British Airways: managed to get a refund

QuangoSurrey

I had booked eight tickets in December 2019 for flights on 4th April and returns on 11th April. In March we received notification from British Airways that the flights had been cancelled. Going to the "My Bookings" as most people would, you'll find the only thing they offer is the future travel voucher - the refund page has been deliberately turned off. This forces you to try to call their call center but you won't get very far down any telephone response tree before they drop the call.
"Experiencing high call volumes" BA? Yeah that happens when you deliberatly disable the simple automated option.

Finally heard that it can be possible to get through via Twitter, and this does (eventually) work. Note you should cancel the booking only if BA has cancelled the flights. If the flights are still scheduled, you may only get back the airport fees and tax element. Also note I booked direct with BA - if you booked BA flights via a third party site or agent you may need to go via that site/agent.

1. Follow @British_Airways on your twitter feed (this will allow DMs, or Direct Messages)
2. Send a DM to @British_Airways - provide the booking reference, the main passenger name, your email, phone and address with a request they refund you.
3. They should reply - it might take a while, as I'm sure they are getting a lot of traffic. I had to chase them after a week of providing the details with no response. 
4. They confirmed the cancellation, and I also got an email from the automated system saying the booking was cancelled.
5. Received the credit to my card this morning

Hope this helps anyone in the same situation. But it was a dumb move by BA to remove an option they are legally obliged to to give from their automated systems. This immediately forces every customer due a refund to phone their call centre.

[Edit] I should also note that I did call my credit card provider (FirstDirect VISA) to see if I could get a chargeback on the original transaction, as I'd been unable to reach BA in any form until then. I was told that VISA may refuse a chargeback if "an alternative form of compensation" had been offered, e.g. flight vouchers. Since you only get one try at the chargeback I was advised to keep trying the BA refund first.

mr_stripey

Thanks for this, will give it a go. My BA flights to Dubrovnik in May were cancelled this morning. Whilst a voucher to the value of £1500 paid for the flights wouldn't be the end of the world, I'd prefer the money in the bank. Tried calling them but couldn't get through!

scamp57

Not sure what to do about this. My flight to Croatia has now been cancelled by BA in May. 

I’ve tried the phone number to get a refund, but it’s on a loop telling you to go back to the website that tells you to phone for a refund. My thoughts are that BA are trying to pressure customers into accepting a voucher to mitigate losses. I’ve made an online complaint to this effect, but wonder if that process is now on a loop too, given most staff have been laid off now. Any ideas as to how I need to approach this matter would be appreciated.

mr_stripey

I can't get through on the phones. I sent a message on Twitter as advised by the poster above but have not yet had a response. I guess it will take some time....

MickeyDuck

I find myself in a similar situation to QuangoSurrey,  flights  for my entire immediate family booked for same dates, but mine are booked Psa-Lhr-Edi.  This is a return journey from Pisa to Edinburgh.
The outbound leg for 4 April was booked with Ryanair, direct Edi-Psa, and bless 'em, a few days after they cancelled the flights they refunded me in full.
 BA in the meantime have cancelled one leg of the 11th April  flights, Psa-Lhr,  but not the Lhr to Edi flight . Voucher is the only option for the Psa-Lhr leg on offer.   I have sought legal advice and was told to contact BA and describe the contract between us as "frustrated" and demand a refund in full. Telephoning BA is a joke, every option is part of a maze on the edge of a cliff, with all options leading over the cliff edge.  Since they are not flying anywhere, why can't they transfer staff to man the phone lines? I have written to their head office but have yet to receive a response....watch this space!
IAG's Mr Walsh has boasted in the media that their pockets are stuffed with so much reserve cash that they could probably survive a full year without flying.  Which begs the question, if they are so well off, why don't they treat customers with more respect and do the right thing by them?  Having said that, I used to work for subsidiaries of the mighty BA and they made me redundant three times during my career with them, so their policy of abusing the trust of customers and staff comes as no surprise....
10 April update:  on manage my booking BA webpage, my lhr~edi flight was still showing active.  A quick search of BA status page for the next day (including my scheduled flight ) showed every flight, bar one, from lhr~edi cancelled.  Tried the BA phone line and this time (about 320 odd times of trying) managed to get myself in a queue. Bingo, got through to a terribly decent English chap and refund promised ..... 

onashoestring

Thanks OP, I had a BA Holiday booked for mid May, I’d paid the deposit only ; with the balance due this week. The day before the rest of the money was due I received an email informing flights were cancelled & BA would be “in contact with me to discuss my options” 
I followed the steps in your post within 24 hours had an email confirming that BA are “processing a full refund. This will be returned to your original payment card within the next 7 - 10 days”

I recommend this to anyone who has had a BA flight cancelled.

jimexbox

Getting through to BA is pure luck as there is no queueing system, we listen to a recorded message and are then cut off. Very frustrating. I got through after only 6/7 attempts and a lovely lady processed my refund straight away.

Please be nice when you get through, they are not the people who have removed the online refund option and are deliberately making it difficult to get a refund. 

mr_stripey

Well, whilst sat outside in the garden this afternoon I decided to give BA another try. Took several attempts, but eventually after a lot of blind alleys and waiting in queues, I got through a very friendly BA call handler who processed the refund in less than a minute.

She said that loads of people had been giving her a hard time (presumably frustrated by all the waiting etc). I had already decided to adopt the friendly approach anyway. After all, I was sat in the garden in the sunshine and she was at work. To be honest I was prepared to settle for a voucher if it had come to it, but a refund is better (for me anyway)

So good luck, keep trying and be nice!

sdavies13

I had booked and paid for flights for my wedding (for this month) and just phoned BA on their 0800 number (0800 727 800). Took me about 5 minutes to get through and the very helpful chap processed refunds for the two sets of cancelled bookings I had, saying I should see the money back on my payment card within 14 days.

All farely painless and straightfoward.

highseastim

I have tried BA on several different phone numbers to no avail, posted a few messages on their Facebook page in last week, but no replies. 
My wife was due to fly . from Inverness to Sydney, via Heathrow last Wednesday 8th April, returning from Sydney on Friday 8th May, to visit our youngest daughter. I received an e-mail from BA with a tick box option for a voucher or refund, I ticked the refund option, and lo and behold up pops a note saying your voucher will be with you in 7 days. They now say that a refund cannot be given as you've received a voucher, one that I didn't want. My queries are 1. What if there a re still travel restrictions in 12 months time( voucher valid for 12 months) and 2. Will BA guarantee my wife the same flights at the same price when flying starts again?? Because if they bump up the prices, surely they are breaking the agreement they have between themselves and my wife?? Could anyone advise?

Jables397

I'm in the same boat - I was due to fly to Dominican Republic in March. I phoned BA today and somehow managed to get through. The chap said because I had requested a voucher (note: there was no refund option at the time on their website) I would only be entitled to a partial refund of £200... if they can refund £200 there is no reason they can't refund the full amount! Would really appreciate some advice. It's not their money to keep, simple as that.