Complaint to British Airways Holidays

Petsitter

Can anyone help please? I made a complaint to British Airways holidays on 6th October and still not had a reply apart from the acknowledgement. The chat bot allows you to check and it says someone is looking into it, then it says someone will look into it soon, alternatively when I check. The site says they are dealing with a high number of complaints and to be patient but I don't think anything is being done.
How long have others had to wait please?
What can I do next?
How long do I have to wait before contacting an ombudsman?
Many thanks. 

Westin

That does seem rather an excessive time. You did make the complaint to BA Holidays and not BA the airline?

Was your complaint made on a webform or did you just write an email?

jimi_man

I’m also surprised. Whilst BA themselves can be tardy in dealing with complaints, BA holidays are one of the best travel agents out there and are usually excellent at dealing with complaints and issues. 

Petsitter

I made the complaint on the webform. I couldn't find anything for BA holidays specifically so it was just BA

Westin

Petsitter said:

I made the complaint on the webform. I couldn't find anything for BA holidays specifically so it was just BA

That might be the problem.

Did BA Holidays not send you any information prior to your holiday, specifically about contacting them if things go wrong?  Something perhaps a week before your trip titled "'It's nearly time for your trip'?. Included should be a 24/7 contact for when you were on holiday and also something like this - 

When you return home
if you would like to discuss any issues with your hotel, car hire, transfer or sightseeing, please email customer.relations@holidays.ba.com or call +44 (0)208 707 4480 (option 5) Monday - Friday, 09:00 - 17:30 (excluding Public/Bank Holidays).

Petsitter

Westin. I can't remember seeing anything like this . I think I will give that email a try. Many thanks

Petsitter

Westin, you're a genius. Got my complaint seen and somewhat resolved. Thank you

Westin

Petsitter said:

Westin, you're a genius. Got my complaint seen and somewhat resolved. Thank you

Good news. Well done!

clarkyson

They are required to acknowledge consumer complaints within 30 days of receiving them and to send consumers written responses addressing these complaints within 60 days of receiving them. Since it's over a month from that period, you can refer your complaint to the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution. Hopefully it will get resolved 

Caz3121

clarkyson said:

They are required to acknowledge consumer complaints within 30 days of receiving them and to send consumers written responses addressing these complaints within 60 days of receiving them. Since it's over a month from that period, you can refer your complaint to the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution. Hopefully it will get resolved 

If you read OPs update they have now contacted the correct company (BA Holidays and not BA Airline) and it is sorted. 

EAB2

clarkyson said:

They are required to acknowledge consumer complaints within 30 days of receiving them and to send consumers written responses addressing these complaints within 60 days of receiving them. Since it's over a month from that period, you can refer your complaint to the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution. Hopefully it will get resolved 

I think CEDR is only for airlines and this is a BA holidays complaint. I've also had a major issue with a holiday I took with them in November. I complained immediately upon my return and every now and again I get the following semi-literate email...

An update from British Airways

We’re very sorry to hear about your recent experience with British Airways. This isn’t what you should expect of us and we appreciate you taking the time to let us know. We’d also like to thank you for your patience while we got back to you. 
[Does this mean they think they responded to my complaint, because they certainly have not?]

 

Please be assured that your feedback has made a difference. Your comments have been shared with the relevant team and we’ll be using them to help us to improve.? 
[The egregious question mark at the end of this sentence tells me all I need to know about how much they actually care!

 

As with any large organisation, it can sometimes take time for us to fix problems, but nothing is forgotten. We’re focused on making continuous improvements across all areas of our business, and we hope you’ll see these positive changes soon. 

 

Once again, please accept our apologies for your experience on this trip. We hope to welcome you back on board soon.  

Best regards

Nishtha

British Airways Customer Relations


Am I to assume they think this case is closed, or are they still deciding what to do?