In October, my adult son and I flew on US Airways to Cleveland from Grand Cayman, connecting through Charlotte. Our US Airways inbound flight was about 80 minutes late, as it needed to divert to Miami for a medical emergency. That made our connection in Charlotte really tight after clearing immigration, customs and baggage recheck.
At the US Airways baggage recheck, the agents told us to run to the gate, as the plane was still there and we could still make the connection. We ran through the airport and got to the gate in time to board. Most people were already on board. We were holding valid US Airways-issued boarding passes. My son was allowed to board, but the gate agents refused to allow me through because they had rebooked us on a later flight as they decided we would not make the connection.
They told me that the only seat on the plane was in first class, and that if I wanted to board I would need to pay $65 for the upgrade. I pleaded my case, but they threatened to close the door and let my son fly without me unless I forked over the money. This flight is one hour and 12 minutes and I would never pay to upgrade for that short of a segment. I suggested they remove whoever they decided to put in my seat, but the gate agents were unresponsive and refused to summon a supervisor when I objected to the upcharge. So I paid the money and got on the flight.
I appealed to US Airways through its website and got the canned response of "our records show you sat in the seat, so too bad." I disputed the charge thru my Chase Credit Card and US Airways gave them the same response. Can you help me get a refund?