Why won’t BA let you get a refund via the website?
Mar 22, 2020, 9:39 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: London
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Why won’t BA let you get a refund via the website?
Seems bizarre that this facility is not available online.
BA have cancelled my original flights to Shetland in May
The website only allows you to re-arrange time and date, the cancel defaults you to the voucher option
You have to ring to get a refund
Of course you can’t ring until T -72 hours
Has this deliberately been made difficult?
BA have cancelled my original flights to Shetland in May
The website only allows you to re-arrange time and date, the cancel defaults you to the voucher option
You have to ring to get a refund
Of course you can’t ring until T -72 hours
Has this deliberately been made difficult?
Mar 22, 2020, 9:40 am
#2
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Switzerland
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Posts: 6,529
Seems bizarre that this facility is not available on line
BA have cancelled my original flights to Shetland in May
The website only allows you to re-arrange time and date, the cancel defaults you to the voucher option
You have to ring to get a refund
Of course you can’t ring until T -72 hours
Has this deliberately been made difficult?
BA have cancelled my original flights to Shetland in May
The website only allows you to re-arrange time and date, the cancel defaults you to the voucher option
You have to ring to get a refund
Of course you can’t ring until T -72 hours
Has this deliberately been made difficult?
BA.com should offer more options (incl. refunds as you say) which would make the phone lines less busy.
Mar 22, 2020, 9:45 am
#3
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Oxon, UK
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I think it is highly likely that it is deliberate. Airlines are desperate for cash flow at the moment. Many reports of other airlines doing the same thing. I've had personal experience with Singapore Airlines. SWISS are stating that they will refuse refunds at the moment and that you cannot even apply until December. Apparently inviting you to take it up with the regulator if you're not happy...
Mar 22, 2020, 9:46 am
#4
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
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See the wiki in the main Covid-19 rebooking thread for the two workarounds to this - an online form for refunds and a Java bodge.
Mar 22, 2020, 9:48 am
#5
Suspended
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 629
The official line is to say not been done deliberately and being worked. I'm not big into IT but not sure why it takes 4 days to work on what to me anyway seems like something easy to sort
Last edited by Hawk777; Mar 22, 2020 at 10:35 am
Mar 22, 2020, 9:53 am
#6
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: London
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I haven't been in the position to request a refund yet, but I saw this on another web forum earlier today. I can't vouch for it personally, but the post has had some replies saying that it had worked:
Edit - beaten to it by a couple of poster!
Edit - beaten to it by a couple of poster!
Ok so whats been happening is that BA have been attempting to direct you to a travel voucher page, there IS a work around, and there's a work around with a couple of extra steps if your flight has already been cancelled. Note that if your flight has already been cancelled you can get a full refund, you dont need to accept a travel voucher, but they keep trying to shepherd you to that page.
This is using google chrome:
I believe that perhaps steps 1-5 are the only ones required if your flight hasnt been cancelled yet, but beware that they may not give you a full refund in that case. The best advice is to wait until 72 hours before your flight is due to leave to maximise the possibility of a cancellation.
This is using google chrome:
- From your MMB page where the flight is shown as cancelled go into your browser's settings and disable JavaScript.
- Click on the cancel and refund button.
- Confirm that you now see the correct cash refund form and not the voucher refund form.
- Turn JavaScript back on in your browser settings.
- Click on the "Yes" radio button to select that you are a person in the booking.
- When nothing happens press "Enter" on your keyboard. (This works in Firefox and Chrome)
- The page refreshes and shows an error at the top of the page "email address invalid"
- Click on the "Yes" radio button again and this time it will allow you to select the name of the traveller and complete the rest of the form
I believe that perhaps steps 1-5 are the only ones required if your flight hasnt been cancelled yet, but beware that they may not give you a full refund in that case. The best advice is to wait until 72 hours before your flight is due to leave to maximise the possibility of a cancellation.
Last edited by peter h; Mar 22, 2020 at 9:55 am Reason: too slow!
Mar 22, 2020, 10:00 am
#7
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Mar 22, 2020, 10:07 am
#8
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It's not just BA that need to up their game on refunds / cancellations / changes etc on-line
I have an AA booking with BA flights that got changed and those flight changes aren't ideal. If I could do the changes on line - or at least request them - that would free up the phone lines. Someone in a back office or even at home could just look at them then approve or deny and start the process again rather putting 20 options to a phone agent.
AY does let you rechedule on-line.
I have an AA booking with BA flights that got changed and those flight changes aren't ideal. If I could do the changes on line - or at least request them - that would free up the phone lines. Someone in a back office or even at home could just look at them then approve or deny and start the process again rather putting 20 options to a phone agent.
AY does let you rechedule on-line.
Mar 22, 2020, 10:10 am
#9
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 491
What the airlines are doing is outrageous. Screw their cashflow, what about my cashflow? I can't have funds tied up that aren't being used because THEY want them. Plus who even knows who will be in existence to use a voucher by the end of this. Give me a break.
Mar 22, 2020, 10:49 am
#11
Join Date: Jul 2014
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I don’t know the details of any airline’s current liquidity position, but this tips firmly into the unreasonable behaviour space, even in the current situation IMO. I think ‘we’ are prepared to give airlines a lot of slack atm, but the tide will turn quickly if they resort to s***ty tactics.
Mar 22, 2020, 10:58 am
#12
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 95
Slightly o/t I guess, but if eBookers can do this (and more...see below) than other for 'business' considerations, I can see no reason why BA can't.
I have a (non refundable) hotel booking in Vietnam early next month, made through eBookers.
Yesterday, unprompted, they sent me an email and said they had been working with hotels and some had agreed to refund booking in full (even as in my case) I had booked on a no-refund basis.
To take advantage of this there was a large 'click here' button, which took me to a page which had a single button to press to acknowledge I wanted to do this and quoting the refund amount.
Thank you and we'll done eBookers.
I have a (non refundable) hotel booking in Vietnam early next month, made through eBookers.
Yesterday, unprompted, they sent me an email and said they had been working with hotels and some had agreed to refund booking in full (even as in my case) I had booked on a no-refund basis.
To take advantage of this there was a large 'click here' button, which took me to a page which had a single button to press to acknowledge I wanted to do this and quoting the refund amount.
Thank you and we'll done eBookers.
Last edited by Whyone; Mar 22, 2020 at 12:43 pm
Mar 22, 2020, 11:26 am
#13
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Mar 22, 2020, 11:34 am
#14
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I don’t know the details of any airline’s current liquidity position, but this tips firmly into the unreasonable behaviour space, even in the current situation IMO. I think ‘we’ are prepared to give airlines a lot of slack atm, but the tide will turn quickly if they resort to s***ty tactics.
If you want a cash refund, you're charged the cancellation fee.
Mar 22, 2020, 11:41 am
#15
Join Date: Jul 2019
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Posts: 1,784
Those instructions were posted originally by Willmatt over on the Covid-19 forum as referenced by C-W-S. We all owe Willmatt.