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The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 10th March

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Comments (432)

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

  • Ste Cox says:
    10 Mar10 March 13:29

    My other half’s dad lives in Spain and occasionally sends us money (birthdays, Christmas, sorting presents out for others in the UK) but since the extra charges have come into play because of the ‘B’ word its not really feasible to do a bank transfer now and he has resorted to buying us Amazon vouchers.

    Its not huge amounts, maybe £100 or so every time. Although with a wedding later this year he has said he would be giving us a few £1000 for that.

    I was just wondering if anyone has any better ideas on how he could send money over, I have had a quick look at the Euro account with Starling and the 0.4% fee but do they use normal Mastercard (or other comparable) exchange rate?

    Also looked at xoom as well but anything that makes it easier on his side is preferable (the last time he bought us an Amazon voucher from the Spain site which we cant use)

    Any (sensible) suggestions welcome.

    Thanks

  • Mco says:
    10 Mar10 March 13:52

    In regards to my BA EC261 claim with BA. Someone mentioned on here a few weeks back that there is a certain type of fare that can be booked with only a deposit or no payment till just before the flight. How do I go about booking this? Trailfinders? Will that type of fare be valid for a court claim.

    Just to clarify that I need to pursue BA for the claim when it was Finnair operated and they cancelled the flight. It was booked through BA Avios.

    Can BA blacklist your account for this?

    From what I have read it should be straight forward claim but if I get something wrong and end up loosing can I be made to pay their costs too?

    • ChrisC says:
      10 Mar10 March 14:23

      If you mean MCOL and you lose the judge would only make you pay BAs costs if they felt you had acted totally unreasonably in bringing the case and your conduct of it.

      You losing does not automatically mean you pay the other sides costs.

      • Lady London says:
        11 Mar11 March 02:38

        Why are you not asking them to rebook you on your original travel date this year, or near enough, just on another airline?

        The fact that you haven’t asked them for this, which is your right, is what makes your asking straight away for a flight a whole year later look unreasonable.

        I mentioned you should cover this in my later reply to you yesterday after I realised you were trying to move this flight a year and not a day.

        BA won’t like that either but it’s looking like you should have asked.

        Even if you told me 21st was your kid’s birthday so you didn’t want to fly on 22nd but preferred to wait another year I would find it a bit of a stretch. As we are now nearly 2 years ahead of the date you’re trying to get as a reasonable alterative when the Northern Lights appear around those days this year not that one day? plus December 2022 seats not normally going to show up as bookable in BA’s systems yet for pretty much another 10 months?

        And you didn’t even ask BA for them to reroute you on another airline as close as possible to the origin flight date you booked this year?

        I’m just doing BA’s work for them here so you can prepare what your answer is to that as particularly on a short haul, I think along with @Jonathan (whose comment tipped me to my error) that a judge might think you’re pushing for too much without giving BA a reasonable chance to get you flown on or very near your original date.

        Will you maybe think over how this stacks up, review @Jonathan’s commentfrom yesterday, review mine frlm yesterday after his, and let us know which alternative you think looks most reasonable to pursue?

    • Anna says:
      10 Mar10 March 14:47

      I don’t know of any travel companies which offer flight-only bookings with just a deposit, the best option if you have doubts about winning would be a fully flexible fare. I don’t know whether booking a package deal (e.g. flight plus one night in a hotel via BA holidays) would be acceptable under EU261, though this would be a logical option given that this can work out cheaper than a flight-only booking sometimes!

    • Lady London says:
      10 Mar10 March 17:53

      @Mco I added a further comment yesterday on this. A comment by @Jonathan made me realize I’d misread your dates and I think he was right you might want to prepare your claim very carefully.

      In fact it could even be worth waiting till December before you take any action but to make your claim sound reasonable there are some things you’d need to cover very carefully.

      • Mco says:
        10 Mar10 March 19:16

        LL so my flight flight was December 2020 which they cancelled. I booked this in October 2020. So I have until October 2021 to fly this ticket. They are happy to rebook me onto any flight till October 2021. That doesn’t work for me as its a trip to Lapland for Christmas so only November/December 2021 would work. There is no point in going to Lapland in October as there is no snow and the Northern Lights are not visible.

        Hence I am asking them to rebook me in December 2021 on any carrier they want. So 2 months after the ticket expires.

        • Lady London says:
          11 Mar11 March 02:37

          Why are you not asking them to rebook you on your original travel date this year, or near enough, just on another airline?

          The fact that you haven’t asked them for this, which is your right, is what makes your asking straight away for a flight a whole year later look unreasonable.

          I mentioned you should cover this in my later reply to you yesterday after I realised you were trying to move this flight a year and not a day.

          BA won’t like that either but it’s looking like you should have asked.

          Even if you told me 21st was your kid’s birthday so you didn’t want to fly on 22nd but preferred to wait another year I would find it a bit of a stretch. As we are now nearly 2 years ahead of the date you’re trying to get as a reasonable alterative when the Northern Lights appear around those days this year not that one day? plus December 2022 seats not normally going to show up as bookable in BA’s systems yet for pretty much another 10 months?

          And you didn’t even ask BA for them to reroute you on another airline as close as possible to the origin flight date you booked this year?

          I’m just doing BA’s work for them here so you can prepare what your answer is to that as particularly on a short haul, I think along with @Jonathan (whose comment tipped me to my error) that a judge might think you’re pushing for too much without giving BA a reasonable chance to get you flown on or very near your original date.

          Will you maybe think over how this stacks up, review @Jonathan’s commentfrom yesterday, review mine frlm yesterday after his, and let us know which alternative you think looks most reasonable to pursue?

        • Lady London says:
          11 Mar11 March 03:13

          Yes @Mco now seen this comment from you. Glad it’s not Dec2022 you are trying tk get rebooked to(at least not as a first try).

          Yes you absolutely should be asking them to reroute you as per EU261 (which technically overrides their own rules) onto another airline as reasonably close to same date and time of your original flight as possible. Dont let them browbeat you into taking a refund as then you have no further rights.

          To make an alternative booking to have ready in case needed ( and as it’s Christmas so you need to be sure to get seats) you need to book the old fashioned way.

          Go to a decent travel agent such as Trailfinders and book a flexible fare. There are types that only need to be ticketed ( ie paid) much nearer the timeof the flight but can be reserved in the system meanwhile. You will have to pay a booking fee to travel agent(£25-£75?) which will not be refundable. Get the travel agent to tell you when you must pay them by so they have time to ticket it. It may not need to be ticketed till 1 week, 72 hours or 1 day before the flight, for example. These types of tickets are very expensive.

          If BA do reroute you then cancel your backup and there will be no further charge, you’ll just lose the booking fee.

          If BA dont provide another flight then add the booking fee to your claim as well as the ticket cost plus any duty of care (Eu261 any extra hotel nights needed plus meals for any extra days or part spent travelling, plus transport to and from any extra hotel required by replacement flight timings), plus 8% statutory interest on the lot.

          Do not take any higher class of cabin than you originally booked even if it’s cheaper. This could negate your claim or at least make it a lot stickier.
          So dont take the risk.

          Personally if BA did hang me out to dry on this, before ticketing I would ask agent if there’s a cheaper fare available just to show I tried. On my Letter Before Action I’d mention the value of the ticket you had to reserve as backup and say you will be claiming ancillary charges off them as well. If you address it to BA Legal hopefully they will see it in time to realise what it’s going to cost them if they dont reticket you.

          • Mco says:
            11 Mar11 March 15:05

            Yeah sorry for any confusion. I wasn’t trying to move it by two years. Rather from December last year to December this year. Will keep you posted how it goes.

    • Mouse says:
      10 Mar10 March 17:55

      Why not try CEDR first, then you don’t neeed to pay for the new flight first, you can just ask that the judgment is that BA books you a new ticket

      • Mco says:
        10 Mar10 March 20:25

        I wasn’t aware you could take this to CEDR. Everyone’s always suggested going down the MCOL route.

  • BJ says:
    10 Mar10 March 13:58

    I know that when switching energy supplier they cannot charge early exit penalties if it is within 49/50 days of the end of contract. Doest this rule apply only to the date the switch actually takes place or does it apply to the date that the switch is initiated? I am looking to start a switch more than 50 days before end of fixed period with the intention that switch itself will be within 50 days when it happens.

    • mark2 says:
      10 Mar10 March 15:14

      I am just switching gas from EDF to Octopus to join electricity and they asked me when to switch. I am sure that this varies between suppliers.
      In this case I chose the last day since it was a two year fix and rates have increased enormously!

    • The real John says:
      10 Mar10 March 16:19

      Date the switch takes place – as you are still being supplied by that company until then.

      To be safe you should initiate the switch earliest 9 weeks 6 days before the end of the fixed term

    • BJ says:
      10 Mar10 March 17:50

      Thanks Mark and John. I plan to initiate switch to Octopus on Friday as I think rates will increase again very soon. Friday will be exactly 50 days before the Scottish Power (now horrendous CS) contract ends so it should be fine and well inside window when switch actually happens. Oddly SP claims you can only switch penalty free within last 40 days but I’m sure that’s nonsense.

  • Andrew says:
    10 Mar10 March 13:59

    Intersting. I wrote to the CMA complaining about my experiences with OptionTown and their refusal to recognise that Scot’s Law prevents domestic travel for non-essential purposes and they seem to be claiming that OptionTown is part of LastMinute?

    Quote:-

    “Thank you for your email about Lastminute.com. We are sorry to hear you are encountering difficulties recovering a refund.

    The CMA is aware of concerns that Lastminute has not provided refunds to all customers that it committed to repay for cancelled package holidays by the deadline of 31 January 2021 as noted in our recent public statement. This statement also confirmed Lastminute’s promise that anyone entitled to a refund for a package holiday cancelled on or after 3 December 2020 would be paid within 14 days.

    This investigation relates to package holidays, where flights are typically part of that package and the consumer has specific legal rights to refunds from package travel operators under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018. Lastminute has therefore given undertakings to refund people in full for package holidays that it cancelled. These undertakings do not cover flight-only sales.”

    I can’t find the link between the two companies, so I’ve written back to ask them if it’s definitely correct.

  • Philip says:
    10 Mar10 March 14:48

    I have a flight to TLV in CW in June. I booked it on the half price Avios promotion with a 241. What are my options of cancelling/rebooking (in just under a year) if BA does/doesn’t cancel the flight.

    • Pete M says:
      10 Mar10 March 14:54

      Take a Future Travel Voucher and rebook in due course, but there will need to be Avios seats available and there will be a difference to pay in Avios and possibly taxes.

    • The real John says:
      10 Mar10 March 16:23

      If BA cancels you can get a full refund, or you should be able to switch dates until September 2021 without hassle; some people have been able to choose new dates beyond that online, but you may need to try several times if you are forced to call.

      In theory you should be allowed to choose any comparable flight at your convenience but this is somewhat open to interpretation

      If BA doesn’t cancel your main option is FTV which will involve paying the full avios price unless there is another avios sale

  • Tim J says:
    10 Mar10 March 15:02

    Future Travel Voucher query.
    I know there are articles on here about the FTV so apologies if I am asking for detail that has already been given but I would appreciate hearing about people’s experience of requesting and using a FTV for booking.
    We have flights booked later this month to LAX for 4 of us flying on BA in the Club cabin.
    We will not be travelling but ironically this seems to be one of the few flights that BA is still running daily (BA269).
    Assuing therefore it is not cancelled, we want to lock in the likely possibility of travelling again for all 4 of us together in the same cabin. We booked using Avios in the October 2020 50% sale and used 1 companion voucher so it will be difficult to get such a good deal again if we just recevie Avios back. Does the FTV allow you to specifically book the same route regardless or reward seat availibility or is it only usable if the reward seats are available when you try to book?
    thank you

    • ChrisC says:
      10 Mar10 March 15:08

      An FTV is basically a credit note for future use.

      It’s not a voucher for a like for like replacement so yes there would need to be avios flights available when you come to use it.

      • Tim J says:
        10 Mar10 March 15:13

        Thank you. Just to follow up – is it a better option than the E-voucher or identical?

        • ChrisC says:
          10 Mar10 March 15:23

          Essentially they are identical.

          An e voucher is for cash only bookings which can then be used on line.

          Avios bookings and especially a complex one like yours containing a companion voucher as well will be issued as an FTV meaning a call to use it.

    • Paul says:
      10 Mar10 March 16:00

      Just because the aircraft is flying the route, doesn’t mean that BA are putting passengers on it. If you can wait to see if BA cancel, might be your best option for now. If not, I believe the 50% avios deal will be lost and you’ll have to fund the difference.

  • Chris says:
    10 Mar10 March 15:19

    I have basic membership with two star alliance partners
     * 3,000 Lufthansa Miles & More Award Miles
     * 10,472 Aegean Miles+Bonus Award Miles.

    My understanding is Aegean miles will not expire but Lufthansa ones will (500 expired in Jan with message “Unused award milesover 3 years old” … guessing initial signup bonus).

    Hilton Honors, Avios/Nectar, Virgin Red and Amex Membership Rewards are typically where I accumulate points.

    For Lufthansa if you don’t plan on flying what’s considered the most efficient use (or transfer) of the points?

    • 747_Brat says:
      10 Mar10 March 15:27

      Heathrow Rewards or Amazon vouchers are your best options for expiring M&M points!

      • meta says:
        10 Mar10 March 16:32

        Aegan miles do actually expire, but not in a traditional sense. If you don’t credit at least one flight/programme partner miles to your account in 5 years, Aegan will consider it inactive and close it. (There is an article on OMATT about it).

      • BJ says:
        10 Mar10 March 17:54

        Are the amazon giftcards working?

      • Lady London says:
        10 Mar10 March 18:11

        +1
        You need to access the UK version of the M&M site to get Amazon voucher to show. This can only be used on UK Amazon.

        However small electronics and some other bits have a much better selection on the German version of the site. They’re happy to send anywhere (assuming you’re below £135 and that Brexit has not changed their willingness if ordering off a non-UK version of M&M). Not sure how far 3,000 will get you though.

        • Lady London says:
          10 Mar10 March 18:14

          Drat…. got a feeling I might have had a US Amazon voucher from M&M at one time and forgot to use it! grrrrr

          They do expire but you have decent number of months to use once issued

  • Dave says:
    10 Mar10 March 15:24

    It does stack.

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