Loyal BA customers kept waiting months for refunds

British Airways customers said they have been kept waiting months for refunds for cancelled flights – with some yet to receive payouts after more than a year.

The delays relate to compensation for holidays disrupted during the pandemic and come amid a raft of ongoing cancellations from the once-popular carrier.

BA has handed customers more than four million refunds for scrapped flights since the pandemic began, as well as more than three million vouchers that can be used to book future flights.

But stories of lengthy waits for refunds from the airline, dating back months or even years, as well as reports of customers being unable to get through to staff for help on the phone, will be of concern to travellers affected by the most recent disruptions.

Paul Welch, 51, from Warrington in Cheshire, said he had been waiting for 16 months for a refund of just £60 from the BA Executive Club for hotels booked via the Avios scheme.

He said he had booked a stay at a hotel in Manchester in December 2020, but was forced to cancel because of coronavirus restrictions at the time and immediately applied to get his money back.

“The amounts owing are not the issue, it is the extremely poor service to loyal customers. I am troubled that other people will simply throw in the towel. I am a long-standing customer and have made numerous flight, car and hotel reservations through BA’s Avios points scheme,” he said.

Gwyneth Harper, 79, from East Sussex, said she had been waiting since last July for a £400 refund from the airline to be charged back to her credit card. She was due to fly to Porto, Portugal, in August 2020, but had to cancel. She said BA offered her a voucher to fly again next year, which she took up.

“The plan was to meet my son, who lives in Canada, but who was in the country on holiday with his Portuguese wife. It would have been the first time I had seen him in two years,” she said.

However, BA then cancelled and moved the flight a further two times, and also changed the departure airport from Gatwick to Heathrow, she said.

“By this time we had missed the window to see our son. Because of our old age, we would have found it difficult to travel to an airport farther away, so asked for a refund, but we have been ignored,” she added.

Michael Callaghan, 57, from Worcester, said he had yet to receive a £5,200 refund for an abandoned holiday to Disney World in Orlando, Florida, booked in January 2020. As a result, his family have been unable to go on holiday this year, even though there are no major travel restrictions for the first summer since the pandemic began.

“We were first offered vouchers to rebook for the following year, which we did, but we asked for a refund in July 2021, as the resort was celebrating Walt Disney World’s 25th anniversary and staying there was more expensive.

“But after close to 10 months – nothing. Trying to get someone to speak to has been like banging my head against a brick wall,” he added.

More than 4,000 BA customers have complained about the airline to the independent complaints mediator Resolver in the past year. Charges, fees and refunds were the main issues, according to the firm’s Martyn James.

“Our users are reporting long waits for refunds where it’s clear the existing cancellation and flight delay rules apply. Others have highlighted how hard it is to contact many businesses directly, or get refunds where they’ve been forced to fork out for travel to their destination in their own right,” he said.

Despite holiday destinations opening their doors following the pandemic, BA has cut a number of charters from its schedule this year. This is because it has struggled to replace cabin crew after many were made redundant or left their positions during the crisis.

Trimmed down flight schedules are expected to continue into next month, forcing holidaymakers to make new arrangements for their summer getaways.

A spokesman for BA apologised for the refund delays and said it had now “actioned” payments for Mrs Harper and Mr Callaghan following this newspaper’s intervention. Mr Welch’s complaints are still being investigated.

‘Trying to get someone to speak to is like banging my head against a brick wall’

◄ Michael Callaghan is owed more than £5,000 for cancelled flights