British Airways voucher taxes

Reevesey58

I have recently cancelled flights for myself and my wife which were booked using Avios and the American Express companion voucher. BA have given us an evoucher valid until September 2023.  Whilst we didn't pay cash for the flights, we had to pay airport taxes which amounted to over £900. I have received no refund of the taxes and I have been trying in vain to find out from BA if the vouchers include the taxes.  All they will say is that the voucher is for the "full value" of the flights booked. They do not answer the question regarding taxes. After three email exchanges they told me they could not answer the question and that I should ring their customer services centre.  After three attempts on premium rate calls, I have been unable to speak with anyone. Can anyone please tell me if I am able to ask to a refund of the taxes now, as it may be that we are unable to use the evouchers?

Sandtree

Full value includes the taxes at the  rate at the time... if it was value less tax then it wouldnt be full value. If taxes increase you'd have to pay the uplift... we were told there was a 30p difference with ours but they waived it (agent said they wouldnt waste their time to a card payment for that amount)

Why are you calling a premium rate number? The standard number for changes is an 0344 number which for most count as a standard telephone number and so for O2 for example, will come from your allocated monthly minutes (which may well be unlimited).

It doesnt take much googling either to find the 0800 freephone number for their higher tier customers 

MATTR5

If you paid for the taxes with a Debit or Credit card I would start a Chargeback claim 

Sandtree

MATTR5 said:

If you paid for the taxes with a Debit or Credit card I would start a Chargeback claim 

And risk invalidating the points/companion aspect of the voucher that is tied up in it @MATTR5? Most likely worth much more than the £900 cash

MATTR5

Sandtree said:

MATTR5 said:

If you paid for the taxes with a Debit or Credit card I would start a Chargeback claim 

And risk invalidating the points/companion aspect of the voucher that is tied up in it @MATTR5? Most likely worth much more than the £900 cash

He has an evoucher for that element unless I read it wrong 

Sandtree

MATTR5 said:

Sandtree said:

MATTR5 said:

If you paid for the taxes with a Debit or Credit card I would start a Chargeback claim 

And risk invalidating the points/companion aspect of the voucher that is tied up in it @MATTR5? Most likely worth much more than the £900 cash

He has an evoucher for that element unless I read it wrong 

Its an evoucher that covers both the points and the cash elements @MATTR5... we had one last year... though the OP isnt happy with the level of confirmation of this from BA

MATTR5

Sandtree said:

MATTR5 said:

Sandtree said:

MATTR5 said:

If you paid for the taxes with a Debit or Credit card I would start a Chargeback claim 

And risk invalidating the points/companion aspect of the voucher that is tied up in it @MATTR5? Most likely worth much more than the £900 cash

He has an evoucher for that element unless I read it wrong 

Its an evoucher that covers both the points and the cash elements @MATTR5... we had one last year... though the OP isnt happy with the level of confirmation of this from BA

Ah fair enough - I can see that - I read the bit "I have received no refund of the taxes" which they then contradict with " I have been trying in vain to find out from BA if the vouchers include the taxes" sorry first day back from Cyprus and attention to detail not back at full 100% 

Sandtree

MATTR5 said:

Sandtree said:

MATTR5 said:

Sandtree said:

MATTR5 said:

If you paid for the taxes with a Debit or Credit card I would start a Chargeback claim 

And risk invalidating the points/companion aspect of the voucher that is tied up in it @MATTR5? Most likely worth much more than the £900 cash

He has an evoucher for that element unless I read it wrong 

Its an evoucher that covers both the points and the cash elements @MATTR5... we had one last year... though the OP isnt happy with the level of confirmation of this from BA

Ah fair enough - I can see that - I read the bit "I have received no refund of the taxes" which they then contradict with " I have been trying in vain to find out from BA if the vouchers include the taxes" sorry first day back from Cyprus and attention to detail not back at full 100% 

And I dont know for certainty what happens to the overall evoucher if the cash element is chargebacked away but can certainly say that a Ryanair type operator would say the whole voucher is forfeit and BA isnt want it used to be service wise.

CKhalvashi

Sandtree said:

MATTR5 said:

Sandtree said:

MATTR5 said:

Sandtree said:

MATTR5 said:

If you paid for the taxes with a Debit or Credit card I would start a Chargeback claim 

And risk invalidating the points/companion aspect of the voucher that is tied up in it @MATTR5? Most likely worth much more than the £900 cash

He has an evoucher for that element unless I read it wrong 

Its an evoucher that covers both the points and the cash elements @MATTR5... we had one last year... though the OP isnt happy with the level of confirmation of this from BA

Ah fair enough - I can see that - I read the bit "I have received no refund of the taxes" which they then contradict with " I have been trying in vain to find out from BA if the vouchers include the taxes" sorry first day back from Cyprus and attention to detail not back at full 100% 

And I dont know for certainty what happens to the overall evoucher if the cash element is chargebacked away but can certainly say that a Ryanair type operator would say the whole voucher is forfeit and BA isnt want it used to be service wise.

Without delving into BA's terms and conditions, I'd argue that the chargeback would mean a rejection of the voucher for a return of cash, therefore forefeiting the 2-4-1. That said, I've never dealt with the cancellation of a voucher in this way and started using Star Alliance again a lot more several years ago as BA started to remove the ex-BMI destinations, so can give you the Miles and More benefits, but not anything to do with BA.