chipster

Hello
myself and a mate went LHR-MEX-LHR in FIRST the other week. Using my Amex voucher plus approx £1600 taxes/charges and 185K avios from my account.
He was downgraded to Club at the gate at Heathrow due to a broken seat in 1st. On the way back a fortnight later, I was downgraded to club at the checkin desk because of a different broken seat (desk agent said I was chosen because I had paid in miles, and on my ticket it is printed that I was downgraded due to oversold flight). My seat was actually broken and unoccupied but my mate got to fly in first on the way back however his seat had no IFE and the plane’s WiFi wasn’t working. On boarding, the gate agent gave me a £500 cash card. I said I didn’t want it because I thought I would be signing away my right to a refund of some of the extra avios and taxes used to fly first., but the gate agent assured me that this was in addition to any compensation I would be due and would not affect my rights to avios refund and it was just to say sorry for the inconvenience. So I signed the form for the cash card. The crew were very apologetic and we both had decent flights however, just a bit disappointing. The crew put in their messages about to HQ.

we have both got our emails from ba. My mate got the choice of £500 cash or a £700 future travel voucher< plus his account was credited with 140,000 avios. Seems very generous seeing as he didn’t have to use any for the flight!. I got a message saying that £500 cash card was the appropriate compensation for me, that I’d got it and no return of avios or extra taxes was due, and thanks for flying with us. I knew I shouldn’t have signed for the cash card! It doesn’t seem right to me somehow. Is this the appropriate level of compensation for these downgrades, or should I complain again? I don’t mind my mate getting some extra avios though!

corporate-wage-slave

That looks to me that they got the refund elements the wrong way around in terms of who should have got the Avios uplift. I would go to the EC261 thread wiki, go through the Mennens calculations, round it upwards to the nearest £10 and request that from YouFirst. They are entitled to deduct the £500 from the total, so accepting the cash card has a neutral effect. Usually they allow the cash card and allow a direct refund on the Avios + cash difference, but on that sector Mennens would be more generous. Note that it is not compensation, it's a refund calculation according to the requirements of EC261. EC261 has compensation components, but they don't apply to downgrades. More details in the main thread.

chipster

Thank you very much I will do as you suggest

Tobias-UK

Whilst that would normally be the case, the OP was assured that his payment was offered as a gesture of goodwill and that the monies paid are in addition to the refund he is entitled to. In the OP’s case I’d be pushing back and assert the £500 should not be counted toward that refund.