Colorado’s attorney general asked the U.S. Department of Transportation on Tuesday to investigate complaints which Frontier Airlines didn’t refund the price of flights canceled because of the coronavirus outbreak and then made it virtually impossible for people to use vouchers for various other flights while in the pandemic.
In a sales copy to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Attorney General Phil Weiser mentioned his office had received more than hundred complaints from Colorado and 29 various other states about the Denver based low cost carrier since March, more than every other business.
People said Frontier refused to issue them a refund when flights were canceled because of the pandemic, that Weiser stated violated department regulations that refunds are thanks even when cancellations are thanks to situations beyond airlines’ management. Individuals that received vouchers for using on future flights after voluntarily canceling the travel plans of theirs have been not able to redeem them. Some were rejected through the airline’s site and were not able to extend the 90-day time limit for using them or even had been limited to using the vouchers on only one flight, he published. Still individuals that sought guidance through the airline’s customer support line had been put on hold for several hours and were disconnected regularly, he said.
Weiser said that the Department of Transportation was at the most effective position to explore the complaints and said it has to issue fines of up to $2,500 a violation when adequate.
Chronic problem? DOT warns airlines? once again? to issue refunds for canceled flights soon after receiving 25,000 complaints
Businesses cannot be permitted to make the most of consumers during the time and must be held responsible for unfair and deceptive conduct, he stated in a declaration.
Frontier said it has stayed in total compliance with department rules as well as regulations concerning flight modifications, refunds and cancellations.
Throughout the pandemic, Frontier Airlines has acted in faith that is good to care for our passengers fairly and compassionately, the business said in a declaration.
Complaints about getting refunds from airlines surged this spring. In May, Chao asked airlines to be as flexible and considerate as possible to the demands of passengers which face financial difficulty.
In the department’s May environment travel customer report, the most recent available, Frontier had the third-highest fee of overall complaints, trailing Hawaiian Airlines as well as United Airlines. The report counts only complaints from buyers which go through the trouble of filing a criticism with the unit, not individuals who only grumble to an airline.