ThatT1Feeling

I don't think it's possible to complete the booking without ticking a box which confirms that you agree to the Ts & Cs as provided (on the same web page as the check box).

I generally try to be positive when on this forum, but I have to say that I hold lawyers generally responsible for the creation of more and more Ts & Cs, protections, tick boxes and general hassle that makes life more difficult for the rest of us, while they make their fees for going after companies who are trying to do business in good faith. I've been hacking through a Master Services Agreement for 2 days solid now, most of which wouldn't be necessary if the project teams on the ground were just allowed to get on with it rather than having to document the reasons for every decision they make, individually or jointly, just in case they get pulled up on a tiny sub clause somewhere. I reckon that the client ends up paying a good 40% extra for our services for time spent proactively ...-covering.. (Expletive apparently auto-deleted )

Rant over...

Edit... (following c-w-s's welcome. I do agree with the OP that it would be helpful to have the change / refund rules clearly visible on the receipt for future reference, even if just in summary format..)

KenJohn

I know it is the op's first post but why is the lawyer testing out a legal arguement on this forum rather than in court?

Clearly the OPs PA was at fault. This is why a corporate travel agent is better given they are a specialist in this area.

UKtravelbear

But rich to blame the PA.

S/he was likely doing what they had been told to do - book the OP a flight. If the OP wanted / needed something special it was down to them to tell the PA.

Perhaps the PA was following another policy that said don't book changeable flights because of the cost.


Have not worked where someone has a corporate TA but when someone phones to book would they ask 'do you need a flexible ticket' or do they just do what the PA did and book a flight from A to B on X and Y dates in Z cabin?

Often1

Blaming one's employees is never good form. If the PA types the wrong address on an envelope to a client, it is still the lawyer's fault. If the PA books something you do not want, it is your fault.

OP says that he will take his business elsewhere. But, I am hard-pressed to think of a carrier between LON and WAS or NYC which does not enforce its t&c's and which does not require that passengers fly all segments in the order issued (or face cancellation of the remaining segments).

A bit of practical advice. Even if this ticket could be changed for a fee, OP would owe the fee + fare difference. In CW, that is likely to be substantial. There are cheapish flights from IAD to LGA (15-20 minutes to midtown Manhattan), there are clunky connections to Amtrak and this is an eminently driveable route as well.

For the future, it is important to either give your PA explicit instructions or to ask the PA to present you with options. You can trade cost for things such as flexibility if you wish.

nux

In my experience with several corporate TA's they always ask every time whether it is lowest fare or a flexible ticket and will confirm the change/cancellation details as per the fare rules before issuing the ticket.
This is even for routes where the policy is lowest fare only.

corporate-wage-slave

Welcome to Flyertalk haylefarm, greetings from the BA board, and though you have not had much sympathy here, I hope you nevertheless continue to participate in this lively forum. Welcome to the forum.

I imagine I've made more online bookings with BA than most (at least one ba.com booking a day, I would have thought) and while I can only go by personal experience, each and every time I have done it, it has been crystal clear as to what the change conditions are. Indeed usually there's a well illuminated box to the right, inviting you to spend a bit more to get a more flexible ticket. It is good to make some screen prints at this stage too, for future reference.

In the email you receive after booking, and / or in classic.checkmytrip.com you can hopefully see the fare basis, which you can look up, and of course you can cancel a booking within 24 hours if you made a mistake.

Where I have some sympathy is that it would be better if the fare conditions or even fare basis was a bit more transparent in Manage My Booking, but I guess BA feels that is too techie for the average punter.

Where I am less sympathetic is that if you were buying a car for this sum of money, I'm sure you'd check the A to Z on all the details, and I'm not sure why an air fare should be any different. Caveat emptor.

Airbridge

You are clearly not a very proficient one if you think your argument has any merit other than entertainment value. Perhaps you practice in entertainment rather than contract or consumer law?

LTN Phobia

In some countries non-changeable business class fares are rare and maybe the PA was used to that and did not pay enough attention to the T&C when she/he was booking the ticket. It is a lesson to be learnt - I'm sure neither the OP nor his/her PA would make that mistake again.