Denied boarding by Iberia because ticket not issued correctly

salimnina

Hi
I would like to make a claim, but not sure against whom and under what circumstances, bellow is the background:

I [ The Card Holder ] bought a ticket directly from BA website for my wife and two kids, however the it was cancelled but was offered another flight with Iberia, BA assisted me with this, so the carrier is Iberia but the ticket issued by BA, I had confirmation, I logged into BA's website to check my booking and all was OK with dates and names on the booking.

They completed the first leg with no problems.

I called BA to change the date of return, I gave them my card details to pay the difference in fare and they confirmed over the phone the changes, they said they would process payment and if there was any problem with payment they will call me within 48 Hours. No one called me, I assumed all good, I checked on MANAGE MY BOOKING and all the details were there correctly.

Two weeks later, on  the return date at the check-in desk at Iberia, my wife presented herself, but they told her that they do not hold a booking for her or my kids, we checked online it showed CANCELLED on MANAGE MY BOOKING, no one told us about any cancellation, we only found out at the airport.

I contacted BA about this, they asked me to make some payment for the changes made that they did not process at the time and they said that they will reissue the tickets again, they did not explain why the ticket was cancelled and why they did not take payment when I made the changes, and why I have not been notified, I did not ask questions and my concern were to get this sorted rather than look at what went wrong. BA took payment and promised that the ticket will be reissued quickly and that my wife can check in.

At the Iberia check in desk, they processed my wife and daughter, they isseued them with the boarding pass, but could not locate one of my son's ticket, they tried hard until the last minute and beyond, but could not get the ticket confirmed and print the boarding pass, they had a ticket issue from BA, but no confirmation ( I am not sure what was the problem ) I contacted BA but they said the ticket was OK, Iberia tried again and again, my wife could see it on the screen, that the booking was there, but unable to process it ( kind of frozen or unable to click on it ).

After many attempts, check in closed and my wife was left alone, she requested assistance, but Iberia would not, they said we had an invalid ticket and it's not a denied boarding and they have no obligation to assist us, they asked us to contact BA.

I went back to BA, to explain the situation again, however they said that they issued the ticket correctly and cannot assist us. They also said that because Iberia did not record any notes on the system to raise the problem faced with the booking means that nothing went wrong and that our ticket were a NO SHOW and BA cannot re-route us. 


I bought another ticket for my wife this Sunday to get her and my kids back because I could not rely on waiting for BA to do something.

Now I am not sure who is at fault and I don't know from where to start a claim against and what I can claim for.

Any advice is much appreciated.

brianposter

You claim all your extra costs from BA  (because you paid BA),  and, until it is demonstrated otherwise, assume that there was a computer problem at either BA or Iberia. If the problem was at Iberia it is for BA to sort things out.

This appears to be in addition to making a claim for "denied boarding" which presumably should wait until you know what happened.

salimnina

brianposter said:

You claim all your extra costs from BA  (because you paid BA),  and, until it is demonstrated otherwise, assume that there was a computer problem at either BA or Iberia. If the problem was at Iberia it is for BA to sort things out.

This appears to be in addition to making a claim for "denied boarding" which presumably should wait until you know what happened.

And how should I take this further ? Against BA, denied boarding, or something else

Westin

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6327334/denied-boarding#latest

SaverRate

Why are you making multiple posts?

brianposter

Start with a formal written complaint to BA. Not for "denied boarding" but simply for failing to provide the service for which you had paid.

Say explicitly that there appeared to be a problem with the computer system.

bagand96

Thanks for posting this which gives a bit more information and context to the situation than your other post. I agree I would start with a formal complaint to British Airways.

I would also be tempted to put in an EC261 denied boarding claim Iberia for denied (you need to claim against the operating airline not the ticketing airline).  I don't think it will succeed as they will say it was an invalid ticket. However it may at least get you something writing from Iberia that you can take back to BA.

If BA don't resolve it you may wish to raise a Section 75 claim on your credit card, but I'd wait and follow BA complaint first.

salimnina

Now BA accepts that it was their mistake and are willing to refund.
What would be my case here? And what can I claim for.

brianposter

It is not a refund. You are, quite reasonably, expecting compensation (unless the refund is greater than the compensation you calculate).

Firstly point out that the problem could, and should, have been sorted out by either airline at the time.

Afer that I would make an itemised claim for all the additional costs which you incurred plus £200 for your time and stress.

Hopefully that would be paid without argument.

bagand96

salimnina said:

Now BA accepts that it was their mistake and are willing to refund.
What would be my case here? And what can I claim for.

Agree with the poster above don't just accept a refund from BA.  An itemised claim for all the additional costs incurred including the cost of the extra flights you had to purchase.  That's your minimum and then see if you can get a goodwill compensation payment over and above that.

I'm not sure if an EC261 denied boarding claim would be successful as it has to be made against  the operating air carrier and from what you've said Iberia don't seem to be at fault.  It may be worth trying though.  Or just tell BA that  EC261 entitles you to €250 for denied boarding so you feel they should compensate you that in addition to your expenses. 

salimnina

They sent me a link page, in which I can put on all the expenses, and a text box to add any more info, so I need to raise this there, or in a separate claim for being denied boarding.