Cancelling Flight within 24 hr cooling off period - BA

Hello

So I made a mistake with a flight, I booked a single, when it was cheaper to book the whole trip as a multicity trip.

So I rang to cancel the single - which is fine, no trouble. But because the ticket is in someone elses name BA want to talk to them first. They also have them as the card holder, when in fact I paid.

It seems it was my mistake, I answered SOMEONE ELSE to the question Who is this flight for, You or someone else? And then the next question was Are you paying for this flight? And I said Yes, when I should have put no. So they have the passenger logged as the credit card holder.

Anyway although it was booked while I was logged into my BA account, and I have since booked a second ticket for the person on the same flight, BA are saying they have to speak to the named passenger to pass their security before they can cancel the flight.

Can anyone think of anyway round this? The call centre has tried hard, but say their hands are tied. I have tried saying surely there must be a way to check that I paid the fare in my name, but apparently there isn't.

The passenger is out the country and hard to get hold of. Plus I need to give them all my security details for my account so they can pass security which I'm not comfortable doing.

Any thoughts? I'm trying to get proof from my credit card company that the payment was made, and this is possibly a way round it.... but thought Id post here in case any of you lovely forumites had any other ideas:-)

I can cancel under Manage my Booking myself but it would only refund the fees.

An unusual situation.

Thanks!
«1

Comments

  • steve1500
    steve1500 Posts: 1,438
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Post
    Forumite
    If you can access the mange my booking within the timescale you should be able to cancel.


    From memory it will tell you, you will be refunded
    Private Parking Tickets - Make sure you put your Subject Access Request in after 25th May 2018 - It's free & ask for everything, don't forget the DVLA :D
  • Just do it online
  • Hello

    Thank you! I did try but it only gives you the option to get the taxed and charges back, not the whole booking. Only the call centre person can see the option to cancel the whole flight. But that would have been a really good plan tho, thanks for the suggestion.
  • cubegame
    cubegame Posts: 2,042
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Forumite
    Is the flight in the next week or packaged with something else?
  • MEM62
    MEM62 Posts: 4,732
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    Forumite
    Cancelling Flight within 24 hr cooling off period - BA

    What 24 hour cooling off period?

    You could phone BA as your friend. How would they know?

    What ticket did you book, flexible, non-refundable? It might be the case that you are only entitled to a refund of the taxes.
  • stripeyfox
    stripeyfox Posts: 474 Forumite
    edited 10 October 2019 at 11:43AM
    I've never seen a 24 hour cooling off period when booking with BA?

    EDIT - just checked and it is there in the T&C's. Can cancel within 24 hours if you notice a mistake with the booking
  • jpsartre
    jpsartre Posts: 4,085
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Forumite
    MEM62 wrote: »

    You could phone BA as your friend. How would they know?


    This. I've done it several times when I've booked flights with my wife's creditcard that needed to be cancelled or changed and nobody ever batted an eyelid.
  • jpsartre
    jpsartre Posts: 4,085
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Forumite
    MEM62 wrote: »
    What 24 hour cooling off period?


    Like many airlines, BA allows* you to cancel for a full refund within 24 hours of making a booking.


    *with a few exceptions.
  • Ok, all sorted. Just rang again, got a different person and they've done it! It seems the original call handler somehow got hung up on the fact it was a different person and never asked me to go through security. I don't really know what happened, Even tho they checked with their supervisor. Crossed wires. But it is possible to cancel a ticket on your account if it isn't in your name.

    A simple answer in the end! And in answer, no the flight wasn't linked to anything else.

    Thank you to everyone for very quick replies!

    And both staff members were very nice, and friendly.

    Thanks
  • Just thinking "aloud".....I wonder if they thought we'd paid for someone else's flight on the other persons BA account and never realised it was my account? It's the only thing that makes sense. Anyway maybe I wasn't clear the first time, but the second time it all sailed through. Thanks again!
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 342.5K Banking & Borrowing
  • 249.9K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 234.6K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 607.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 172.8K Life & Family
  • 247.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.8K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards