Workaround found. How to trigger an online British Airways flight refund using Google Chrome

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

• Graham says:

  27 Mar27 March 07:04

  Hi, does anyone know if you will get a cash refund if only the outward leg of teh journey has been cancelled please?

  Thanks

  • Shoestring says:

    27 Mar27 March 07:06

    yes you will if all on 1 booking

• R Ellis says:

  27 Mar27 March 07:49

  I have flights booked for euros in June which are no longer required. The flights are cancelled but I am being offered a voucher. Does this seem right? I would be happy just to get taxes back.

  • R Ellis says:

    27 Mar27 March 07:53

    To add my flights aren’t cancelled and it’s a cash booking

• Rob Cornelius says:

  27 Mar27 March 08:15

  BA have changed the web page again, so the above work around no longer works. Only the travel voucher option appears now. They have obviously cottoned on to what customers were doing. I wonder if their behaviour is actually criminal. I will never fly BA again if I can possibly help it.

  • Rob Cornelius says:

    27 Mar27 March 09:18

    Thanks Shoestring, but the problem is, that page is ‘cancel my booking’. I am nervous that this might deemed to be me cancelling (even though I have had an email from BA saying the flight is cancelled), because it also says tick this box to confirm you agree: “We are unable to calculate your refund total prior to processing your claim. The refund amount will be based on our fare rules and the total refunded is final and non-negotiable. On submission of this form you are agreeing to the refund total that we calculate.”
    BA are up to dirty tricks and I don’t trust them one iota, can easily imagine them just paying me the taxes and saying: “You elected to cancel the booking, we have proof from the online form you signed. and you agreed to accept our refund amount unequivocally”. How unfair is that?!!

    • Dan says:

      27 Mar27 March 11:04

      I agree and have the same issue. I’d be interested to know others experiences!

      Thanks!

      • Shoestring says:

        27 Mar27 March 18:36

        it’s not risky because you know the terms already:

        you have to be very clear about whether you booked an Avios/ reward flight OR a cash flight

        An Avios/ reward flight can also be + Money (to reduce the Avios)

        A cash flight can also be + Avios (to reduce the cost)

        All cancelled flights can use this no problem and you’ll get a full refund

        If BA did not yet cancel the flight, again all flights can be cancelled by you

        BUT
        -Avios/ reward flights only pay a small fee generally £17.50/ £35 return in Europe
        – cash flights YOU LOSE EVERYTHING SO DON’T CANCEL

  • Lady London says:

    27 Mar27 March 12:49

    It’s illegal. The EC has even issued a specific clarification that airlines still have to give cash refund for flights the airline cancelled and cannot issue a voucher if the customer wants a refund.

    I can understand the regulators holding off punishing airlines at this difficult time. But would be great if they could be required to pay a turnover levy in future to let them know they can’t disobey the law with impunity and not pay the consequences. Alternatively a massive, massive fine for systematically not giving consumers rights would be nice. Otherwise guess what? BA’s egregious and systematic denial of customers rights in future would get even worse.

    Whether the regulator has the b*lls to inflict punishment on the airlines for this, or the means, for those that restructure and lose the previous liabilities including for misdemeanours, we will have to wait.

    But at least hopefully this will tell the regulator not to allow any current legislation to be weakened in favour of the airlines as they’ve proved again and again that they intend to continue abusing consumers whenever they can.

• mthants says:

  27 Mar27 March 10:44

  Has anyone had a voucher declined? I had an email telling me a flight on 1st June has been cancelled so I went through the process to request a voucher and now have an email saying

  “Thank you for contacting British Airways. Unfortunately, your booking is not eligible for a Future Travel Voucher .

  We apologise for the inconvenience.

  Warm regards,
  British Airways Customer Service ”

  That’s a bit more than an inconvenience!

  • Lady London says:

    27 Mar27 March 12:53

    Don’t even bother going back to the airline to say “that’s all right I’ll just take the full refund I was always entitled to anyway then”.

    Life’s too short, take that email straight to your insurer Otto your credit card and request s75 refund, or to charge card and request chargeback.

• babyg says:

  27 Mar27 March 10:57

  its crackers they have stopped a cash refund for a cancelled flight via their website, they have setup their systems so all paths lead to no refunds…

  1>Ring BA for silver members = please ring “0800 727 800” and then hangs up

  2>> Ring “0800 727 800”

  3>>> option 1 = if you press 1 about a refund they say wait longer and hang up on you
  or
  3>>> press nothing to get to the next step

  4>>>>option 1 (avios booking) – they are too busy and hang up on you
  or
  4>>>>option 2 (cash booking) – after 30mins you get through, but they cant help you and they hang up on you.

  basically no matter what i do they hang up on me…

• SGM says:

  27 Mar27 March 11:45

  THANK YOU FOR POSTING THIS! I recovered 125,000 Avios and $1000 in fees thanks to you. I used the method above just now to cancel an upcoming LHR-LAS business class booking for two that I wouldn’t have been able to use. Worked like a charm.

  I found your method after BA last week cancelled an LHR-MEX economy class Avios flight and this morning I was e-mailed that the voucher I had “requested” – ! – was available for use. No way to find out how much the voucher was for. No refund of Avios. So I wanted to avoid that fate for the upcoming LAS flight. Thank you again!

  • Alex says:

    27 Mar27 March 12:26

    I’m pleased this worked for you! Did you go through the form and accept the terms saying ‘ “We are unable to calculate your refund total prior to processing your claim. The refund amount will be based on our fare rules and the total refunded is final and non-negotiable. On submission of this form you are agreeing to the refund total that we calculate.”’

    This is my worry that they won’t refund all the money and avios back, but i’m pleased to hear you had a positive experience!

    • Lady London says:

      27 Mar27 March 12:59

      If it came to it, EC261 is a statutory right. You are not allowed to sign away your statutory rights by way of a contract. So whilst not being a lawyer there is this and other reasons why they would lose in court.

      At this point I wouldn’t be using any links I would send recorded delivery letters demanding cash refund u set EU261 to BA’s registered address. Get, and keep, proof of receipt from the Royal Mail as soon as delivered because it’s not unknown for Royal Mail to be unable to provide proof later even if you paid the higher charge for Recorded Delivery or Signed-for.

• AG says:

  27 Mar27 March 12:59

  This is still definitely working for future avios bookings on flights which have not yet been cancelled. I have just refunded one in June for Club Europe, avios back immediately, expect the cash refund on my card in a couple days (like the last time I did this).

• JG says:

  27 Mar27 March 14:33

  Got through finally at 5.05 am this morning on the phone (0800 727 800) , then waited for 45 minutes to speak to someone. Claimed cash refund which they say will take 2- 4 weeks to process. Made certain note was attached to booking. Fingers crossed.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.