Hi paul4040 ........I find your points 1) to 5) above a very tidy & complete summary of the various issues raised by the OP's thread. You've said it all ^^

Nonetheless, I'm pretty sure that your solid reasoning still won't be enough to convince the dissenting voices - or prevent fresh ones appearing ! But when people come on to tell us how horrible & unfair lounge staff were for having done no more than simply apply standard rules, it invariably tells me more about the complainant than it does about BA.