Kiwi.com Refuses Refund Despite Proven Double Payment

I purchased two round-trip tickets (Budapest–Rome departure on March 14 and return on March 17) with Ryanair through Kiwi.com. We made the initial purchase on March 2, but we could not confirm the ticket because the confirmation link sent via email did not work due to a system issue. The email also stated that the tickets needed to be confirmed within 30 minutes to be valid. When we checked the next day, the tickets appeared as not purchased.

We then tried to purchase the tickets again and encountered the same confirmation issue. At that point, we contacted live support and clearly explained the problem we experienced with the first purchase and that we were forced to buy tickets again. We explicitly stated that the first unconfirmed transactions should not be charged, otherwise it would result in double payment. Live support thanked us for reporting the issue and assured us that since we did not confirm the first transaction, it would not be charged to our card. We then completed the second purchase with the help of technical support and successfully received our tickets.

However, when we checked our credit card the next day, we saw that charges had been made for both March 2 and March 3 transactions. In other words, the first transaction—which we never confirmed and which failed due to a system glitch—was still charged, resulting in a double payment. On March 5, we contacted Kiwi.com via email and explained the situation in detail. We were told the transactions would be reviewed. As the process dragged on, we sent follow-up emails, but eventually received responses stating that a refund could not be issued.

In the most recent email, we were told that actions can only be taken up to 48 hours before the trip, and since the trip had already taken place, no refund could be processed. However, we reported this issue in writing approximately 8 days before the trip. Despite this, we continue to receive automated responses, and we cannot reach anyone by phone.

I request a full refund of $443 (total of $259 + $184) for the two outbound and two return tickets from the first transaction, which should never have been charged due to the system error. According to Kiwi.com’s terms, since the first booking was never confirmed, my refund should not be subject to a 10% deduction or issued as Kiwi Credit. Due to the clear system error and double charge, I demand a full cash refund.