kileysmom

I'm surious - what would happen if someone just walked up to the ticket counter in GIB and tried to buy a ticket with AmEx?

NFH

I had completely forgotten about this thread, and even if I had remembered it, I would reasonably have expected the issue to have been resolved more than three years later. When I tried to book a one-way flight from GIB to LCY in August 2021, I became £62 out of pocket as a direct result of BA not accepting American Express for flight bookings originating in GIB. BA refused to reimburse me for this £62, so I complained to CEDR with the following grounds of complaint:

1. I am making three separate complaints about the same one-way flight for my girlfriend and myself with the Firm (“BA”) from Gibraltar airport (“GIB”) to London City Airport (“LCY”) on 20th September 2021 under booking reference [REDACTED].
2. Since 2001, I have a British Airways American Express Premium Plus credit card, for which the annual fee is currently £250, and which earns me 1½ Avios per £1 spent at most merchants and 3 Avios per £1 spent with British Airways. BA confirms the latter earning rate in many public and private statements, including the following:
   1. At https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb...redit-cards/uk BA advertises “Collect 3 Avios for every £1 spent with British Airways flights and holidays” (emphasis added); and
   2. In an e-mail from BA to me on 22nd August 2019 at 00:06 (see Exhibit NFH1), BA states “What’s more, as a British Airways American Express Premium Plus Cardmember you’ll also earn 3 Avios for every £1 you spend on ba.com, helping you to get away again sooner” (emphasis added).
3. BA’s promise that 3 Avios will be earnt for “every £1” spent with this card at ba.com implies that this type of card is accepted at ba.com for “every” purchase.
4. The above statements at paragraph 2 form binding contractual terms pursuant to Section 50(1) of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which states:
   "Every contract to supply a service is to be treated as including as a term of the contract anything that is said or written to the consumer, by or on behalf of the trader, about the trader or the service, if—
   (a) it is taken into account by the consumer when deciding to enter into the contract, or
   (b) it is taken into account by the consumer when making any decision about the service after entering into the contract."
5. On 4th August 2021 at around 20:15, I tried to book a one-way flight at ba.com from GIB to LCY for my girlfriend and myself. The price was £51 each without baggage or £52 each including 23kg of baggage. I tried to book at £52 each including 23kg baggage. When I reached the payment page, American Express was not one of the payment options, only Visa, MasterCard, Discover and Diners Club. I therefore could not complete my booking at ba.com using the credit card that BA advertises with a £250 annual fee. This breached the above binding contractual terms quoted above at paragraph 2. I tried several workarounds such as booking separately for each passenger (see Exhibits NFH2 and NFH3), but I could not find a solution. I tried to telephone BA on its UK number, but its UK call centre had closed at 20:00. I therefore found the number for BA’s US call centre, whom I telephoned instead at 20:41.
6. During the 29-minute call to BA’s US call centre, the price of the flights, including 23kg baggage, rose from £52 to £83 per passenger. I therefore paid £166 under protest instead of £104. BA sent me a booking confirmation at 21:11 (see Exhibit NFH4).
7. BA subsequently sent me two e-mails at 21:42 (Exhibit NFH5) and at 21:52 (Exhibit NFH6), confirming that £52 was the fare that I had been trying to pay at ba.com.
8. I have since discovered that, because of technical issues that BA has been intending to overcome for at least three years, ba.com does not accept American Express for flights originating from GIB, but despite my asking several questions, both in writing and orally, BA has been unable to tell me the reason. Therefore I can only speculate on the reason, based on what I have read on third party web sites. One theory is that ba.com, but not BA’s call centre, prices GIB-originated flights in GIP instead of in GBP, and that American Express cannot process transactions in GIP because GIP is a currency code used mostly in wholesale banknote trading, and for all other purposes the currency code of Gibraltar is GBP. The other less plausible theory is a legacy limitation from GB Airways before British Airways acquired the route.
9. Regulation 5 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 states:
   "1) A commercial practice is a misleading action if it satisfies the conditions in either paragraph (2) or paragraph (3).
   2) A commercial practice satisfies the conditions of this paragraph—
   a) if it contains false information and is therefore untruthful in relation to any of the matters in paragraph (4) or if it or its overall presentation in any way deceives or is likely to deceive the average consumer in relation to any of the matters in that paragraph, even if the information is factually correct; and
   b) it causes or is likely to cause the average consumer to take a transactional decision he would not have taken otherwise."
10. Regulation 5(4)(b) is defined as “the main characteristics of the product (as defined in paragraph 5)” and Regulation 5(5)(b) is defined as “benefits of the product”.
11. Therefore I aver that BA’s statements quoted above at paragraph 2 were a misleading action in breach of Regulation 5 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 in that the advertised benefits of the product caused me to take a transactional decision that I would not have taken otherwise, specifically my attempt to book flights at ba.com at 20:15 instead of via BA’s call centre before it closed at 20:00.
12. BA does not state anywhere that flights originating from GIB are excluded from the binding contractual terms quoted above at paragraph 2. Therefore I aver that this is a misleading omission in breach of Regulation 6 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.
13. If BA had not breached the contractual terms quoted above at paragraph 2 and had not carried out the misleading action and misleading omission, then I would have paid £104 instead of £166 for the booking. Consequently the damages I suffered are £62. I submitted a message to BA at ba.com under reference [REDACTED] on 5th August 2021 at 13:49, but BA sent its final response to me on 7th September 2021 at 15:07 stating “We’re unable to respond to any further requests for a refund” (see Exhibit NFH7).

BA did not surcharge me for booking by telephone, unlike the discussion in the earlier posts above. My other two complaints were that BA involuntarily rerouted my booking to fly to LHR instead of to LCY, incurring a transport cost from LHR to LCY, and the additional cost of drinks on the GIB-LHR flight which would have been included on the GIB-LCY flight. Just after I submitted my complaint to CEDR, BA refunded the £95 Addison Lee fare from LHR to home (near LCY).

In January 2022, CEDR relayed to me a message from BA “With no admission of liability, Britsh Airways [sic] offer to settle your claim” (which was for the full £62 plus the additional cost of drinks), which I accepted. I see that BA still doesn't accept American Express for flight bookings originating in GIB, so this problem hasn't gone away. Therefore I hope that the above legal arguments are helpful to anyone else in a similar position, as they appear to be persuasive enough for BA to settle after a complaint is submitted to CEDR.

BA added a post-resolution comment to my CEDR complaint “In relation to the actual issue of not being able to use American Express for payments for flights from Gibraltar on ba.com, this is still under investigation, and we hope to rectify this as soon as we can”.

CEDR allows airlines 20 working days to make payment. In this case, BA took 25 working days.

PUCCI GALORE

Whilst they argue booking fees amend GIPs I was moderately interested in the thread as once upon a time I found a fare to CapTown in J which was loads cheaper. I would even have positioned to that unlovely place which I recommend every one to visit once. It is the world in miniature. The runway is like landing on an aircraft carrier. You walk back across and through that hole in the wall into a bazaar with shops packed with gadgets all unpriced (back then) which required haggling. What with that frightful slummy block of flats​​​​​ , it was remarkable what they’ve managed to pack in there and is well worth visiting. It’s like Marmite and Venice. You love them or you don’t. I might add that La Linea and Algeciras are possibly one of the most Godforsaken, drab and ugly places in the whole of Spain.

So yes, I would be perfectly happy to buy a ticket to fly out of there for good savings and frankly I couldn’t care less if they take Amex or not. Knowing why is genuinely interesting. Me? I’d pay with my IHG Mastercard and get the points there. It’s quite extraordinary people snaffling up Avios that they never seem to be able to use., but there it is. All that said I’m quite interested in seeing what developments have taken place. I think that a weekend is quite long enough however.

LCY8737

What a fair a balanced review.

I would add Melilla to the places to be seen once - the Spanish equivalent to Gibraltar. Key features are a big fence to keep the Africans out and ahem... nothing else. Food is a lot better than GIB though. Also their currency is the Euro Euro, not some special ISO variation, and Iberia accepts Amex for one way flights to MAD.

Misco60

Good on you for taking a stand on a relatively small financial loss and challenging BA on a matter of principle: if more people did this then BA might stop treating its customers with contempt, because money seems to be the only thing they understand.

_nate

I simply don't think that BA's card promising you Avios on all purchases made with BA implies BA accepts that card for all purchases. It is not the way logic works. You have the right to be irritated but these particular grounds of your unfair selling complaint do not seem reasonable.

NFH

You haven't given any legal reasoning for your comment, but you seem to be arguing that this contractual term should be interpreted in BA's favour and not in the consumer's favour. The legal doctrine of contra proferentem, which is codified by Section 69 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, causes any interpretation to be in the consumer's favour. Therefore my interpretation, as above at paragraph 3, stands.

KARFA

You mention contractual terms but you only seem to have quoted advertising in point 2 in your earlier post. Which contractual term were you relying on and interpreting in your favour?

NFH

The contractual terms are at paragraph 2 above. They are contractual terms for the reasons given at paragraph 4 above.

KARFA

Interesting.

I notice your claim was for the loss you incurred due to the price rise relating to the delay in booking. I note that you didn't ask for anything in relation to the direct loss relating to not being able to use your amex, namely the 3 avios per £1 spent, but only for the cash loss due to the delay? Had there been no price rise do you think you would have still complained?

NFH

I did pay with Amex by booking via the US call centre, so there was no loss of Avios.

No, there would have been nothing to complain about.

KARFA

Thanks. So the loss you claimed was consequential to the breach (as you have defined it), rather than being a direct loss?

NFH

The loss resulting from the breach of contract was £62. That's what I claimed.

KARFA

Thanks again.

I am just wondering about the implication of your argument if it were legally judged to be correct. Based on your reasoning, is the phrase "Collect 1 Avios for every £1 spent on purchases" (my underlining) also a contractual term which implies I should be able to use the BA amex care for every purchase? And if so does it follow I am able to claim avios from BA for every purchase even when the specific retailer does not accept Amex?

NFH

No, clearly that would not be a plausible interpretation, not least as BA is not naming a specific merchant in this case. In my case, BA names a specific merchant (itself) where you will earn 3 Avios for "every £1 spent".