BA IT failure – they won’t pay alternative flight costs!

[buchanan101]

meta wrote:

If you do get to talk to them, please tell them to train their agents on EU261/UK261 regulation.

It’s been mentioned a number of times in all my emails and the LBA.

The agents recognised that they are liable for the €250pp delay compensation, though I still haven’t received the money (not sure how long that normally takes)

[Lady London]

Get it all.
Personally,especially as a delegatee of the CEO’s office has now taken it on, you should get a holistic resolution.

It would be best to refuse anything except the whole amount.

[buchanan101]

Lady London wrote:

Get it all.
Personally,especially as a delegatee of the CEO’s office has now taken it on, you should get a holistic resolution.

It would be best to refuse anything except the whole amount.

I will be trying, including the €300 taxi fare and I will suggest they refund the original fare (it was only Avios and cash) in addition to refunding all of the new fare.

We will see. His email address is easy to find on the internet – not QUITE the obvious. Also now have one for “Chairman and CEO”.

[Lady London]

No if you are rerouted there is no case to get the original fare refunded as well as your rerouting costs. Your rerouting costs were very large compared to many btw although all fully justified.

As has been mentioned if you even mention the idea of a refund you are opening it up to that being all you get as the airline has a perfect right to just refund nothing more.

[buchanan101]

Lady London wrote:

No if you are rerouted there is no case to get the original fare refunded as well as your rerouting costs. Your rerouting costs were very large compared to many btw although all fully justified.

As has been mentioned if you even mention the idea of a refund you are opening it up to that being all you get as the airline has a perfect right to just refund nothing more.

I know I shouldn’t get original fare refunded. I may ask as compensation for the hassle… maybe that’s pushing it. Be good if the Global Engagement Executive ring me rather than do stuff by email.

Cost to BA of my re-routing – virtually zero as they were filling middle club seats… a bit of fuel, a really awful meal and a drink..

[John]

You’re already getting compensation of 250 euros. Maybe ask for 10k-20k avios for the hassle (in getting BA to fulfill their legal obligations) rather than making your trip completely free?

[buchanan101]

John wrote:

You’re already getting compensation of 250 euros. Maybe ask for 10k-20k avios for the hassle (in getting BA to fulfill their legal obligations) rather than making your trip completely free?

It was an Avios return flight anyway! The €250 is compensation for delay, not hassle in sorting out their customer service…

Just want my £1620 back really…be nice to tell them that they need to provide a bit more “customer service” when they leave people in the lurch – if I actually get to talk to them!

[buchanan101]

Update.

After emailing Sean Doyle and actually talking on the phone to a “Global Engagement Specialist”, BA are paying up for the ticket and the taxi. (They are also paying the €250pp)

Of course they “don’t normally do this” as I broke the original contract or some BS along those lines… I should’ve tried to contact them for them to sort – yeah right, that’ll work

I asked what the normal escalation process is if unhappy with Customer Services and she effectively recommended emailing Sean Doyle!

Also “transport” in a letter that Tom Stevens sent promising to pay “out-of-pocket expenses including hotel accommodation, transport, meals and refreshments and telephone or internet costs” refers to ground transport. Ah – plane not a mode of transport then…?

• This reply was modified 55 years, 1 month ago by .

[JDB]

buchanan101 wrote:

Update.

After emailing Sean Doyle and actually talking on the phone to a “Global Engagement Specialist”, BA are paying up for the ticket and the taxi. (They are also paying the €250pp)

Of course they “don’t normally do this” as I broke the original contract or some BS along those lines… I should’ve tried to contact them for them to sort – yeah right, that’ll work

I asked what the normal escalation process is if unhappy with Customer Services and she effectively recommended emailing Sean Doyle!

I’m glad you got this resolved relatively quickly.

BA is actually right about needing to contact them – it’s in the EU’s Interpretative Guidelines:- “ However, where an air carrier can demonstrate that when the passenger has accepted to give his or her personal contact details, it has contacted a passenger and sought to provide the assistance required by Article 8, but the passenger has nonetheless made his or her own assistance or re-routing arrangements, then the air carrier may conclude that it is not responsible for any additional costs the passenger has incurred and may decide not to reimburse them.”

so people should be careful splashing a lot of money to sort things out for themselves as the guidelines go on to say that it also absolves the airline of the duty to care as well, so you risk getting nothing back.

[buchanan101]

@JDB I did try to contact them – but I wasn’t going to spend hours trying and missing any chance of getting back to UK that day.

I take your point though!

(The “assistance” was a link to a page that gave me flights I could book, but ONLY from Salzburg, which is a Saturday/Sunday only airport…not really much help! I should’ve screenshotted that page; record EVERYTHING in future!)

• This reply was modified 55 years, 1 month ago by .

[JDB]

buchanan101 wrote:

@JDB I did try to contact them – but I wasn’t going to spend hours trying and missing any chance of getting back to UK that day.

I take your point though!

(The “assistance” was a link to a page that gave me flights I could book, but ONLY from Salzburg, which is a Saturday/Sunday only airport…not really much help! I should’ve screenshotted that page; record EVERYTHING in future!)

I would have done exactly the same as you (and have done so in the past), but we are perhaps in the fortunate position that we can take the hit if we don’t get our money back. I suspect this is a ‘get out’ for the airlines that many don’t realise. Someone mentioned this re a delay/cancellation in IOM last week and EasyJet/ADR found in the airline’s favour.

[buchanan101]

@JDB I could take the hit, but there’s what is technically right and what is morally right.

WE had pets in kennels, I don’t get paid if I don’t work, partner has a job etc etc. I wasn’t risking not getting flights for a few days (someone in hotel managed to get Munich flights for 2 days later, but not sure if that was off their own bat or miraculously somehow through BA; contacting them impossible at best of times – this was fall out from the IT outage

But useful information from you – thanks!

[NickinFrance]

Hi

I was hit by the same IT issue as is covered in the thread above, and had to make alternative arrangements.

It was IMPOSSIBLE to get through to BA – you couldn’t even get in a queue to wait for hours.

I maybe did the wrong thing, but I cancelled the flight and booked something else. But this was after I had already been delayed 1 day, and then a second cancellation was going to delay me a second day.

So I have claimed for delay (as I was already 24 hours late when I cancelled the flights) and the replacement flight costs – refund (they were unsurprisingly more expensive).

I claimed via their online form, but now a month later have received literally no response at all.

Any suggestions as to how to proceed ? It’s hopeless trying to speak to anyone.

Thanks
Nick

[buchanan101]

@NickinFrance

Yes – write to seanl.doyle@ba.com

It’s what I did

Not sure you should’ve cancelled the flight, but that shouldn’t matter

You should get EC261 compensation (€250pp in addition) in any case

• This reply was modified 55 years, 1 month ago by .

[buchanan101]

@nickinfrance

I also sent a letter by special Delivery to BA Legal outlining everything, and said I would be following up with MCOL or CEDR if I didn’t hear within 28 days. Not sure if this letter linked in to the lady I talked to today, but I mentioned that I would be doing this in my email to Sean Doyle

[NickinFrance]

Yes – write to seanl.doyle@ba.com

It’s what I did

Not sure you should’ve cancelled the flight, but that shouldn’t matter

You should get EC261 compensation (€250pp in addition) in any case

Thanks for the suggestion. As far as the flight cancellation was concerned, I didn’t know what else to do. If I’d done nothing, in effect I would have presumably been a no-show on the rescheduled flight. And it was literally impossible to do call.

[buchanan101]

@nickinfrance don’t you have to actively accept an alternative flight?

Whatever happens you are eligible for the €250pp

(I assume you have call records on your phone?)

[normanna]

I put my claim in 8 days ago for the alternative flights I had to book to reach London for my connecting MIA flight and all the other ancillary costs. I had to speak to BA today on another matter and I was told that it will be at least 22 days before they are able to look at such claims, just to give folks an idea of timelines

[ChrisC]

buchanan101 wrote:

Not sure you should’ve cancelled the flight, but that shouldn’t matter

You shouldn’t have cancelled. Once you cancel you don’t have the legal protections of the regulation.