Originally Posted by
heckenhocker
Maybe squawk about the sale of goods act? Not sure if it applies to air tickets, but basically the price on a shelf is an offer to sell, and the if the transaction is accepted by a retailer (in a physical store at least) then it must be at the same price as displayed. It's illegal to charge a higher price - that's why if you ever find an error, the supermarkets will usually give you double the difference back...they have a gazillion labels to change and it's inevitable that some get overlooked and don't match wot-the-computer-says.
I see this situation as analogous. You had a ticket. You requested ba.com to offer a selection of changes. Some had prices, some did not. You selected one of the choice offered and completed your transaction.
There is something in contract law that says a vendor is not obliged to sell (he can refuse a transaction), but I don't remember the details. Pretty certain it's only before the transaction is completed though....which I would interpret in an online context as "interaction between the ticketholder and ba.com has finished. The booking is changed and payment (nil) processed; the order (ticket) is displayed in ba.com as selected and without reservation such as pending" Certainly would not regard 3 days later as acceptable.
But as said....no idea if this applies to air tickets.
Some of what you say is correct some not.
The test of reasonableness actually applies to contract terms. The contract is not actually made until money is exchanged for the goods, which has not happened yet at the point where the good are advertised.
The advertisement/price tag is an invitation to treat and not a contract term and therefore does not form part of a legally binding contract and therefore the shop is under no legal obligation to sell at that price, although many honour it.
Now if you take France the transaction by law starts with the shop and their price tag, so when the customer goes to pay, even when it is marked wrongly, the shop must honour what it has labelled.
To the OP - As the transaction was completed, BA should in theory honour it. If you have confirmation of the ticketing then that is your proof they accepted it. However, it depends on when the contract actually starts, take for example last year when BA shunted up the fuel surcharges on everyone even though they had already paid for the ticket, although this is technically a change in T&Cs (which they have a right to change) which is how I think they got around it.
Are they saying that the seat doesnt exist because of the error? If so you are screwed. If they are saying it should have cost but it didnt and the transaction was processed, then they have no right to (provided you printed the contract!). It depends on what the cost is and how far you want to take it really.
I have had a long arguement with BE about them charging me £4 per person for using Amex, yet there was only 1 transation (unlike BA which has 2 transactions for 2 tickets) on my credit card and therefore I should not have been charged £8. They wouldnt shift so have got Amex involved...