The last representative that I spoke with regarding a refund for a guest that canceled, closed the case that I specifically asked him not to. He made the situation way more complicated than it needed to be and he continually misunderstood what I asked him to do. I don’t know what’s going on with Airbnb lately but they’re either incredibly short staffed or they just stopped caring.
You are probably right about the cs. Have you tried to call in again and get another cs? Many host have found that this tactic works when you snag an experienced cs. Work for me a couple of times.