Hi folks, has anyone else experienced anything similar to the account below? I've copy pasted the complaint I filed with BA, changing the reference numbers for obvious reasons. I would appreciate any tips on how to resolve this. They've not responded yet, and the status still says "received".

-->Details:

Yesterday (November 8, 2024), I decided to bring forward a planned holiday to Athens, from February XX, 2025 to November XX, 2024. The BA website does not support such changes to holidays and so I proceeded to cancel the existing booking (ABC123) forfeiting the £120 deposit, and to make a new booking (XYZ456) effecting the change.

Following the new booking (XYZ456), I received an e-ticket confirmation email at 21:10, and a second e-ticket confirmation email with the same reference number at 21:20.

I subsequently received a cancellation email with reference number ABC123 at 21:43, and a second cancellation email with the same reference number at 22:16.

I made seat selections to booking XYZ456, and received a confirmation email for this at 21:45 as well.

I affirm that no further emails regarding either booking have been received from British Airways (I have checked my main and junk mailboxes to verify that this is correct). I have attached all emails referenced in this complaint, including a screenshot of my mailbox showing that no further emails have been received.

On November 9 around 17:37, I observed that booking XYZ456 had also disappeared from my account alongside the older booking that disappeared earlier in the day. I immediately called BA. The agent I spoke to asked me to dial 00442087074462 to speak to BA Holidays. That number does not exist. After futile attempts to find the correct number, I called the BA Executive Club phone number again. This agent told me to ring the BA Executive Club phone number again, but pick a different option in the menu options (he could not transfer the call to the Holidays team).

I redialled at 17:59, and a third agent ([NAME REDACTED]) said that the system says that the booking was cancelled by “user action” at 21:09. I did not cancel the booking – I could not have cancelled a booking before completing the booking. She insisted repeatedly that I did, according to the system, effectively calling me a liar and gaslighting me. I continued to explain that I was absolutely certain I cancelled ABC123 and that I received two email confirmations both referring to ABC123 and no emails referencing a cancellation for XYZ456. It simply doesn't add up, cancelling a booking before it was made and also making changes to the booking after it was supposedly cancelled (referring to the seat selections made later that night).

[NAME REDACTED] transferred me to the Operations Manager ([NAME REDACTED]) who also continued to repeat [NAME REDACTED]'s lines, pushing me further and further into despair and anguish. At my insistence, she said she would forward this issue to IT to review but there was nothing more that she could do to resolve the situation, and she could not offer a time line. It was the weekend and it was unlikely to be resolved before the following week.

I kindly ask that British Airways resolves this issue by:

- Swiftly remaking the booking for the Athens holiday on the terms of booking XYZ456 (same flights, hotel, award of Avios and tier points including the double tier points and bonus Avios offers for BA Holidays)
- Offering a genuine apology and recognising the despair and anguish that this issue has caused
- Investigating how this IT issue occurred and fixing it, so no one else experiences this, and
- Updating information available to their call agents, removing any internal reference to 00442087074462 (a number that does not exist).

I cannot overstate the distress and anxiety that this episode has caused me. My time has also been wasted and worst of all, this experience has dented my passion for travel. I want to believe this is a one-off bad experience from gremlins in a creaking IT system, and that BA’s efforts to modernise its IT will go far enough to ensure that the airline does better in the future. The experience is far from great right now, and warrants a rethink on my earlier decision to switch loyalty to BA from the SkyTeam Alliance. Please make this right and restore my faith in the BA that I loved as a child.