TRAVEL UP Cancelled flights told me ba can cancel flights any time without compensation

[eastendbhoy1967]

I booked flights to Scotland and return from City airport to go to a funeral through travelup £149.49 return.

 

The day of departure BA cancelled the flight and offered a flight next morning which was no good as I would miss the funeral.

 

I checked the flight times and found another that day an hour later so changed to that and BA then cancelled that flight too and again rebooked me on a flight the following day.

 

I had to quickly book a train ticket and it cost £112.50.

 

I tried to contact BA and Travelup but due to dubious internet connections while travelling I could not contact them until the morning of the unwanted flight.

I phoned BA and informed them I was going to a funeral and the flight they had rebooked was of no use. This was an hour before was due to leave. The BA rep said that was fine but I had to contact travelup to get refund. My prime concern was the return flight, I said I still wanted that as I had to fly back, she assured me it would be available.

 

I then phoned travelup and the call was said to be recorded for some purposes. I explained what had occurred and they said they would sort the refund. I again made it clear I needed the return flight and was told that was no problem and it would be available. A couple of other calls later and they were reassuring me again and again the return flight would still be available.

 

Needless to say the day of return I tried to book my boarding pass and nothing showed up. I phoned BA who told me travelup had cancelled it. I phoned travelup three times, each time they waffled on, told me to hang on then hung up, these calls were around 20 mins each. I now had to book the train again to get home.

 

Travelup say I am not due any compensation and will not even refund the entire amount paid to them. They deny saying the return flight was still available which is a complete lie. I have told them I will go to the small claims court and demand they provide the recordings of the phone calls. They said the day before that they were sending an email that I should sign. I believed it to be compensation for cancelled flights at 5pm and 6pm  and replied telling them to get my money. Now it seems they want to keep half the money I paid.

 

I believe the two outbound flights cancelled were due to fog but the return was cancelled by travelup without telling me, in fact they told me my return flight would still go ahead. I have had nothing but lies including claiming the flight was closed before I contacted travelup so BA had me as a no show.

 

He didn't know my phone call to BA  showed him to be lying.

I know BA returned over £150 to travelup.

I have told travelup I will be going to small claims court.

 

Am I entitled to compensation for them cancelling flight and my extra expenditure.

 

Your help is much appreciated.

 

I have quite a few messages from them making lurid claims. the recorded calls will prove conclusively they lied.

 

Any help and advice will be much appreciated.

 

[dx100uk]

i've spaced your post as 3 screen of block text will get no reads.

 

how did you pay travelup?

 

 

[eastendbhoy1967]

I paid by debit card 

[Kyosanto]

You are entitled to a full refund AND to 250Euros under EC 261. Those are 2 separate claims.

 

Travelup needs to process your refund. See article 8 You don't need to go all the way to SCC. Just get written evidence that they refuse to refund you for a flight that was cancelled. (Flight cancellations on the same day of flight automatically award you right to a refund regardless of what anyone says). Once you get this written confirmation do a chargeback on your debit card if you can (I'm not entirely sure how this works in the case of debit cards, someone else here might be more help)

 

Your EC261 needs to go straight to BA for the extra 250 Euros (equivalent in GBP). See article 7 They will need to prove the cancellation was due to an extreme and unforeseeable circumstance to deny it. They might try to feed you lies and tell you a snowflake was an extreme and unforseeable circumstance, as they often do, but don't let them.

 

 

Quote

 

Article 5

Cancellation

1. In case of cancellation of a flight, the passengers concerned shall:

(a) be offered assistance by the operating air carrier in accordance with Article 8; and
(...)

(c) have the right to compensation by the operating air carrier in accordance with Article 7, unless:

(...)

(iii) they are informed of the cancellation less than seven days before the scheduled time of departure and are offered re-routing, allowing them to depart no more than one hour before the scheduled time of departure and to reach their final destination less than two hours after the scheduled time of arrival.


 

Article 7

Right to compensation

1. Where reference is made to this Article, passengers shall receive compensation amounting to:

(a) EUR 250 for all flights of 1500 kilometres or less;


 

Article 8

Right to reimbursement or re-routing

1. Where reference is made to this Article, passengers shall be offered the choice between:

(a) - reimbursement within seven days, by the means provided for in Article 7(3), of the full cost of the ticket at the price at which it was bought, for the part or parts of the journey not made, and for the part or parts already made if the flight is no longer serving any purpose in relation to the passenger's original travel plan, together with, when relevant,

- a return flight to the first point of departure, at the earliest opportunity;

(b) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at the earliest opportunity; or

(c) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at a later date at the passenger's convenience, subject to availability of seats.

 

 

Edited November 24, 2022 by Kyosanto

[eastendbhoy1967]

There was fog on the outbound day but travelup cancelled the return flight. They now claim they had to cancel the return flight to get the refund back of which they are keeping quite a lot of. BA and travelup both stated the return flight was fine and there would be no problem. Quite a few flights were cancelled on the 14th November and I am sure they will claim due to fog but BA did not cancel my return flight, Travelup took it upon themselves to cancel it without telling me. 

 

This is the first reply to my complaint............................ We have gone through the case and the reason it was processed as a full refund because there was an alternate option given to you.

As per British Airways policy if the airline offered an alternate option, then passenger has to take a decision before the closing of check-in and the time when you contacted us, at that time the flight was already departed (the alternate option) and once flight departed without re-issuing the ticket then unfortunately the only option left was to process the refund.................................

 

I had already contacted BA and informed them I was already in Scotland and the flight was of no use. I informed BA at 9.26am the outward flight was 10.20am so the flight had not departed nor had the gate closed, I never realised they were giving me a partial refund I thought Travelup were getting me compensation for two cancelled outbound flights

 

[eastendbhoy1967]

This is the next claim they make in the next email................................................................................. We have mentioned not about the return flight but about the outbound.

As there was a schedule change so if passenger wish to proceed with return flight only and willing to take a refund of the outbound only then passenger has to get the ticket re-issued due to schedule change prior to check in closure however when you contacted us at that time the outbound was already departed.

That is the reason we were unable to re-issue the ticket as it was not possible at the time when you contacted us unfortunately. 

We do agree that return flight is operating for tonight at 20.25 and has not departed however as explain above we were unable to re-issue the ticket yesterday...............................................................................................................

 

I had informed BA at 9.26 that I required the return. I eventually found a contact number well hidden on travelup website and informed them at 9.53 that I still needed the return flight and the flight had not departed and was not due to depart until 10.20 They continually said my return flight was fine and there would be no problem.

[Kyosanto]

It's hard to make sense of the conversations you pasted, but I don't know why you even bother discussing with them, nor do I understand the moot point they are trying to make.

 

Your flight was cancelled on the day of the flight. You were not offered another flight which departed within 1 hour and arrived within 2 hours. Therefore under EC261 Article 5, you are demanding a full refund of your return ticket (as you will not use the inbound either), and there is no argument possible. If they do not refund you within 7 days they are in breach of EC261 and you will report them to the regulatory authorities, in addition of asking your card provider for a chargeback.

 

It's as easy as that.

 

Then, on the side, start writing to BA as well for your EC261 claim. If there was heavy fog and many flights were cancelled, it's possible that they will get away with not paying you the 250 Euros, but you should at least try, it's free.

Edited November 25, 2022 by Kyosanto

[Kyosanto]

Finally, I'm also sorry for your loss. Appreciate this must have been a stressful and sorrowful time for you. Money doesn't mean much in those circumstances, but we'll make sure you get it back!