The “blizzard” that stranded me in London, 1/18/2013
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Many of you have asked for updates in my dealings trying to get refunded from British Airways, which gave me the worst travel customer service experience of my life. To be fair, they resolved this about a week ago, but I wanted to have the money in hand before posting.
As a quick recap: What should have been my one getaway a year without my husband and children to Paris turned instead into Dante’s 8th circle of Hell in Heathrow where British Airways confiscated my properly sized carry-on bag before boarding, lost it, cancelled numerous of my flights, then dumped me into a riot-sized malay in a country I never intended to visit with no baggage, support, compensation, or means of receiving any information whatsoever.
After finding myself a place to stay in London (because the BA lines were over 500 people long at LHR and there were large signs telling people to leave), I attempted to reach BA the next morning only to find their phones literally dis-connecting callers due to high call volume! After many hours, when I did reach a human being, she told me to keep my original plans and come back Sunday. There are MANY more details, which you can see in the original post, but that’s the gist…with the bonus that my bag did indeed enjoy some time in Paris and got back to me a week later in the US.
Here’s what I paid:
$805 ticket
2 Hyatt Chase Visa vouchers: London Churchill (I had a reservation at the Vendome which Hyatt re-booked for me via twitter)
$235 Luggage, Clothes. etc.
Here’s what I got:
$135 Ticket (refund from London to Paris)
$605 for hotel and food (I was able to eat at the Hyatt as they upgraded me to a club room. Showing up miserable does have it’s merits!)
$235 Luggage, Clothes, etc.
40,000 Avios for Customer Service compensation
What do you think? Please answer the poll above and provide your reasoning in the comments. I’m holding back my opinion until after I see what you have to say…
Better than nothing, but I still don’t think it’s fair. That’s a nightmare-ish trip.
I know this probably isn’t what you want to hear, but I do believe this is fair compensation. Essentially, you’ve been reimbursed for your luggage/clothing and hotel stay. They then threw in 40K Avios + $135 which is almost enough to pay for a return trip to Paris so you can try again for your weekend getaway. And you got a free surprise trip to London in the process.
Is it overly generous? No, but it’s good enough that I’d stop pressing the issue.
I have to disagree. I don’t think “40K Avios + $135 which is almost enough to pay for a return trip to Paris” is fair compensation. They need to give her that same itinerary, FULLY compensated. Of course she made the most out of what little time she had in London, but she had to do so on the fly since she hadn’t originally planned a trip to that city. And let’s not forget about the hours of panic and stress she had to endure just to get her travel/accomodation affairs in order, not to mention the time and effort spent shopping for necessities (clothing and suitcase). That was precious time that could have been spent sight-seeing. It was free, it was a surprise, and it was a trip….but it’s not what I think of when I think “free surprise trip.”
I agree with Becky – it’s not an awesome amount but it’s fair and better then most airlines will do now a days for misery of this kind. They have compensated you for the monetary lose or extra you spent, but not your time. Unfortunately they are not likely ever too. I think it’s fair, not great but fair. I would stop pushing them on it.
Maybe try again for your getaway and fly direct…less likelihood for drama or trauma.
I also know you made the most of being stuck in London – or you are not the Dia I know. 🙂
Oh HELL to the NO!
I was just about to vote to give it up when. I decided to look back at the previous post. Th flight wasn’t cancelled due to weather. It was because BA didn’t properly schedule their pilot time.
You should be reimbursed vouchers to reschedule that same flight and seat (without layovers or blackouts) and a voucher for 2 nights at the same hotel in Paris. The fact that they paid for your new clothing and luggage is their “we’re sorry” gift to you for your time, frustration and the rep that told you to “calm down” and he “didn’t like your tone.”
Quite frankly, if they wanted me as a return customer they’d also have to provide for my meals at the hotel for the next trip. I honestly don’t think anything Ilisted is over and beyond. Um HOW many miles do you travel per M
month?!
And a Kudos to @Hilton for their “over and above” service! To do the investigating it must have taken to confirm your story with only a Twitter reference and rebook you, AND set you up with your meals, and throw in you had booked on vouchers . . . THAT is how and why Hilton will stay on business. I’ll think three or four times about skipping over their usually-high rates for our next vaca!
Did you publish a review on the London Churchill? Would love to hear about your experience, and if you had afternoon tea at the hotel. Overall, I would be happy with the deal. There have been times that I have asked for confirmed upgrade certificates vs. miles/points. European carries assume USA folks want miles/points, and they have internal limits on the amount they can give. Amazingly, they have less internal controls on upgrade certificates.
Hi John,
A review is on my to-do list. Summary: YES!!!! I don’t get why more bloggers don’t sell it as an aspirational hotel with certs or points. My club room would have been 384 pounds a night! I didn’t do the formal tea, but with the club room having Wedgewood china and tea service complimentary, I didn’t see a need to!
No way, definitely not enough. At a bare minimum they should have given you vouchers for the same flight and Paris hotel at a later date, in addition to the hotel/clothes/flight reimbursement you already received. You intended to take a trip to Paris, not London. BA screwed it up, and BA should make it possible for you to have that same itinerary at a later date at no cost to you.
Oh, and I’m glad they gave you those 40K Avios, but I think those should have been given to you on top of everything else as an “I’m sorry,” simply to make up for their horrid customer service.
I think it was not enough. The items but for the 40K avios were for actual loss that you incurred. They should have refunded your ticket in full and gave you the 40K for all the trouble they caused you. Please remember that 40K avios will not get you to Paris and you will have to add a hefty fuel charge.
Now a question for you. I flew an award flight on UA. In business. It was from Asia via Europe to HI. Engine failure forced a return to LA and to spend the night there. 80 hours after I began my flights and 24 hours later I arrived in HI. Lost one night hotel and one day car.
Do you think $300 or 15K miles is fair?
Hi Ofer,
Regarding mine, I’m inclined to agree, but decided I got more than most and let it go. It ended up being a win for me as “BA customer service complaint letter” gets me at least 5 hits a day on google;)
For yours: Yikes! I’d expect that just as comp for the CS, plus actual reimbursement of the losses. If that’s all they offered, I’d push for more. Do you have any status whatsoever? That might help you negotiate from a stronger point as United is famous for offering more to elites. If not, I might try Chris Elliot @elliotdotorg on twitter. He does an ombudsman type column that’s gotten results. Good luck!
That is how I got here (google) 🙂 But I read your horrors before (I follow you on Twitter) so I remembered the story. Sadly, no status with UA. I will try to ask for more. Can’t hurt.
Thanks for the quick reply and great advice!