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Hi,
I posted some time ago about a 2-leg BA Reward flight where the first leg was delayed and we missed our connection on the 2nd. BA rebooked us on the next-day flight, and after a long wait we finally obtained our £520 compensation for the delayed arrival.
However, we recently noticed during a statement check that we had been charged £32.50pp on the flight day, which corresponds to Avios rebooking fees. I disputed that with Customer Relations, but the drone at the other end insists that this is their policy and no refund is possible.
What are our options now? As this was taken from our Amex BAPP card, can I contact Amex and ask them for a chargeback? Should I take the case to the CAA?Thanks,
RenaudWhat exactly do you mean by avios rebooking fees?
I mean the fees that are normally charged if you request a change to an Avios booking. In this case, they had a rebook us because they caused the missed connection, so why have we been charged?
So it sounds like the £17.50 standard cash amount for a one way reward flight saver and a £15 per person charge for a telephone booking fee.
When you say a two-leg reward, had you booked these legs separately or was it one through ticket? And what was the Avios and cash split. And are you sure that they did not charge you Avios to rebook also?
If you booked the legs separately then I don’t think this is unreasonable.
If you booked it as one ticket then the charge is nonsense.
This is what I can’t understand. If it was all on one ticket, OP should have been rebooked at no charge at all, if separate bookings, the full cost of the replacement flight would be payable.
But given that OP got the full delay compo, I am thinking it’s more likely that they missed a connecting flight on the same booking.
But if they got (presumably) 2 x £520, is £60-odd worth chasing? Amex dispute might be an option on the grounds they didn’t authorise the charge (though in that case, how did BA get card details to charge it to). CAA doesn’t deal with this stuff, AFAIK, I think CEDR would be the next port of call (though again, a lot of work for £65).
If they had separate tickets and this is how I am reading it, delay compensation is just for the first leg.
BA correctly charged them for new ticket, it probably wasn’t even a re-booking and OP misunderstood what was happening. They probably also took the extra Avios or simply their wonderful IT system forgot to deduct.
Hi,
both legs were booked under a single ticket, full Avios rewards. The extra fees were charged on the same Amex card that was used to pay the taxes on the booking. And we were 4, so we’re looking at around £160. Considering that we suffered other costs (lost hotel night, a missed flight on another booking with another airline), I’m not inclined to let this go.
@Reno I’m not sure this is within scope for CEDR and that’s a bit of a palaver for £160 anyway. I would be inclined to do a chargeback with Amex on the basis that card details provided to BA for the purchase of air tickets on x date have subsequently been used again x months later on x date without prior notification or authorisation by you. Further, even if such notification had been given, the charges are erroneous. While BA has declined to specify to what the charges relate, stating this is ‘policy’ and no refund is due (see attached correspondence), the sum(s) in question would suggest that these are change and/or telephone fees. The changes made to my family’s reservations were a consequence of a delayed connection such that the changes were made in accordance with BA’s statutory obligations under the EC261 passenger regulations and as such, no payment is due to BA for the changes to our reservations. BA has acknowledged its culpability for the missed connection by paying the statutory delay compensation which evidences the erroneous nature of this charge.
BA will probably respond more seriously to Amex than it did to you, although unfortunately the statutory position isn’t set out as clearly as it might be.
Hi,
both legs were booked under a single ticket, full Avios rewards. The extra fees were charged on the same Amex card that was used to pay the taxes on the booking. And we were 4, so we’re looking at around £160. Considering that we suffered other costs (lost hotel night, a missed flight on another booking with another airline), I’m not inclined to let this go.
Those costs aren’t recoverable from BA. You should try your travel insurance.
@BA Flyer IHG Stayer, yes I know these costs aren’t recoverable from BA, this is why I don’t want to let them get away with undue charges.
@JDB, thanks for the advice. In order to claim the chargeback, can I just phone Amex or should I write to them?
@JDB, thanks for the advice. In order to claim the chargeback, can I just phone Amex or should I write to them?
You can either call or do it online – the call may be easier if the charges are on four separate lines. You will probably then be sent a link asking you to upload supporting evidence. It’s easiest then to write something along the lines I suggested, plus anything you want to add and the correspondence with BA refusing to refund plus evidence of the delay compensation and any other evidence and put the whole thing in one PDF
You can use the Amex chat facility to open the dispute, then as @JDB says, follow the instructions to upload any necessary documents.
I had to do this during the pandemic when a refund from BA never arrived and they insisted it had been paid. Amex were brilliant and it was all sorted very quickly.
I don’t know if this is still the case, but I seem to recall that Amex actually refunded the money immediately, then pursued BA for it afterwards.
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