Can I get a refund on my air ticket?

DJT75

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I booked 4 tickets to go to Florida for a wedding next February, I was advised by the BA salesman to book early because the 2nd week was school half-term & the return flight would fill up pretty quickly. This I was planning to do anyway just to make sure we got the exact flights we wanted.

We paid a whooping £566.10 per flight, I have just noticed BA are now selling tickets for the exact same flights for £398.10! Or go with Virgin, it's now only £340.

Surely the whole idea of booking early is to get you the best deal?:mad:

Anyway, I'm still trying to get through to BA but what's the chances of them refunding the difference? If any.....:(
 
all depends on what type of ticket you were sold
 
Hi DJ,

I'm afraid a very similar kind of question has been asked before, and you aren't going to like the answer, which also applies to your query in this thread.

Basically, when you book a ticket for anything, there is no guarantee that you are buying at the best price. You are taking a risk, by buying early, to guarantee the tickets you want, for the days you want to travel on - nothing more, nothing less.

If that same company, or another company, then decides to reduce the prices for the same flights or travelling arrangements, that's purely up to them, and it's a chance you take.

Ultimately, you have no real recourse for a refund. YOu could try asking politely, and say to the airline that can no longer travel on that journey any more, as (for example) the wedding date has now been postponed. But your chances of getting a 100% refund is very, very slim. I should stress two things though:
1 - If you do plan to try and get a refund, don't mention you've found a cheaper deal elsewhere or even with the same company. They won't care about this, so don't mention it at all. PLay on their human side, and use the cancellation of the wedding angle, to try and get a refund. Oh, and be really apologetic about it.
2 - Before you do try to apply for a refund, you should buy the tickets again, at the cheaper price. However, this does mean you risk getting no refund from the original company, and end-up having two sets of tickets, of which the more expensive set, you'll have to try and flog, if the airline company won't refund you.

Oh, and there may well be some kind of cancellation fee too, if they do allow you to refund the tickets. You'll need to check the small-print though, to see. Like I say, be apologetic, and be nice, and they may be willing to let you have a refund, but there is absolutely NO GUARANTEE this will happen, and you are taking a chance.

Best of luck, but this is a risk we all take when booking tickets early, There's no guarantee that a cheaper or better alternative won't come-up later on.


Pooch
 
Yeah I assumed that & it tells me nowhere. I assume it's just a standard nonflexible econmony

you could try to tell them you were mis-sold the ticket . is the new price includind all the add ons
 
Surely the whole idea of booking early is to get you the best deal?:mad:

Anyway, I'm still trying to get through to BA but what's the chances of them refunding the difference? If any.....:(

Pretty slim I would have thought. This is the way airlines operate and you'll find on any flight that folk pay all sorts of different prices

Assuming you still want to go it will cost more to cancel and rebook with all the various charges than you would save

However, find someone in management and complain politely but firmly and see what they can offer. Who knows, they might upgrade you
 
Mate, I don't know too much about the procedures, so am speaking from a standpoint of ignorance! .... nothing new there, then :( .... but there's no harm in trying.
As suggested, I would approach it from the wedding cancellation stance and sound them out for a full refund ... failing that, I would find out what the penalty is for cancellation of the tickets... In other circumstances, I know that the amount of the penalty is directly related to the time scale.. for example, some holidays state that if you cancel 6 months before = 10% of total amount, 3 months = 40% 1 month = 75% and so on. Bearing in mind that the holiday is still a while away, if the penalty was say, 10 or 15 %, it would still be well worth your while to cancel, book the Virgin flights and still pocket a hefty difference... That's the route I'd take, anyway! :)
Good luck matey, and here's hoping for a favourable outcome!
 
If you say the wedding has been cancelled they will probably say you should have taken out insurance for that possibility. I booked tickets for a family member and got one letter of her name wrong. I was charged £100 for them to correct the name on an e-ticket (2 seconds work) and that was BA so I wouldn't hold out too much hope. Good luck though!
 
I was charged £100 for them to correct the name on an e-ticket (2 seconds work) and that was BA so I wouldn't hold out too much hope. Good luck though!
In fairness though they do (in my experience) point out that the spelling of passenger names must be exactly as per the passport at the time of booking.
 
I think Pooch has it all summed up correctly. Booking "early" is more a guarantee of dates than price. We all know that last minute booking results in the best prices because it's on dates that suit the operator, not the traveller.
 
In fairness though they do (in my experience) point out that the spelling of passenger names must be exactly as per the passport at the time of booking.

Oh I agree, I just thought £100 was a bit steep for pressing delete and typing in a single letter on a keyboard.:(
 
I've tried 3 approaches without success. :(

1). Called BA Customer Service. Just a general friendly rant at the prices dropping & could I have a refund of the difference.
Answer: No

2). Called American Express (I paid for them on a BA AMEX card). Checked into payment protection/insurance on purchase with the cancelled Wedding Story.
Answer: Afraid not

3). Called BA Executive Club with the cancelled Wedding Story.

Answer: I can get a full refund (-£30 charge) on the one ticket I booked using airmiles + cash. Refund of all miles & cash. I can also get back £133.10for each of the other tickets if cancelled (which is basically the tax/fees)

So basically I can't do anything. My only half decent option is to cancel the airmiles booking, effectively pay an additional £150 to save 35,000 BA Miles but it's really not worth even doing that.

The people we're going with have just booked their Virgin Flights for a similiar dates for £298.00 all it. :suicide:

Never again will I book early just for the dates!


ps. Just booked a BA fullyflexible flight to Singapore through work, think I might switch it over to Singapore Airlines...
 
I'd defo change your Singapore flight to another carrier if work will allow it.

I'd probably write to the BA exec club and tell them why. You never know, you might get a few thousand airmailes as an apology. or maybe not. but gotta "be worth the price of a stamp"...
 
DJT75,

Have you tried telephoning British Airway's Refund Department, on:
0208-564-2111

They might be more helpful. If not, I got this from their website, which may offer some assistance:

How do I apply for a refund?
Since 1 December 2003 British Airways has been applying refund administration charges for all British Airways tickets refunded in the UK. These refund administration charges apply to all fares in all cabins.

Offline refunds:
For fully flexible tickets (i.e. a fully refundable ticket) the refund administration charge will be £15 per person, per ticket.

For semi- flexible tickets (i.e. a ticket which is refundable – but penalties apply) the refund administration charge will be £30 per person, per ticket. However, if the ticket includes 1 fully flexible ticketed segment, the refund fee will be £15.

For restricted tickets (i.e. a ticket which is not refundable) where taxes only are refundable, the refund administration charge will be £30 per person, per ticket. However, if the ticket includes 1 fully flexible ticketed segment, the refund fee will be £15. This refund fee will be collected from any monies due to be refunded back to the customer from their ticket, dependant on the fare regulations, including taxes, fees and charges. However, if the refund amount due to the customer is less than the applicable refund administration charge then no refund will be due to the customer.


Online refunds:
For fully flexible tickets there is no charge.

For semi-flexible tickets or restricted tickets, where only the tax is due for refund, there will be a £15 charge per person.
Please note: Each fare type has conditions attached which may include it being restricted, non-upgradeable or non-refundable (taxes paid are refundable). Generally the lower the fare the more restrictions there will be, however as we sell numerous different fare types and combinations, we are unable to advise in the 'Your questions' section of this website just how much it might cost to change, upgrade or cancel your specific travel plans. Name changes are not permitted once tickets have been purchased.

How to apply for a refund:
If you have a paper ticket, and you are applying for a refund in one of the following instances, the address you need to return your ticket(s) to is below:

If you have a BA ticket which you no longer wish to travel on, for your own personal reasons:
In this situation, please be aware that your ticket might not be fully refundable and you may only receive a partial refund or a refund of just the taxes/fees/charges that were applied to your ticket.

British Airways PLC,
PO Box 365 Refunds,
HDA1 (R46)
Waterside
Harmondsworth
Middlesex UB7 OGB.

Telephone: 0208 564 2111 (opening hours 9:00am-Noon/1:30pm-3:30pm Mon-Thurs, 9:00am-Noon on Fridays).

Good Luck! :)


Pooch
 
DJT75,

Have you tried telephoning British Airway's Refund Department, on:
0208-564-2111

They might be more helpful. If not, I got this from their website, which may offer some assistance:

How do I apply for a refund?
Since 1 December 2003 British Airways has been applying refund administration charges for all British Airways tickets refunded in the UK. These refund administration charges apply to all fares in all cabins.

Offline refunds:
For fully flexible tickets (i.e. a fully refundable ticket) the refund administration charge will be £15 per person, per ticket.

For semi- flexible tickets (i.e. a ticket which is refundable – but penalties apply) the refund administration charge will be £30 per person, per ticket. However, if the ticket includes 1 fully flexible ticketed segment, the refund fee will be £15.

For restricted tickets (i.e. a ticket which is not refundable) where taxes only are refundable, the refund administration charge will be £30 per person, per ticket. However, if the ticket includes 1 fully flexible ticketed segment, the refund fee will be £15. This refund fee will be collected from any monies due to be refunded back to the customer from their ticket, dependant on the fare regulations, including taxes, fees and charges. However, if the refund amount due to the customer is less than the applicable refund administration charge then no refund will be due to the customer.


Online refunds:
For fully flexible tickets there is no charge.

For semi-flexible tickets or restricted tickets, where only the tax is due for refund, there will be a £15 charge per person.
Please note: Each fare type has conditions attached which may include it being restricted, non-upgradeable or non-refundable (taxes paid are refundable). Generally the lower the fare the more restrictions there will be, however as we sell numerous different fare types and combinations, we are unable to advise in the 'Your questions' section of this website just how much it might cost to change, upgrade or cancel your specific travel plans. Name changes are not permitted once tickets have been purchased.

How to apply for a refund:
If you have a paper ticket, and you are applying for a refund in one of the following instances, the address you need to return your ticket(s) to is below:

If you have a BA ticket which you no longer wish to travel on, for your own personal reasons:
In this situation, please be aware that your ticket might not be fully refundable and you may only receive a partial refund or a refund of just the taxes/fees/charges that were applied to your ticket.

British Airways PLC,
PO Box 365 Refunds,
HDA1 (R46)
Waterside
Harmondsworth
Middlesex UB7 OGB.

Telephone: 0208 564 2111 (opening hours 9:00am-Noon/1:30pm-3:30pm Mon-Thurs, 9:00am-Noon on Fridays).

Good Luck! :)


Pooch

Many thanks Pooch:smashin:, some useful info there but they do unfortunately seem to be covering their back quite considerably for non-refundable ticket types.

I will however give that number a call & see what they say.

cheers:thumbsup:
 
Not that it's much comfort, but whenever I book a flight early, like you have done, I never look at the prices again. That way I dont risk feeling swindled.
 
as always in this day and age buyer beware, to spotty oink was probably on comission.
 
Just a quick follow up here.

I decided to write BA a stinking letter last week & to their credit they have answered already.

I pretty much requested a refund of the difference & compensation of the airmiles I'd used (35,000) unnecessarily.

Not expecting anything out of them they have recognised my disappointment & credited my BA Miles account with 20,000 miles.

20,000 isn't great but also not something to be sniffed at (2 return tickets to nearby Europe / 1 ticket to Northern Africa). So what do you reckon - continue the pursuit of justice or take the miles? Have they just fobbed me off & there's more to get here??

The other alternative is refund my part cash, part miles ticket & buy a new one at the discounted rate. That would get me £248 + 35,000 back in return for paying for a new £378 ticket. That's £130 more out my pocket but a gain of those extra 20,000 for nothing, which I suspect they didn't think I do. The 20,000 miles credited is a "goodwill gesture in recognition of the problems I have raised" - it says nowhere that it's a part refund of the miles used.

Hmmmmm decisions......My heart says I should not accept the 20,000 miles gesture & go for more......but...........:confused:
 
Speaking as someone who will normally go the extra mile to get as much back as possible from an organisation, I think you've done quite well with your 20,000 miles. Good effort!
 
Speaking as someone who will normally go the extra mile to get as much back as possible from an organisation, I think you've done quite well with your 20,000 miles. Good effort!

So you'd quit whilst you were ahead.....well, still behind?
 
Probably. In all honesty, as has been said earlier in this thread, you take a chance when you buy a ticket. If the price goes up, you sit back and think what a good deal you've got. The reverse is true in your case but the airline didn't have to do anything and could have stuck two fingers up to you.

It's a bit like buying shares. If they go down in price after you've bought them, you can't ask for a refund of the difference.
 

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