Iberia Airlines - Denied boarding because of "Fraud"

SupremeUK

Hi

I have checked the other forum posts and want to check with the collective IQ here 😁

Background:

I booked a flight through Expedia in November 2025 and paid for it on my UK Halifax credit card. One ticket with outward and return info.

Flight for Iberia airlines from Heathrow to Madrid and then onwards to Columbia. The same ticket is for the return from Columbia to Madrid and transfer onto London. 90 minutes stopover in Madrid.

Outward Flight to Madrid and then onto Columbia no issues.

The return is where everything went wrong:

Flight was set for 22:30 13 Feb. I received an email on 13 Feb saying my flight would be delayed by an hour to 23:30.

I arrived at the airport at 18:00 and went to check in my luggage and get my boarding pass from the Iberia check-in. I advised the lady at check-in that I need help to get the Madrid to London flight changed as per the Iberia direction that it would need to be changed as the stopover time would not be enough to transfer.

Iberia check-in took my passport and checked the booking. They advised that there was a flag on the system advising that the Pound Sterling currency had a lot of fraud, and I would not be able to check in. I showed my credit card statement from November, my confirmation email from the airline and was still refused. They told me I must phone customer service. I phoned customer service, and told them the situatuation and they said they see no issues with my ticket.

I go back to check-in, told them what Iberia customer service said, showed them the email from customer service and was given the same message. "You cannot check in because the system says the currency has fraud". By this time, 2 hours had gone trying to check in, and phoning etc. I asked if there was an Iberia office in the airport, they advised there was, but they only deal with lost luggage, so I did not attempt that.

Next I noticed 2 other couples were having the same issue at the counter and I approached them to see if they had the same issue. The other couples were on the same flight with British Passports, being denied checking-in with the same message. Iberia staff said the only way to get on the flight is to book again and pay in Columbian Pesos, in cash.

Again, phoned customer service, again they said there was no issues from what they could see on their side. I asked if they could speak to the people at check-in to resolve, but the check-in staff said they were not allowed to speak to anyone on someone else's phone. Customer service gave me a case number and said I should wait an hour and try again

It was now reaching 21:00, I tried check in again, same issue, not allowed to check in. I asked what is it I should do, they again said buy a new ticket in cash.

The 1 other couple and I looked online for an alternative flight, there were 4 places left on another flight which I and they booked and paid for. £1150 direct, would land 2 hours before my original scheduled flight.

Note, the other couple or myself were not offered alternative flights from Iberia check-in, they simply said our tickets were invalid due to the currency being flagged.

Very odd message from the check-in Iberia people. I've never heard of this ever happening.

My question to you folk:

1. I believe I can claim under the UK regulations for the £520 for denied boarding. Do I claim from Expedia or from Iberia?
2. I believe I can claim for replacement flight I had to organise, £1150. I was not offered a refund from Iberia or a replacement. Do I claim from Expedia or Iberia, and is there a template that I should use for this replacement flight?

in another thread, I saw the case law for replacement flights/rerouting claims: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX:62018CJ0832

I want to check with the forum if my assumptions are correct or if I am getting anything wrong?

Additional info:

I have the other 2 couples telephone numbers if I need to have them act as witness or if they want me to act as witness to the denied check-in we all experienced.

I am a type 1 diabetic, and I would be out of my testing system date if I was not back home by the 15th, this is why the additional haste needed to get the ticket and get home.

Many thanks for you help on this very odd message from Iberia and hope I won't be out of pocket with your help.

born_again

Currency does not get flagged as fraud.

Only fraud would seem to be

Iberia staff said the only way to get on the flight is to book again and pay in Columbian Pesos, in cash.

Worried_fool

Since Iberia is based in an EU country (Spain), your rights are under EU law:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2004/261

I suggest that you concentrate on reimbursement for the replacement air ticket. Your claim should use the word re-routing rather than compensation.

SupremeUK

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81889671#Comment_81889671

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81889728#Comment_81889728

It was a very odd interaction for sure! Language barrier didn't help, but I can only pass on what was said to me. Pound sterling was flagged is what she advised.

Woodstok2000

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81889728#Comment_81889728

Both reimbursement and compensation are due under the regulations. Denied boarding compensation would be the full 600 euros as the airline did not re-route you, so your arrival time before the original flight is irrelevant.

bagand96

Claims under UK and/or EC261 are always against the operating operating airline so not the ticket agent. It is Iberia you need to claim against.

A very bizarre situation and I agree with the poster above, it is very suspicious the agents in Colombia saying you could rebook in cash in their local currency. Given that your ticket was obviously valid as you travelled outbound, and Iberia on the phone could see no issues. Be interesting to see what Iberia say…

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81889728#Comment_81889728

As neither the start nor end of the booked itinerary is within the EU, any claim would need to be under the UK regulations (which are the ones you linked!), not the EU version.

Worried_fool

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81894861#Comment_81894861

Iberia is based within the EU, so EU regulations apply.

Since Iberia is not based in the UK, and the journey did not begin in the UK, UK regulations are not relevant.

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81894925#Comment_81894925

No, you're wrong.

EU case law clarifies that "the [EU] Regulation does not apply to connecting flights operated by an EU carrier which have been the subject of a single booking, where both the airport of departure of the first leg of the journey and the airport of arrival of the second leg of the journey are located in a third country, and only the airport where the stopover takes place is located in the territory of a Member State":

https://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?language=en&td=ALL&num=C-451/20

However, the UK regulations do cover journeys to the UK by EU airlines, so OP can benefit from that, even though the EU regulations don't apply to their journey.

This [UK] Regulation shall apply:

(a) to passengers departing from an airport located in the United Kingdom;

(b) to passengers departing from an airport located in a country other than the United Kingdom to an airport situated in—

(i) the United Kingdom if the operating air carrier of the flight concerned is a Community carrier or a UK air carrier

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