British Airways, the saga continues

Well, I feel silly calling it a saga as there is nothing heroic or adventurous about it. Just me trying to get my money back ... though there's something to be said for the why behind it all. Anyway ...

When I called British Airways on July 3rd, I was told that my refund would take 7-10 days to be processed. To be processed. Keep that in mind. Today, I called my credit card company to see whether or not the refund showed up. Nope. So I called British Airways and spoke to someone who hailed from planet DUH.

Me: ... so I wanted to check the status of the refund.
Duh-Lady: Refunds take 7-10 days.
Me: I made the request on July 3rd. Can you please check the status?
Duh: Ma'am, the refund sometimes takes one to two billing cycles to show up on your statement.
Me: I just spoke with my credit card company and they have no record of the refund.
Duh: Well, ma'am, it takes 7-10 days to process refunds.
Me: My initial phone call was on July 3rd.
Duh: ...
Duh: Well, I can check your booking record if you'd like.
Me: Yes, please. [OH MY GOD]
Duh: ...
Duh: ...
Duh: ...
Duh: Ma'am, kjahfisenfvuiwb [indiscernible] only shows that the refund was requested on July 3rd.
Me: Wait, so does that mean it hasn't been processed? When will it be processed?
Duh: Ma'am I don't have that information. Refunds are handled by the refunds department. But they usually take 7-10 BUSINESS days, ma'am, and today is the 10th day.
Me: What, so it's going to be processed within the next couple hours?!!
Duh: Well, Ma'am, it might be a couple more days. Maybe on Monday. There were many cancelled flights and so they have a lot of refunds to work through and sometimes these things can take up to 8 weeks to show up on your statement.
Me: So I'll call back on Monday and by then it should have been processed??
Duh: Well, ma'am, you can try calling back on Monday, but they're really busy. And it won't show up on your credit card statement til after, sometimes, two billing cycles.
Me: ...
Me: Does the refund department have a direct line?
Duh: No Ma'am.
Me: So I need to call this number again?
Duh: Yes ma'am.
Me: Okay, I'll call back on Monday.
Duh: Thank you Ma'am. And thank you for choosing British Airways.

I didn't have a calendar in front of me, but I've since located one and have found that today is, in fact, the eleventh day. And I was generous and didn't count the 3rd or July 4th. And I do realize that I'm not the only who was on this cancelled flight and they must have a lot to deal with, but I doubt that the majority of people asked for a full refund (I imagine most travelers rebooked their flights). And it worries me a little bit that the record said, "Refund requested,"--as if my refund can be denied. Why couldn't it have said, "Refund approved," or "Refund forthcoming," or, simply, "REFUND"? And how long can it possibly take for the refund to be processed?! Everything is computerized. They should be able just to punch a few numbers and, ta-da, money. Chances are that everything will be fine--but it was just aggravating ... and I don't like being called ma'am. And this woman was a numb-nut.

My mom has been doing okay. Her nausea has gotten a bit worse--and my aunt tells her that she misses me. My aunt also told her not to make me feel guilty for leaving ... that that wouldn't be fair to me. I'm grateful for that, but it does mean that she'll be guarded about what she tells me. So we've returned to this place where I have to stitch together the fragments of what my mom tells me, my aunt tells me, and my dad tells me in order to make sense of how she's feeling. Hopefully, I'll come up with something close to the mark.