B.C. man says Expedia charged double the agreed price for Hong Kong flights

An Expedia sign is seen in a file photo.

Expedia has been ordered to reimburse a B.C. traveller who said his credit card was charged more than double the price he agreed to pay for flights.

Christopher Yin Chan filed a dispute against the company in B.C.’s small claims tribunal, arguing he was overcharged for a pair of round-trip tickets between Vancouver and Hong Kong.

Chan told the Civil Resolution Tribunal when he clicked Expedia’s “complete booking” button back in June 2023, the quoted price for the trip was $3,977.

The next day, a charge for $8,308 appeared on his credit card.

“He says he immediately contacted Expedia but that it was unwilling to resolve the issue with him,” tribunal member Peter Nyhuus wrote, in a recent decision.

“He says he did not want to cancel his travel plans, so he started this dispute seeking a refund of the amount he was overcharged.”

Chan’s evidence included a screenshot of the Expedia website, taken the day after his purchase, which showed a pair of flights with a similar itinerary listed for $3,977.

Nyhuus said he found it “unlikely” that the airfare would drop in price by upwards of 50 per cent overnight.

“Expedia has not said this happened,” Nyhuus noted. “Expedia merely says that, ‘based on the checkout process,’ Mr. Chan was notified of, and agreed to, the airfare price prior to the purchase.”

The company did not provide further explanation of its checkout process to the tribunal.

Nyhuus ultimately found it was more likely that Chan was overcharged, ordering Expedia to reimburse him for the difference of $4,330, plus $406 in pre-judgment interest and $200 in tribunal fees.