U.K. and Ireland - Denied entry at Stansted airport

Hi everyone,
I was recently denied entry to UK at Stansted airport. I am visa national and had a valid work permit which was due to expire by the end of this year. The immigration officer felt that I am visiting UK and not coming here for work. They have also cancelled my visa but said that I can come to UK anytime in future.
I am not concerned about refusal because I know that they have the power/right to do so but they book a flight and use my bank account without my consent. I didn't knew that until I checked my account and the price of that ticket was very high almost 3 times of economy class.
Now my question is, do they have a right to use my account without my consent? they even didn't bother to tell me, and if the answer is no.. then how can I claim the money back?
do I have to file a case against them or is there any other way?
It is quite annoying for me....because first I see no reason of refusal but I accepted it with a smile on my face......second I had a return ticket, so why should I pay again?
and still if it is me who has to bear the damages then atleast they should have asked me...how can they use my money without my consent?
Your answers will be very much appreciated.
Thanks

Welcome to FT, Ik643. I can answer part of your question.

If you are denied entry into your destination, it is the obligation of the airline that carried you there to take you back to your home country (not necessarily the country where you boarded!).

Unfortunately however, it is not the obligation of that airline to carry you back for free. They will do their very best to get you to pay for that ticket, and since it is a one way ticket purchased with no advance notice, it will typically be at the airline's highest possible fare. In some cases this is not just three times as much (as was the case for you) but ten times as much or even more!

Your existing ticket likely couldn't be used because it was purchased to be used on a specific flight, not the flight you were returned on. Depending on the fare class and fare rules, you might -- or might not -- be entitled to a partial refund or credit.

The part of your question I don't know about is how the airline can charge your bank account without your permission. It seems to me that if that happened, the bank should have refused the charge, so you might have a case against your bank

If the airline is not able to get the money from you, they may have to pay for the flight themselves as a last resort. Knowing this, if you understand the situation, you can sometimes bargain on the spot for a lower return fare.

Hope this explanation helps a little.

Hi RichardInSF,
Thanks for your reply.
well I already asked my bank for the reimbursement, will see what happens.
If this is how it works then to me its strange. It may be right for those who don't have proper documentation but for those with all the right documents, the same seems to be inappropriate.
Thanks again

You say you have all the proper documentation... but reading between the lines might it just be possible that your documents didn't match the purpose of your trip to the UK?

Were you returning to your job, or had you left your job and were coming in for a visit?

If it's the latter then you didn't have all the right documents, and your legal status would have been no different from that of someone with no visa at all.

Hi RichardInSF,
Thanks for your reply.
well I already asked my bank for the reimbursement, will see what happens.
If this is how it works then to me its strange. It may be right for those who don't have proper documentation but for those with all the right documents, the same seems to be inappropriate.
Thanks again

Without commenting specifically on your case, as I don't know your exact situation, you have few rights entering a country unless you are a citizen of that country. This is true pretty much everywhere in the world. The interpretation of the immigration agent handling your case generally governs with little right of appeal.

Overall, I have found British immigration agents to be as fair or more fair than most, but I have never tried to test the limits of what is allowed either.

In most cases the airline's conditions of carriage provide that if you are refused entry and they are required to carry you back, they can recover the cost from you. I think sometimes they allow themselves to debit any payment card they have on file for you for the cost of the ticket.

I have to say I think it's a little harsh to refuse someone entry because they have a work visa and are coming for a visit, but that is neither here nor there.

I have to say I think it's a little harsh to refuse someone entry because they have a work visa and are coming for a visit

Well... not really. If someone has a visa tied to a work permit for a specific job, and that job no longer exists, then the grounds on which the visa was granted no longer exist, and the visa is null and void.

A friend of mine got caught out by this some years ago. She was working in the UK on a one-year teaching contract (at a secondary school), and had a multiple-entry visa valid until the end of August. She went away on holiday in August, then found she couldn't get back into the country because it was after the end of the school year and her teaching assignment had ended. She could have legally stayed in the country until the end of August, but having left the country she no longer had the correct documentation for getting back in.

(Her story had a happy ending... they gave her leave to enter for a few days so she could collect her belongings and put her affairs in order, and she managed to get her teaching contract extended during those few days)

Without commenting specifically on your case, as I don't know your exact situation, you have few rights entering a country unless you are a citizen of that country. This is true pretty much everywhere in the world. The interpretation of the immigration agent handling your case generally governs with little right of appeal.

Overall, I have found British immigration agents to be as fair or more fair than most, but I have never tried to test the limits of what is allowed either.

Since I became an alien, I've experienced this kind of questioning too. But on the whole I have found UK Border to be more reasonable than... Immigration Canada, now CBSA :( Perhaps it's because I'm visibly a gringo and can still speak like the BA Board StickyBeaks.

I have to say I think it's a little harsh to refuse someone entry because they have a work visa and are coming for a visit, but that is neither here nor there.

One of my only issues (in 300+ entries) with UK Immigration was when I was trying to TRANSIT with a work permit. I was scolded and eventually told that they would permit me to transit this time but that in the future I should try to get a separate Transit visa as the work permit only permitted me to enter for work.

The next time, I simply told them I was traveling on work and I transited without any issues. :rolleyes: