I just took a look at BA's Contract of Carriage ... here is the portion that might apply to you if your original flight is delayed or canceled. It might be your only hope for refunding your ticket without penalty.
Link:
http://www.britishairways.com/travel...ublic/en_us#9b
9b) Remedies for delays and cancellations
9b1) We will take all reasonable measures necessary to avoid delay in carrying you and your baggage.
9b2) These measures may, in exceptional circumstances and if necessary to prevent a flight being cancelled, include arranging for a flight to be operated:
- by another aircraft
- by another airline or
- by both.
9b3) If we:
- cancel a flight;
- delay a flight by five hours or more;
- fail to stop at your place of stopover or destination; or
- cause you to miss a connecting flight on which you hold a confirmed reservation;
you can choose one of the three remedies set out immediately below.
Remedy 1
We will carry you as soon as we can to the destination shown on your ticket on another of our scheduled services on which a seat is available in the class of service for which you have paid the fare. If we do this, we will not charge you extra and where necessary, will extend the validity period of your ticket.
Remedy 2
We will carry you to the destination shown on your ticket in the class of service for which you have paid the fare at a later date at your convenience and within the validity period of your ticket on another of our scheduled services on which a seat is available. If we do this, we will not charge you extra.
Remedy 3
We will give or obtain for you an involuntary fare refund.