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Forums Frequent flyer programs Virgin Flying Club Virgin have done me dirty Reply To: Virgin have done me dirty

The Savage Squirrel 671 posts

1) Do you have anything in writing from a few months ago stating that you wished to make that very specific flight booking (not just “give me my points because I’d like to book other flights”) which shows that you were unable to purely due to their points error? (sounds like you might)
2) Do you have anything in writing from Virgin agreeing to resolve the problem SO THAT YOU CAN BOOK THOSE EXACT FLIGHTS (their communication must reference this exact and specific point very clearly).

If the answer to (1) is no then Virgin have given you £400 worth of points as an apology for their error which seems more than reasonable – whatever flights you wish to book now and what they cost is irrelevant.

If the answer to (1) is yes and (2) is no then it’s a sticky wicket because you’ve requested compensation to book that flight, but they’ve never agreed to it and then you’ve accepted their counter-offer. Any attempt at further compensation would have to overcome this which seems unlikely. I’d probably move on.

If the answer to (1) and (2) is yes (and useful to get someone independent or not involved to really confirm that this is so) then they’ve failed to deliver what they had already agreed to remedy their error and it would seem reasonable to escalate this – first via the complaints process and if that fails via the executive team. As ever keep everything short, factual and unemotional if you do so. Not like what you’ve written here, which takes a couple of reads to exactly understand what went on. You’d need to state any issue much more briefly and clearly, and brutally cull any and all irrelevant detail. This will make you more likely to get the response you want.

I’d also decide, unemotionally, whether this is worth your time or whether just paying to cover the small shortfall in points (is it 3-5k? I lost track at that point – take this as an example of how people do lose track when there are too many details thrown at them) and making the booking would be a quicker solution at this point.

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