I was unable to locate a ticket or reservation using the information that you provided. The refund conditions of tickets are governed by the fare rules of the ticket as agreed upon at the time of purchase. Tickets are eligible for a refund if the airline cancels a flight, within 24 hours of departure, or causes a flight time arrival delay of more than 120 minutes in an active itinerary. Per our Contract of Carriage, this is considered an involuntary action and disruption to a passenger's flights. However, when a customer cancels prior to any airline action (i.e. a flight cancellation or significant schedule change), this is considered a voluntary action, and ecredits for future travel apply. Based on the information provided in your message it does not appear that you tickets are eligible for refund.

Mr. Grant:

As expected, you waited until after the flight to make any statement, you misrepresented the facts, and you have shown that you will act in a deceitful manner toward your customers.

To be more specific:
Despite my emailing you in advance of the flight to remind you that the flight was coming up, you ignored my request. I specifically requested that you respond BEFORE the flight. Your failure to respond forced my hand. I did not willingly take eCredits. I was forced to take them just before the flight, or lose the money entirely.

You talk about voluntary actions and involuntary actions, making it sound as if I was the one who willingly took the eCredit. Again, I was forced to convert the tickets because YOU delayed your response until after the flight. You are not acting in good faith and you are trying to pretend like I did not request a refund until after taking the eCredit. In fact, the first time I tried to get a refund and was denied, I specifically told the operator to do nothing, as I was going to file a complaint with the DOT. But the operator did take the three tickets in question and put them under a new record locator. I do not know why your operators did this, since I told them to do nothing, but it proves that I contacted you, requested a refund, and then did NOT accept an eCredit. Only after your little game of waiting until the flight did I get the eCredit, and only because I was forced to do so because of YOUR actions.

Again, speaking of voluntary and involuntary actions, DELTA voluntarily canceled the flight I originally booked. I did not. To spell it out for you, this means the change was involuntary for me. Delta may have rebooked me on another flight, but the three passengers for whom I am seeking a refund did not consent to that flight. They were involuntarily placed on another flight. Again: DELTA canceled the original flight, number 1202, not me. When I asked your representative to put us on the original flight or refund our money, she said she could not put us on that flight, as the flight no longer existed. In other words, DELTA CANCELED IT. She also let us know that there was an equipment change to which we did not agree. Both the canceled flight and the equipment change are grounds for a REFUND. Stop playing games, follow the regulations, and refund the money.

I'm sorry to read that you were dissatisfied with our response. For complaints submitted via the DOT we have up to 60 days to respond and we strive to do so much sooner. However, complaints are answered in the order in which they are received. That said, you still have not provided a ticket number or record locator for me to properly determine if a refund of your ticket is due. Please respond to this message with a ticket number (006-) or Delta record locator.

Using the information provided I found unused tickets for [your family]. Our records indicate that on May 24th Delta flight 1202 from Minneapolis to San Francisco on August 22, scheduled departure of 330 PM was removed from the scheduled and replaced with flight 719, departing at 333 PM. A change of aircraft is not a qualifying event for a refund. Further, there is a distinct difference between an advanced "schedule change" and "cancellation", which usually occurs within 24 hours of departure. Our records also indicate that you were advised on July 27th that this type of change does not qualify for a refund as your arrival at destination was not delayed by more than 120 minutes. As such, I must reiterate that these tickets are not refundable and each passenger will retain the value of their tickets for use until December 31, 2022.

Mr. Grant:

My wife and children signed up to fly on flight 1202 from Minneapolis to SFO. That ticket was paid for on that promise. We were later informed that they could not fly on the flight for which we paid. This is because the flight no longer existed. This is by definition, a canceled flight. The flight was there, and then it was not. Whatever the reason for the cancellation, this was Delta's decision, not ours.

The DOT specifies that "A passenger is entitled to a refund if the airline cancelled a flight, REGARDLESS OF THE REASON, and the passenger chooses not to travel." (emphasis mine, quote taken from https://www.transportation.gov/individuals/aviation-consumer-protection/refunds )

I will spell it out for you one more time: DELTA canceled the flight, my wife and children chose not to fly, and we demand a refund, exactly as described in the DOT's website above.

I will also remind you that you should refund our money not just because the DOT mandates it, but also because it's the right thing to do. It is the right thing to do ethically, and it is the right thing to do financially. You may try and hold our money hostage during these times of covid, thinking you're making a financially prudent choice, but what you are really doing is engendering a deep dislike of your brand. This dislike will last a lifetime if you do nothing to mitigate it. You have made me decide that Sun Country, not Delta, will be my first choice the next time I fly to Minnesota. You have made me decide that ANY airline other than Delta will get my business first. You are also encouraging a discussion among my peers about Delta.

I hope you choose to reconsider for all the reasons, whether legal, financial, or ethical.

As stated, per the fare rules of these tickets as agreed upon at the time of purchase, these tickets do not meet the criteria for a refund. We do appreciate your persistence but we will have to agree that we cannot find the right solution this time. Any further communication would not be productive and we will not respond again regarding this incident.