@Anonymous wrote:
Here's my situation....
Back in April I booked a flight internationally with 2 other people with Spirit Airlines using my Citi Mastercard. Since then, some things have come up which I prefer not to discuss and now I can no longer go on the trip. The problem is that the tickets are non-refundable so basically I get screwed if I don't go.
Now the question....
As far as disputing charges go, is there any way that I could call up Citi and tell them that I do not recognize the charges and have them removed? I never actually spoke with the Spirit Air representative - one of my friends who was in charge of organizing the trip took my CC and booked it for me. I never gave anyone authorization over the phone to use my card.
To do this, you have to be prepared to accuse your friend of a crime.
There's another option, which I think would be techincally legal. You might actually be able to buy trip insurance now that covers cancellation for any reason. When I make big travel plans with my family, I always purchase trip insurance because I never know if my kids are going to get ill just before we leave. I just looked at the company that I use, and their "cancel for any reason" upgrade states that you "Must purchase this upgrade within 21 days of the initial trip deposit." That is, if you purchased the ticket less than 21 days ago, then you can still buy this option and take advantage of it. At least that's the way I'm reading it - I didn't look at the fine print. I do feel like it's gaming the system, but if the travel insurance company really wanted to prevent this practice, then they would have required people to purchase insurance almost immediately after the travel plans are booked and paid. I think they must realize that people do purchase their insurance knowing full well that they will need to cancel.
It's not cheap, and I don't think it reimburses 100% of the cost (I think only 80%), but it's probably better than losing out on your entire payment.
