OK, venting here, but also curious if anyone else experienced any recent issues with United Airlines?
TLDR: United abandoned us in the Dominican Republic, then refused to assist in getting us home. Now they are refusing to refund us for the ticket they canceled (when we had to purchase new tickets home out of pocket).
Situation:
On 3/14 we (two families-8ppl total) flew non-stop from Chicago to Punta Cana on United. We flew out before this really blew up. There were cautions about travel, but the Dominican Republic was a very low threat country. The situation escalated quickly, on 3/18, our return flight was ceremoniously canceled by United (for "runway obstruction" issues). We soon discovered that the DR had restricted all incoming travelers to the DR, and was only allowing return flights. later on 3/18 or earlier on 3/19 (I believe) is when the return home order/warning was issued by the State Department. There were still flights going back to the US, but not from United. Tons of travelers were suddenly rushing to get out of the country, and those suddenly abandoned by United, were attempting to book the few remaining flights home (which were all likely full to begin with).
We contacted United, and the earliest they could fly us out was May 6... ? Six weeks? We requested they assist in rebooking with another airline for us. After all, they brought us into the DR, and they had a loose responsibility to get us back home, right? Apparently not. They explained they were not going to be able to assist in booking other flights, and suggested we work with other airlines on our own to arrange return travel??? While other airlines were flying in empty planes to evacuate people, United just canceled all flights and then refused to assist with getting us back home! They did this to 100's of travelers (if not more). We scrambled and did find return flights, but it required we pay for an extra hotel night, and had to pay for the last minute flights out of pocket. An international pandemic crisis, with travelers being evacuated as fast as possible, and United just steps away and says "you're on your own?"... The f&ck?
The remainder of the trip was stressful (not relaxing). We were in constant fear the US would close the boarder and/or the new flight would get canceled. The resort we were staying at scaled back all services, and we essentially stayed in/around our rooms and freaked the eff out... We continually tried to get earlier flights, to no avail.
Upon returning home, we waited a few days to allow some calm to return after the travel orders and such. On Friday, we spend 3 hours on the phone with Cheap Caribbean (who booked the trip). They informed us to contact United to obtain a refund. We confirmed each round trip tix (x4) was $820 (half of which was canceled by United). We then contacted United, and after spending 2 hours on the phone with them, they informed us they had no idea what the ticket breakdown was for the return flight, and they had no way to process a refund, since it was booked in bulk by Cheap Caribbean. Yes, I spoke with supervisors, etc... They directed us back to Cheap Caribbean... Holy Hell!!!! I tried my best to remain calm (it wasn't the phone agent's fault, after all), but this is ridiculous. The DOT regulations require an airline to refund a tix if they cancel it... Apparently they're doing this to a LOT of people, and aren't giving anyone a refund...? Seriously?
News Story About United Not Refunding
We figure our options are to pray United will adhere to DOT regulations and issue a refund? Or we do a claim on our credit card used to book the trip, claiming they failed to provide the services paid for? Not sure the time-limits on something like that?
Ultimately, I mainly happy we got back safely, and we're all healthy. But the $1500 worth of out-of-pocket expenses caused by United, and their dismissive actions in this seriously rub me the wrong way.