ericmcn

Hi folks,

I signed up with this forum for some advice on BA - I am another victim of the 'forced' e vouchers and this is a quick run-down on what occurred.

Early last year I booked a flight - LHR > BKK, the flight was for November I think but is irrelevant now as it was cancelled by BA - I paid about Ł300 cash for the flight and used the rest of the fare with my avios - most of what I had left.
Due to corona I was thinking the flight is a no hoper and I sent some enquiries about cancelling it and was told I would only get some ridiculous low amount back, like Ł100 or something, So I let it ride.
BA eventually cancelled it anyway and I am not sure what happened next but I am 90% sure I was sent a link for the famous E voucher which I accepted - the value is Ł642, lower than what the flight cost but thats BA.
Forward to December and I have tried get cash back to no avail, had about 6 email conversations with the help desk - no chance will I waste hours to go onto the phone. I am not comfortable travelling at the moment even though the e voucher is valid until 2023, I believe - my bank who are usually very good for refunds also will not do a charge back as I accepted the voucher which is still valid.

Can I book another flight using this e voucher and whatever cash I need also and just cancel that and get a refund that way (minus the Ł35 tax or whatever they charge) or has anyone done it? BA are brutal and such a waste of time - I have flown Business with them many times and they are woeful, compared to ANA or Asiana business.


Any thoughts?
cheers

corporate-wage-slave

It's not clear to me if you bought a commercial ticket and then used Avios to reduce the total cost. Or a redemption ticket which had a Ł300 cash component and a pile of Avios. That changes what happens next and there is a detailed threads on this relating to Buy With Confidence or Rebooking, via the Covid dashboard. The short version is that if it was commercial then you get a refund, but it would be for the original cash amount, so you lose the Avios but gain the cash. If it was a redemption and a cancellation you get exactly what you paid back in cash and avios. If you had previously asked for a voucher, before the cancellation, then the voucher is what it is. You can use the eVoucher on other BA marketed flights Iincluding those operated by other airlines such as AA) or use it on a BA Holiday booking. It's not route dependent.

RB211

Welcome to FT, ericmcn !!!

rb211.

ericmcn

Just to make it clear. I booked the London - Bkk flight and used some credit card and some avios to purchase the ticket. The flight was cancelled (by BA) -- I was given the famous E Ticket, value just over 600 GBP..
My question is could I use this Eticket on another flight, paying extra money at my end if required - cancel that flight and this time request cash back

corporate-wage-slave

In that specific scenario you would only get your cash back if BA cancels the new flight booking that you make. Now earlier on in this pandemic it wasn't difficult to work out which flights BA were going to cancel, but now it's a lot harder to work out. So on first glance BA doesn't look like returning to HKG anytime soon, there again it is such a lucrative route that BA will operate that service if they can. If BA does not cancel the service you will simply get another eVoucher - the refund is back to the method of payment, here the eVoucher.

ericmcn

thanks for the reply, sounds bad so! hence me signing up here..!

My bank did say if I did not use the voucher before it expires I may be able to get a refund then on the basis that it is expired and was not used. BA really are terrible

aks120

Actually, I would say their refund rules and flexibility have been better than most other airlines. Try dealing with AA!

I agree that their food is terrible, but I am afraid in this case - where you appear to have agreed to a voucher and got a voucher, I cannot agree that they are terrible.

Your voucher is easily used on another flight, to any destination, for another year and a half. If you don’t believe you will fly anywhere by the time the voucher expires, I am afraid that is not BA’s fault.

Regards

aks120

ericmcn

It's not me agreeing with the voucher, it's because a voucher was the only choice out there it seems. Hence the large number of complaints with people forced into getting a voucher and then you have the ridiculous amount of effort it takes to get onto them and discuss your problem or try ask them to exchange the voucher for cash.
​​​​​
Flight travel at the moment is a ball ache and I don't particularly want to travel, I don't think it will change much by next year either

Anonba

So really because BA didnt offer a full refund on flights that werent cancelled you think they forced you into a voucher?

KARFA

Can I add my welcome to you ericmcn and congratulations on your first post

So I am still a little unclear on the type of booking you originally made. Did you just go on ba.com and search for a normal cash booking, and then use



Or did you sign in to your exec account and go to the "book with avios" page and book through there? so this screen



From the start of the pandemic the options have been that if your flights are not cancelled but you don't want to take the trip anymore, you can get a future travel voucher which will hold all the value of what you paid originally, and that is available to make a new booking up to 2023. The alternative for a voluntary cancellation was to cancel for a refund, but as you note for non refundable fares you may only be due back a small amount usually representing taxes and some fees.

If your flight has been cancelled prior to you taking action, then you could request a full refund as normal. You could also still request a future travel voucher in this situation if you prefer that instead.

ericmcn

Hi there, thanks for the kind welcome

It was a exec book with avios option I used, I had gold at one point but gradually went to silver and bronze..
BA did cancel this flight, hence me arguing that I should not have been sent a link to claim an e voucher, which I am now stuck with and which BA will not entertain for a cash refund as i accepted the only offer they had on the table when it was cancelled

ericmcn

If you read the post you will see that BA cancelled the original flight themesleves

Midships

Welcome - I will leave it to more knowledgeable folk, of which there are many, to advise you.

KARFA

Thanks for the reply. So by that you mean the first screenshot I mentioned where it presents you with the opportunity to save money off a cash fare by using avios?

ericmcn

This is beside the point, I could have paid full value for the BKK flight if I wanted but because I had a lot of avois I thought I would use them as they were sitting around and liable to expire.

I will probably leave this voucher expire and claim back on my credit card it's full value, my bank won't refund it now as it's still valid.
BA are ridiculous, if they sent me two options itself when they cancelled the flight, if I knew at the time what a ball ache it would be to deal with them at a later date about getting cash but they just say ahh but you accepted the voucher sir. Sure I did as it was the only option available