I think BA made it quite clear last year that things provided for 'free' do not have any value and BA won't provide any compensation - if they did then we should raise a class action suit for removal of 'free' food in short haul Y.
Having said that, my personal experience with a malfunctioning seat is totally different....
Back in 2006 flying from NAS > LHR my CW seat would not fully recline (it went back about 135 degrees rather than the full 180 degrees). I had three or four members of the crew jumping on it and trying to push it into position before they finally gave up telling me that they could not disturb the other passengers any more. I was handed a form to fill in to raise my complaint - about 4 weeks later I received a voucher for a free return trip (in CW) to anywhere that BA flies - which I then used for a trip to SFO.
How things have changed.