nivsy

Ha ha that is funny! "silver type"........

CrazyJ82

It's worth noting that this is one more hoop than BA were prepared to jump through in this situation, having told OP to sort it out for himself/herself without even offering any guidance on cost. I'd echo others who have said that how OP handled this was entirely appropriate given the late hour and the possibility that OP lacked sufficient local knowledge to have found a closer and cheaper alternative.

T8191

But ... local knowledge is not needed. TripAdvisor would provide that, given the right starting point.

That said, at my age I woukd certainly not want to be sorting things out myself. Fortunately our BA IRROPS were managed well. But I am also assuming the OP is a younger and more experienced traveller, since he knows about things like HEX.

the_real_a

How can the OP get his case reviewed by UK based staff. This sounds typical behavior of offshore outsourced operations who are unable/not allowed to use common sense in a situation.

PETER01

Well said. ^

Lets not have a go at the OP here folks in what is a very well worded explanation and a very reasonable post. Saying he should have tried harder is in my view not something I can agree with. He clearly did in my opinion.

With hindsight it's easy for members here to say what you may or may not have done/having local knoweldge or maybe even never found yourself in this situation before at 10pm at night.

He didn't ask for this situation and neither did BA who no doubt wished for any IRROPS. However in these circumstances BA should really cough up in this instance as it seems clear the OP did the best they could.

I hope you get this resolved Twoflower

corporate-wage-slave

I think a once a quarter traveller would do well to spend - what, 15 minutes? - downloading a few apps and do some bookmarking by way of a a one-off precaution. Ideally it would not be necessary but BA is scarcely alone in being unable to cope with mass irrops. The ME3 and USA airlines are even worse. If it wasn't clear in my earlier post, I'm giving some pointers which may or may not help others, sharing what this particular traveller does, I'm certainly not saying everyone must do this - in fact it would get in the way of my hotel room if everyone did!

I do think, however, the OP has a legitimate complaint, if £295 was the best on offer. By the sounds of it there was a family in tow too, which means there may have been some pressure on the OP to sort something out. Hence why I suggest a fairly ruthless, deadline setting MCOL route, now that there have been 2 rebuffs.

PETER01

Great advice/tips there (as usual!) and very handy to know corporate-wage-slave ^

shawbridge

Just a quick read from someone not from the UK.

As a pretty frequent BA traveler not based in the UK (I've been BA Gold for at least 10 years and Concorde Room recently), I have stayed at many hotels in Central London and a few near the airport (usually the Sofitel but have been at Sheratons, Holiday Inns, Crowne Plaza (I think), etc.).

I do have the apps c-w-s suggested on my phone. But, I would be nervous about booking in places like Woking or Bracknell. I'd be concerned about how long would it take, for example, to get a taxi to come to the hotel to get to the airport, etc. It would never have occurred to me to consider going to Gatwick -- not a crazy suggestion in hindsight but my sense would have been that this is an hour trip that I would have to make late in the evening and then again the next day.

My first choice would have been someplace in walking distance of Paddington Station (Hilton, Indigo or other).

Given the situation, I probably wouldn't have done something not dissimilar to the OP. I think BA does need to provide the rooms or guidance (even, here are some hotels in Woking and Bracknell that you can get to by taxi, ...). If they can't place pax at inexpensive rooms, why should they expect a non-London based passenger to do so, especially without providing the limits?

simons1

For a business traveller type, maybe. For an irregular traveller, not really, as I think it's a reasonable expectation that the airline would do what they are required to do, even if it required a bit of queueing. Most bigger IRROPS can be planned for to some extent, for example in recent situations HAL made it clear the day before that flow rates would need to be cut which would mean delays and cancellations.

Also even armed with a few apps, half a dozen hotel phone numbers, the train and tube timetables etc, is it really realistic at 10pm to expect the traveller to become a travel agent? Even as a regular traveller I would do exactly the same as the OP, google a hotel room and get there. If that isn't a outcome of BA's liking then surely the drill is to staff up and do the job properly.

I fully agree. This is why I specifically said in my comments that "we know that airlines have cut staffing to the bone, and that causes problems when a serious IRROPS happens". As I didn't mention BA in any of that, I do find this a somewhat defensive comment. I agree most airlines offer the same somewhat feeble service, which to be honest is why EC261 was required. However we are not talking about US or ME3 airlines here, just a specific case where BA has told the traveller to go it alone and then tried to stiff him when it comes to picking up the costs.

I think we are both agreed on the message to the OP though, send a final letter and then get on with the MCOL.

Wozza2404

OP could just as easily have had limited English, be totally unfamiliar with the area, etc. and just hit "London" in Expedia and picked the first result which came up.

I'm with OP on this one. BA need to pay up.

If they want to limit the amount they're on the hook for when it comes to hotel costs, then they need to book it. Not just tell people to sort themselves out and then be surprised when people send them the bill.

flatlander

I concur. Send them a final demand stating very clearly the circumstances and that they abandoned any search for accommodation, therefore they are liable for the entire cost, demanding payment within 14 calendar days, and threatening MCOL action for the full amount.

File the MCOL on day 15.

Silver Fox

Agree.

patersoj

I live in Woking, and it isn't necessarily as easy to get to late at night as I've found to my cost. Depending on departure times, there are only a couple of buses after 10pm (maybe half 10 and half 11 from memory). If the OP was any later then they are into cab territory. A local firm will take you to the airport for ~£30 with similar plus parking for collection, but a black cab quoted me £75+ the last time I considered it. Suffice to say I waited for a pickup from the local firm.

If it helps anyone in the future, the hotel situation in the town has much improved over the last few years though, and there is a Hilton (formerly Holiday Inn), a Travelodge and a couple of Premier Inns - 3 of which are 5mins walk (max) from the train station where the bus turfs out.

The bus is a fairly decent service, and since it doesn't do stops can take some very imaginative routes to the airport when the M25 is having a bad day.

shefgab

That's a tricky one. If BA said "sort your own hotel room, max £200, plus max £50 for transport", I imagine a number of people would use that as payback for the inconvenience, and spend more than they would do normally. But of course, had the OP known about the £200 limit, he might have tried harder to find something cheaper....and wouldn't feel so hard done by now.

Exactly. BA had given up trying to help the OP, so he had no option. BA should pay up.

I do wish that BA would communicate better between departments during IRROPS. Could the "hotel dept" not let someone know that there were no more hotel beds by LHR, so please try and get everyone onto a plane if possible, to avoid super massive hotel claims. The OP did say his plane was still there. Could it not have been held another few minutes? (I understand airport OPs is pretty complex).

orbitmic

Fully agree. While most of us would agree that £295/room/night is a lot of money, EC261 clearly makes it the airline's responsibility to offer passengers stranded overnight or beyond a certain length of time (regardless of cause) accommodation.

I think it is fine and reasonable for them to encourage passengers to try and sort out their own accommodation if they are overwhelmed, but they do not have the power or the right to supersede a regulation by setting a limit which is not part of it. In fact, even saying that they set a limit is not good enough although arguably, if they did, best strategy would be to get back to them and say that this is impossible and they need to deliver. In this case, however, OP says that he received no such warning so BA have to cough up.

It would of course be entirely different if OP had unilaterally taken the liberty to book accommodation to avoid queuing etc (which is why I discourage people from doing that) but in this case, I'd write back ideally mentioning the name (or failing that description) of the person who told you to make your own arrangements and saying that you refuse the underpayment.