British Airways - Voucher vs refund

Countrygirl20

Has anyone else accepted a voucher (we had no choice in early April, refunds were not being offered) and is now fighting BA to get that switched to a refund?

Do you think it is worth pursuing through the official channels, BA have already fully rejected our claim, or are we scuppered because we accepted the voucher, despite there being no option of a refund at that point.  Every time you rang to request a refund, the phone lines said they weren't taking calls unless you were flying within 72 hours and referred to the website, which only gave the option of accepting a voucher.

Any thoughts appreciated before we go through CEDR and risk losing the voucher as well.

Penelopa.Pitstop

There was option of refund, you just didn't get through but you could have waited and called back later, when lines were not so busy. I'm afraid that they won't replace voucher with cash refund.

[Deleted User]

Sadly, I agree with previous.  IF you have accepted a voucher then you have accepted a voucher.  No obligation for airlines to give you cash instead of voucher.   I suppose it is like if you purchased a voucher in Boots say and then decided you would rather have the cash.  It would be a no.   Harsh and you are the victim of many who jumped in at the beginning.   But really doubt you have any claim now.  Hopefully you can still use it and have a fabulous holiday in the future?

Nikki1966

Same thing has happened to me, no option for refund back when my flights got cancelled and had to accept voucher. I have gone through official customer services and today got a reply quoting that voucher cannot be cancelled and a refund cannot be issued?! I am now awaiting their reply asking how a simple thing like cancelling a voucher cannot be done!
Will continue to fight for my rights for a refund. Failing that will try Amex for a charge back.

ratechaser

Nikki1966 said:

Same thing has happened to me, no option for refund back when my flights got cancelled and had to accept voucher. I have gone through official customer services and today got a reply quoting that voucher cannot be cancelled and a refund cannot be issued?! I am now awaiting their reply asking how a simple thing like cancelling a voucher cannot be done!
Will continue to fight for my rights for a refund. Failing that will try Amex for a charge back.

If BA cancelled and specifically refused you a refund when you asked them, you have a case. But if you simply accepted the voucher because that was what they offered by default, then I'm afraid you are also going to be out of luck - you needed to ask for the refund instead.

martindblack

Thanks for the suggestions on the replies ... I will ask the same question as @Countrygirl20 ... Has anyone tried to take this to the CEDR ?
What is interesting here is the dishonestly of BA hiding the truth about consumer legal rights ... we didn't ask for a voucher, It was given to us ie  a) you get a voucher or b) you choose a different date or c) you lose your flight booking - no mention of the refund option. Search google for 'British Airways Intentionally Deceived Passengers About Refund Rights' and ' British Airways passengers 'stunned' over cash refunds stand-off'

Caz3121

martindblack said:

 It was given to us ie  a) you get a voucher or b) you choose a different date or c) you lose your flight booking - no mention of the refund option. 

different options depending whether the flight was cancelled or not 
If the flight still operated then there is no right to a refund from the airline, voucher is best you can hope for from them (the options in your post were correct)
If the flight is cancelled then you are entitled to a refund and always have been under EU261. I agree that BA did not make this transparent and those people that handled their booking online may not have known that they needed to phone to get a refund rather than a voucher. My flight at beginning of April was cancelled, I phoned and requested a refund, was not pushed for voucher or rebooking and had refund back within 3 days, 

oscarward

When my flight was cancelled it was suggested in the notification email  I go to manage my booking to progress, which I presume would push me towards  voucher. in small print at the bottom was  phone number to ring for other options.  10 minutes on hold and a bit of pushing got them to agree to a refund.

Ben1989

I'd like to clarify that all those saying there was no option of refund in April are wrong. Our flight got cancelled in April, and the links sent through the emails send you to claim a voucher. We called up and said no we want a refund, not a voucher. It was processed in 10 seconds with surprisingly good customer service. Claiming there were no options of refund are incorrect and is an excuse for either laziness, not questioning and/or not reading the small print.

Ask yourself, where, categorically, did it say there was no option of refund?

It's like when an insurance company increases your renewal. It's in the hope it's not questioned/noticed when they can actually offer you £50 less. BA were obviously going to push and make it easy to claim a voucher so they can keep the cash during a pandemic. I'm sorry, but there is no leg to stand on in any legal claim for this. The good news is, the vouchers are valid until April 2022.

Nosnibor22

Ben1989 said:

I'd like to clarify that all those saying there was no option of refund in April are wrong. Our flight got cancelled in April, and the links sent through the emails send you to claim a voucher. We called up and said no we want a refund, not a voucher. It was processed in 10 seconds with surprisingly good customer service. Claiming there were no options of refund are incorrect and is an excuse for either laziness, not questioning and/or not reading the small print.

Ask yourself, where, categorically, did it say there was no option of refund?

It's like when an insurance company increases your renewal. It's in the hope it's not questioned/noticed when they can actually offer you £50 less. BA were obviously going to push and make it easy to claim a voucher so they can keep the cash during a pandemic. I'm sorry, but there is no leg to stand on in any legal claim for this. The good news is, the vouchers are valid until April 2022.

Hi, I had flights booked for April this year and in in the email it does not mention the option of a refund. It only points you to the option of a voucher. I, unlike you, did not have the fortitude to call BA, I simply followed their email believing that was the only option. I do not recall seeing the section regarding refunds at the time (and which is a scroll down on the BA website so not obvious).
I appreciate that we are all accountable to make sure we fully understand what we are accepting/clicking etc but I do feel that the wording of the original email should have been clearer. It was an uncertain time but I do feel that I am now stuck with vouchers that I will not use. We also have a friend who was due to travel and I will now have to refund him out of my pocket but as the voucher is in his name I cant use it. Its a poor situation and I will either have to take a flight or lose my money. One thing is certain, after this I will never fly BA again. Huge lesson learnt.

Caz3121

Nosnibor22 said:

We also have a friend who was due to travel and I will now have to refund him out of my pocket but as the voucher is in his name I cant use it. 

can you not give your friend the voucher in his name?