Originally Posted by
mikk13
Under most common law, if you accept the refund then the courts may consider the that as suitable remedy.
It is the same as if you buy a car of some one, they turn up the next day with the money and want the car back because they want to sell it to someone else for more. If both parties have agreed on the contract, ie I agreed to the terms when I made the credit card payment and Ba accepted the terms when they issued the ticket, then it is breach of contract and may be pursued via consumer law.
It is also possible to pursue reparations for damages when one party has acted negligently ie. BA offered tickets they were unwilling to honor via a mistake.
The burden of proof is usually with the plaintiff, so I would have to prove damages.
As far as damages, it would be easier to prove loss if I had booked further travel, accommodation or connecting fares to the flights booked. Emotional distress isn't really awarded outside the USA. I am not sure how to prove damages even though I could have booked another airline who now wants more. I didn't have screen shots or records of the offer so I have to think more about it and come up with a legally sound argument and proof.
I guess the real damage for them is this:- I frequently travel. This was the first time I actually booked on BA because of the terrible reputation, esp longhaul. I just booked my wife to London with German wings, who were the same price as BA. No matter how cheap they are, I will always assume it is a mistake fare
You seem to be misunderstanding BA's position. They are not taking the car back because they can sell it to some else - the fare/price offered was a mistake.
Whether they can void the contract, depends on whether a reasonable purchaser would have realised that the price was a mistake and whether the actual purchaser snatched up the offer.
If you post on Internet fora that you have got yourself a mistake fare and say yourself "This was the first time I actually booked on BA because of the terrible reputation, esp long-haul", how can you argue that you did not think it was a mistake fare?
Litigate by all means, but how will you answer the obvious questions why did you buy this fare at this time from an airline with whom you haven't previously flown and whose product you apparently find poor by repute. If it wasn't because it was a mistake fare, what was the reason for the volte face and haste to act?
Others see this as a moral issue. Easier to argue if you are infallible yourself, but harder in the real world where everyone, be they individuals or major corporations, makes mistakes. Factor into that also seeking to exploit those mistakes. Where exactly does that leave a person seeking to exploit another's error, if we are to discuss morality.
English law has clear principles on this - the contract can only be voided if the vendor makes a mechanical error and the purchaser realises this and seeks to exploit it. That seems to me to be equitable in both a legal and moral sense.