 British Airways Madness
I sent the following letter to BA on 31st July.
On 16th August (I think) I got a letter saying "We're sorry. We have passed you letter on to another department."
My letter stated that it was an official letter of complaint and must have a positive reply within 14 days.
What's the next step? I have heard nothing else from them, and it's obviously been more then 14 days.
Letter:
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Dear Sir,
I would like to bring your attention to an incident with British Airways I experienced on 29th June, while traveling on BA flight 67 to Philadelphia International (PHL).
I booked my flight with the Flight Centre on 17th May 2006 - Reference: XXXXXX/XXXXXXX
The first problem occurred when I tried to check-in online with BA.com the night before my flight. I was told that it would not be possible and would have to check-in with a British Airways employee at Heathrow.
When I arrived at the airport (3.5 hours before flight), I tried to check-in using one of the self service machines. I was given an error message (check seats) and once again told to speak to a BA employee.
I was told by the check-in staff that I would have to speak to customer services in an hour and a half to find out if I would be allowed on the flight as it had been overbooked.
An hour and 45 minutes later, I and 14 others were all told that we would not be getting on our flight..
After another hour of waiting, most were told that we would have to wait until the following day (Friday 30th June) to fly out. As I and 2 passengers made it clear this was unacceptable, we were given the option of flying out later that day to Newark, NJ and being transported to Philadelphia International by car at BA’s cost. I took this opportunity, as waiting another day simply was not an option.
I was given £413 compensation in the form of a debit card (only £410 could be withdrawn from any cash machine.).
A few hours later, I and one other passenger were flying on Flight No. BA187 to Newark. The other passenger chose to be picked up by relatives from Newark, so when I arrived (at 9:50pm EST) I was only expecting a car to pick me up at the arrivals area. When I arrived, there was no car.
I waited half an hour for a driver but to no avail. I then spent another half an hour looking for any British Airways staff. After being told by one of the airport attendants that all British Airways staff would have gone home for the night, I finally found 2 BA uniformed staff in the Air India offices. I explained my situation and that I was told to look for a driver with my name held up when I landed. They looked up my details on the computer and found no record of any such arrangement.
They told me I would have to book a car myself and pay for it out of my own money and write in for compensation at a later date. I explained that this was unacceptable and that I should be given money to go towards the cost of the car. The staff were extremely unhelpful on every level, and only gave me a business card with an address on to which I should direct my complaints. They also suggested that it would be unlikely that I would actually receive any further compensation – although how these staff were able to make this assertion is unclear.
I then managed to arrange a taxi which finally arrived at 12:15am. Given the late hour, I had no choice but to get the taxi to drive me to my final address. After a nightmare journey with the driver getting lost, I finally arrived at 3:30am. The cost for the cab was $350.
Apart from experiencing terrible service from British Airways, I would like to bring it to your attention that along with myself, all of the passengers kicked off the original flight to Philadelphia (BA69) had booked through agents of some sort. At least 3 others went through Flight Centre. None of them booked directly with BA. The fact that all those that I spoke to attempted to check-in online and failed; then all attempted to check in as early as possible (all arriving around 3-4 hours before the flight's scheduled departure) yet were all told when they arrived that they may not be allowed on the flight clearly indicates that British Airways has a systematic bias towards those booking directly through them. I will be writing to the Flight Centre to highlight this policy towards their customers booked on BA flights.
This disgusting way of operating has put me off choosing British Airways in the future.
Be advised that this is a formal letter of complaint, with the demand that I receive full compensation for the car I booked from Philadelphia, plus the remaining cost of the flight, not covered by the initial compensation issued at Heathrow. I am seeking £190 to cover the cost of the taxi from Newark to Philadelphia.
And:
Cost of flight: £463
- Compensation received at Heathrow: £410
= £53
TOTAL COMPENSATION REQUIRED: £243
I have included receipts from both the car and the flight as proof.
Please note that I will be sending copies of this letter to the Civil Aviation Authority, The Air Transport Users Council, ATOL and my MP, along with the Flight Centre where my flight was booked.
This is a formal letter of complaint, I expect to have a reply with a positive response within 14 days.
This letter has been sent registered post.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours Sincerely,
Bennage
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HELP!!
b | 
