Consumers still charged after credit card disputes over COVID-19 cancellations

Sandy Canfield felt double crossed by her credit card company after a major concert was cancelled twice.

“I expect people to hold up their end,” Canfield said.

She understood why Covid cancelled a Cher concert in March and shut down the rescheduled date next month.

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What she can’t understand is how StubHub kept her ticket money, nearly $600. Then MasterCard failed to protect her.

“I’m more shocked at my Capital One credit card, twice,” Canfield said.

She asked Capital One for a charge back, to remove the ticket fee for a concert that she fears will never happen and with health issues, she said it’s a concert she could never attend.

“There was no concert, so you expected to have that charge removed?” Todd Ulrich asked.

“Absolutely,” Canfield replied.

“As a dispute?” Ulrich asked.

“Absolutely,” she said.

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Credit card customers relied on that protection, until the pandemic.

Action 9 has handled a few hundred complaints from consumers about cancelled cruises, flights and concerts. Many customers turned to credit card disputes with mixed results.

Consumers contacted Ulrich after their chargebacks were denied, even though they didn’t get what they paid for.

“A lot of consumers are really upset about it,” said Ted Rossman with creditcards.com.

He says the unprecedented wave of Covid cancellations have overwhelmed the system.

But says consumers should continue filing disputes, should appeal any denials, and have more than the traditional 60 days from purchase to make their case.

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“The good news is you have time after the event was cancelled. You have 60 to 120 days after the missed trip to file the charge back,” Rossman said.

Ulrich contacted Capital One. The company says it’s monitoring Canfield’s account to see if accommodations are possible.

Canfield is sending a formal appeal too.

“I think the credit card company really let me down,” Canfield said.

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If your appeal fails, consider contacting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It handles credit card disputes. You can file your complaint on its website and spare no details, with dates and all your documentation.

Capital One’s response:

We reviewed our call logs, and the agent communicated the following: “We are closely monitoring the Coronavirus situation. If it continues to impact your ability to make your next minimum payment, please contact us before your next payment is due and we will review your account again to determine whether additional accommodations are available.”

Also, after double-checking all dialer call records, the last attempt made to call (the customer) was on 6/29.

Cox Media Group