Help! Kiwi issues, BA cancellation

wiggywoo999

Please help!!!!

I booked a once in a lifetime trip 2 weeks ago. I booked flights London to Honolulu for next year with one layover. London to LA and reverse is with British Airways, then LA to Honolulu is with Hawaiian. 

Now I know I should have booked direct but there was a £200 difference so booked with Kiwi. 

Randomly this morning I had an email about my refund from BA. I checked and Kiwi said they haven't cancelled the flights, that BA had cancelled the flights and refunded because their system flagged up that there was a duplicate booking. 

I have not booked anything in my life with BA!

Now they're saying that I requested to cancel the flights directly?! I definitely have NOT done anything like this but they ignore me when I ask for proof. 

The refund is £155 different so I'm reluctant to accept it and asked why it's different, they just said it's what BA sent them. 

Kiwi are awful and it's a mix of crappy AI and possibly human customer service. I called BA twice, because I'm not the booker they can't help me and have nothing in the system for me at all. 

I don't know what to do! My Hawaiian flights seem ok but I'm stuck with Kiwi for those. 

1) I could use the refund to rebook with Kiwi and risk issues again - still missing the rest of my money! 

2) I could rebook the LA flights separately with the refund and hope the mixed bookings are ok 

3) Cancel all with Kiwi and lose money and face ££££ to rebook full trip elsewhere 

I'm so so stressed, can anyone help!!

MyRealNameToo

So this is presumably a "self transfer" booking, ie the flights are independent and so if one goes wrong your on your own dealing with the other?

Assuming they are then buying from another firm doesnt materially change anything, unless Kiwi have some form of "promise" on self transfers, which I dont recall them having anything actually worth having. 

Presumably you're aware that they arent UK based which inevitably means dealing with them is always going to be more complex if things go wrong. 

wiggywoo999

Yes it is unfortunately because that's the flight path for that trip. 

Kiwi have confirmed that I didn't cancel it was BA because they thought there was a double booking. But I'm still having issues with the refund. I'm expecting £1061.24 and their refund is £907.69, which is £153.55 different. 

They say call BA and ask. I've tried but because I'm not the booker they won't speak to me and say there's nothing on the system for me. What am I supposed to do here? Please help!

MyRealNameToo

For many dates thats pretty much the price of an economy return with bags to HNL not just LAX with BA. Because its an international followed by domestic flight you will always have to do immigration at LAX so not a saving over a self transfer but you'd have protection from buying a single ticketed flight rather than a self transfer. 


Anyway, when is your flight? Given the agent is out in the Czechia your options are limited on any form of enforcement. There may be an argument for a chargeback or such but you could be risking them doing something to your other flight in response if they dont feel its justified (like RyanAir wouldnt allow people to book new flights after they did a false chargeback until the chargeback was repaid). You could look at doing the chargeback after the holiday but you very easily could be at risk on the timelimits depending on when you are going and for how long. 

wiggywoo999

May 2026. If they're saying it's all the received from BA and I can't contact BA, surely it's their job to do that and get the money?

MyRealNameToo

wiggywoo999 said:

May 2026. If they're saying it's all the received from BA and I can't contact BA, surely it's their job to do that and get the money?

It is their job but your question isnt whose job is it but how do you make them do their job. This is where it becomes more complex in part because of their location and in part because you still have another booking via them. 

You can do the normal tricks of posting on social media and tagging them in etc but from memory Kiwi dont seem as concerned about their public reputation as others

Catonthemoon

Why can’t the booker speak with BA?

eskbanker

Catonthemoon said:

Why can’t the booker speak with BA?

OP is saying that as far as BA are concerned, the booker is Kiwi, who aren't being cooperative, hence OP's attempts to circumvent them.

silvercar

There could be some loss on foreign exchange fees. BA will charge and refund in the currency of the starting point country. Kiwi could process in whatever they like and then use exchange rates agin to convert to GDP. 

wiggywoo999

I've got an update. I rebooked the flights later that day directly with BA and had the refund. I've given Kiwi opportunities to rectify the £153 missing refund amount which they haven't taken so I raised it with my bank. 

Nearly a week later, Kiwi just contacted me saying the flights weren't actually cancelled and it was a "system error" that refunded the amount and that the booking reference had changed which is why it wasn't showing on BA. They're requesting I repay the refund to them which I've declined. 

I cannot believe the audacity here, I don't believe a word of it. What did they expect me to do, just sit on it for a week with potentially no flights?! Can they force me to repay this? 

eskbanker

wiggywoo999 said:

I've got an update. I rebooked the flights later that day directly with BA and had the refund. I've given Kiwi opportunities to rectify the £153 missing refund amount which they haven't taken so I raised it with my bank. 

Nearly a week later, Kiwi just contacted me saying the flights weren't actually cancelled and it was a "system error" that refunded the amount and that the booking reference had changed which is why it wasn't showing on BA. They're requesting I repay the refund to them which I've declined. 

I cannot believe the audacity here, I don't believe a word of it. What did they expect me to do, just sit on it for a week with potentially no flights?! Can they force me to repay this? 

Could you clarify what you mean by 'had the refund' - do you mean that you used the money you'd obtained from Kiwi to rebook with BA, or that BA refunded you as well?