was sent to Mr Symeoy by the airline, stated:

“We’re sorry to hear about your situation. As there was no doctor’s note attached, please provide a letter (on letterhead) from your physician confirming that travel wasn’t recommended prior to the expiration of the ticket.”

For almost one year, Isabella went back and forth between the travel agency and airline to try and obtain a refund after being told her GP she shouldn’t fly.

Following the rejection, Ms Symeoy enlisted the help Adam Glezer of Consumer Champion, who stepped in to advocate on behalf of the couple.

Ms Symeoy together with Mr Glezer contacted the local travel agent to explain that according to the airline, there was still no medical certificate attached.

In an email sent to the pair on July 23, 2024, viewed by news.com.au, a Flight Centre travel consultant said: “I have put a final refund request through, under the reasoning of ‘Medical Condition – unsafe to travel’ and attached the [clinic] Medical Certificate from September 2023. I have also made note that you spoke to two UA representatives (Lee and Tracey) regarding this situation and you have been advised by them that this medical certificate should be sufficient evidence.”

She continued that if the airline rejects the request again, the travel agency has no control over the outcome, “and the issue will need to be resolved directly with the airline”.

Isabelle said she was issued a store credit – valid for a year of the time she booked (in May). But she tried to argue it’s impossible to use as she was still pregnant and due to give birth in April/May this year (when it was due to expire).

“We told them that a credit wouldn’t work for us as we couldn’t fly with me heavily pregnant or a newborn,” she said.

“We gave birth to a baby girl on April 30 - the due date was May 10,” she said.

Adam Glezer of Consumer Champion. Picture: Wayne Taylor

News.com.au understands Ms Symeoy purchased a non-refundable ticket and a travel adviser submitted a refund request to United Airlines on her behalf in November 2023.

According to Flight Centre, their records verify a medical certificate was attached to the request.

News.com.au understands the request was refused by the airline and Ms Symeoy was instead issued a credit valid for 12 months from the date of ticket issue.

After contacting both Flight Centre and United Airlines for comment, news.com.au was informed Flight Centre was able to negotiate an extended credit with United Airlines that it will convert to a full refund for Ms Symeoy “as a gesture of goodwill”.

“This matter has been resolved and Flight Centre has reached out directly to the customer,” a United Airlines spokesman told news.com.au.

Mr Glezer said the only “loser” in a situation like this is the customer, adding that Ms Symeoy should have received this outcome months ago.

“There’s way too many people that find themselves caught in the ‘he said, she situation’ by a travel agent telling them one thing and the provider telling the exact opposite – who are they meant to believe?” he told news.com.au.

“Flight Centre should have got this result for Isabella months and months ago and not made her go through over six months stress, especially considering she was pregnant and had more than enough on her plate.”