BA left us stranded for 24 hours — and gave us just £30 compensation
ON JUNE 11 last year, my flight with British Airways from Phoenix, Arizona, to London was cancelled. We were told a part had to be flown in from LA.
At 11pm, a very brusque crew member said we would be taken to a hotel for the night. We had to queue for vouchers to collect our baggage.
We then waited by the kerb with at least 200 other people, while a 14-seater mini-bus ferried us all to the hotel.
There were no BA staff at the hotel, and I reached my room at 1.45am. At 5.30am, I was woken up by refurbishing work.
We returned to the airport and waited again — this time, we were told the part was being flown from New York.
Eventually — at 8pm — we flew out. I applied for compensation, and was offered £30 of High Life shop vouchers.
Mrs K. K., Oxfordshire.
AT The end of a holiday, all we want is a hassle-free journey home — British Airways subjected you to delays, incompetence, rudeness and a sleep-deprived night.
We all want to be safe when we fly, but that doesn’t excuse the ordeal you suffered — nor the insulting, inadequate offer of a £30 voucher by way of reparation.
BA went on to offer you a £300 e-voucher, which could be redeemed against another flight. But, quite rightly, you pointed out you were entitled to cash compensation under eu regulation 261/2004.
Airlines have been fighting this but, at the end of last year, the Supreme court turned down attempts to block claims.
To make a claim, it must be the airline’s fault and the delay must be of at least three hours. Some airlines are still attempting to fight these rules, but BA is paying out. It eventually agreed to pay you £427.38 compensation, plus the £300 e-voucher on top. however, you told me you do not want a voucher as you have no intention of flying BA again.
After a little bit of pushing, BA has now agreed to pay you the extra £300 in cash. So, finally, it has done the right thing.
A BA spokesman says: ‘ We have contacted our customer to offer our apologies for the delay in resolving this complaint.
‘We have offered compensation for her experience and as a result of the unforeseen delay to her journey.’
IN JANUARY 2014, I informed Orange I wished to cancel my mobile phone contract and was asked if I wanted to keep my number.
I was told I would have to carry on using that number, or it would be cancelled.
However, I didn’t get around to using it and eventually took a new deal with O2.
Orange continued taking the monthly subscription from my bank, even though I repeatedly asked them to stop and to refund the money I was owed. On the advice of my bank, I cancelled the direct debit in August. Since then, I have received several calls from Orange staff, threatening me with court action if I do not pay £87.
I’m 77 and this is causing me sleepless nights.
E. A., Cheltenham.
UNDER normal circumstances, I would ask ee, the company that owns orange, to repay your money. But it seems you have, in fact, been using your phone throughout this period — so the charges are justified.
You did call in January to cancel your contract, but said you wanted to keep your number. You were given a PAC code (which lets you take your number to a new firm) and were told to use this within 30 days.
As you didn’t use it, your old contract remained in place — something I suspect many do not realise. You continued to use your old phone on this number most of last year.
You stopped your direct debit in August, but then made more than 100 calls to Ireland using the phone in october. It may be that you have got the phones muddled, but there is no doubt you made these calls.
As a goodwill gesture, orange has waived the charges for November and december, as there was no activity on the account in these months. But you remain liable for the charges on the months you were using the phone. I think that’s fair enough, don’t you?
I NOTICED my new phone bill had two account numbers, but BT said that this would be sorted out. I then received a letter saying BT were sorry I was leaving. I wrote to say that I had not left BT, but had moved home.
BT continued to send letters to my old address, demanding payment for a final bill of £21.11. In February, I received a letter saying that a debt of £26.39 would be passed to a collection agency — this included a 25 pc charge.
G. C., Weston-super-Mare.
Well, BT has made a right bungle of your account — which it now admits. The situation was worse than you believed. In fact, you had been overcharged to the tune of £166.87 between may 2014 and January 2015.
BT arranged a refund and sent a cheque on February 18. But you did not receive this — as it was sent to your old address.
BT will now send a cheque to your correct address.
You do not owe any money, and BT will not be sending your details to debt collectors.
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