similarly would you be happy to lose £3,000 because your wife couldn't get to a phone, despsite the fact you had the same name, address or had booked the flight on your card?!

So, if the person was my wife, lived with me, then yes I do think its daft, or indeed in the case of the OP where he has booked the ticket, then yes again, it is silly, at least in that there seems to be no provision to be able to handle such problems.

Otherwise no, of course not, as I say above though, you should be able to 'easily' add members who can change the booking, to avoid what I suspect are regular problems like the OP has experienced