The HfP chat thread – Thursday 27th August

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• MadeUpName says:

  27 Aug27 August 09:15

  Hi, if I book a RFS and only pay £1 for fees and charges does that mean it will only cost me £1 to cancel? Though presumably I have to call up to cancel now as the on-line facility has been removed?

  • Rhys says:

    27 Aug27 August 09:18

    BA have recently required the full £35 to cancel, even on £1 RFS tickets that you could previously cancel online yourself.

    • MadeUpName says:

      27 Aug27 August 10:18

      Ok, thanks. I think I read on here a while ago that you can request a FTV less than 24 hours before departure. Is that true or have I imagined it??

    • Rob says:

      27 Aug27 August 10:51

      I cancelled 2 x £17.50 one ways last night and was not asked for more.

• KBuffett says:

  27 Aug27 August 09:36

  I’m at Marriott County Hall. Disappointing, very short staffed and occupancy appear high. As Platinum, I requested an upgrade which was agreed but I’d lose the view. Breakfast you can choose one hot drink and one hot item or two cold items. You pay for anything additional.

  • Nb says:

    3 Sep3 September 09:57

    I was there 13/8 – hotel was at 25% occupancy. Great staff, got upgrade as Gold and parked car easily outside! Breakfast was slow but two courses and hot drinks.

• David says:

  27 Aug27 August 09:47

  Anyone been to LHR T2 Plaza Premium since it’s re-opened? Tempted to try it on Friday evening but wondering whether it’ll be worth it, what their F&B offering will be like etc with no guidance on their website.

• Gavin says:

  27 Aug27 August 09:50

  Curve Metal includes (beyond Black) CDW car excess – and mobile phone cover. Does anyone know if this is for *travel only* or can it be used in the UK/not on a trip?

  • Genghis says:

    27 Aug27 August 09:54

    Take a look through the terms
    https://res.cloudinary.com/dzatxn6bx/image/upload/v1556022231/website-v2/Documents/UK/Curve_UK-Metal_IPID-23.04.19.pdf

    • Genghis says:

      27 Aug27 August 09:55

      Sorry, that’s the IPID
      https://res.cloudinary.com/dzatxn6bx/image/upload/v1556022091/website-v2/Documents/UK/UK-Terms_and_Conditions_of_Insurance_provided_by_AXA-23.04.2019.pdf

• JA says:

  27 Aug27 August 10:33

  Has anyone renewed their passport recently?. If so how long did it take?. Thanks

  • KK says:

    27 Aug27 August 11:02

    Took about 10 days total which was surprising. Did it using the online renewal and had a code for the picture using one of the Photo ID booths instead of a physical photo.

    • Anna says:

      27 Aug27 August 11:28

      +1 – 2 weeks for son’s to arrive.

• Stoneman says:

  27 Aug27 August 10:39

  Any advice on a hotel at Heathrow that will provide long-term parking whilst I jet off?

  • mark2 says:

    27 Aug27 August 13:51

    Most people use Holiday Extras

• Baji Nahid says:

  27 Aug27 August 10:56

  Virgin Atlantic starting flights to Pakistan from London Heathrow and Manchester in december. Nice little redemption opportunity for some folk!

• Sam says:

  27 Aug27 August 11:16

  Would be interesting to get peoples thoughts on my issue with TfL. I have been topping up oyster cards as part of the Amex shop small promotion. My oyster online was locked due to suspicious behaviour. Once I explained what I was doing (topping up oysters with the intention of using them for travel in the future (not actually refunding the Oyster cards) over the phone the advisor agreed I was not doing anything wrong. But I did receive this email prior to calling them:
  ——
  TfL does not tolerate its products or website being used to exploit other companies promotions.

  Oyster cards should only be purchased for legitimate travel use and Oyster online only used to manage your Oyster cards.

  We are in contact with American Express regarding our systems and products being used to exploit this promotion, and your details have been shared with American Express.

  If you have any cards that you wish to be refunded in future, this must be refunded back to your AmEx card that is used to make the purchase.
  ——-

  They are saying the promotion (shop small) isn’t meant to be used for Oyster cards but surely this is at the merchants discretion more than anything? Have I done anything wrong here to have my details ‘shared with American Express’?

  Very frustrating, where does this even stand from a data protection perspective?

  • Tom says:

    27 Aug27 August 12:50

    If i was you, i would put as many non-shop small transactions as you can over the next few days and weeks. Lots of people have had their Amex account closed due to Shop Small.

    What is strange is why TFL care about the Amex promotion.

    • Genghis says:

      27 Aug27 August 12:55

      Unlucky! TfL can be ruthless. It’s why getting new oyster cards is much safer (though not guaranteed) than topping up existing ones; i.e. there’s not as much trace.

      FYI – this got me shut down with Amex over a year and a half ago. Take it easy.

      • Sam says:

        27 Aug27 August 13:05

        Did they close all your cards? was there a £50 shop small limit on at the time?

        • Genghis says:

          27 Aug27 August 15:55

          Yes and No (unlimited).

        • Sam says:

          27 Aug27 August 16:28

          What happened? did they call you and give you a chance to explain? this is not reassuring at all…. 🙁

          What about the present? are you a cardholder today?

        • Genghis says:

          27 Aug27 August 21:44

          In short: Amex cards all suspended. I complained. Final response same day. I complained to FOS. AMEX agreed to take me back. Amex’s arguments weren’t exactly watertight.

        • Sam says:

          27 Aug27 August 22:27

          Can I ask how much credits you were getting to get flagged?

        • Genghis says:

          28 Aug28 August 10:26

          I think around £800 spend (£400 credits) in one morning. Then I was flagged.

        • Sam says:

          28 Aug28 August 12:09

          Thanks Genghis for your responses and your help on this website. I’ve waiting a response from TfL about the data protection/privacy side of things about this.

          Not sure what will happen on the amex side now as I’m probably not the only one who had TfL passed their details onto amex.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    27 Aug27 August 12:55

    Did you specifically mention small shop?

    tbh while spending £10 on the dot always seems like the most satisfying amount its worth mixing it up so its isn’t so blatant.

    • Sam says:

      27 Aug27 August 13:04

      Yes I mentioned Shop Small, seems like the damage is done now.

      I really didn’t know it was such a big issue, simply making use of promotions and saving on future travel.

  • Andy says:

    27 Aug27 August 13:25

    I’m possibly being naive here as someone from the North that has no need for an Oyster card (I just use contactless when I’m in London), but what would you do with an Oyster card that isn’t “legitimate travel use”? Is there an arbitrage opportunity to get it topped up for half price and then sell it on for profit?

    • Charlieface says:

      27 Aug27 August 14:41

      Can get a cash refund on it at a ticket office

      • Genghis says:

        27 Aug27 August 21:45

        Or if less than is it £15, a TfL machine.

  • the_real_a says:

    27 Aug27 August 13:48

    They transferred user data to a third party commercial entity out of spite and for commercial reasons? Where in TFL T&C did you sign up for this? This is a massive breach of data privacy and someone really needs to report this behavior to the data commissioner.

  • rams1981 says:

    27 Aug27 August 14:30

    how many shops were you going to? I went to one shop and have used it over 6 cards on Oyster cards that have been live for a year or so. No complaints yet.

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