British Airways used a faulty complaints procedure that failed to offer passengers timely refunds for cancelled flights to and from the US during the Covid-19 pandemic, the US Department of Transportation has said.
BA slashed the number of customer service staff just as flights around the world were grounded, causing a spike in passengers seeking refunds.
The US Department of Transportation issued a $1.1 million fine for BA’s deceptive and unfair practices.
BA customer complaint lines after the fine was issued on Friday continued to be be answered by voicemails promising: “All our agents are busy. Please hold the line.”
The press office number also re-routed callers into a voicemail queue suggesting people email or leave a message.
Designed to fail
The complaints revolve around refunds during the the March-November 2020 period.
Customers who had flights cancelled were encouraged to use the online refund form.
Passengers who tried to call the customers services office were left on hold, and continually urged to claim online.
Grounded fliers were often unable to actually use the web form to submit refund requests.
The BA website appeared to offer refunds to customers, however it was often promoting vouchers for future flights instead.
Consumers would often be led into accepting vouchers, wrongly thinking it was the best option for them.
Deceptive and unfair
The US investigation called the tactics deceptive and unfair.
“BA’s failure to establish, for several months, a readily accessible method for consumers to request refunds for flights the carrier cancelled, or significantly changed" the DoT said, resulting in "delays in thousands of consumers receiving required refunds.
“The practice of stating that a consumer has the option of obtaining a refund, but then obfuscating the necessary steps to obtain a refund or only offering consumers vouchers for a flight the carrier canceled or significantly changed is deceptive.”
It added: "An airline’s practice of not having a readily accessible way for consumers to request refunds for flights it cancels or significantly changes, resulting in delays in consumers obtaining required refunds, is unfair as it causes substantial harm to consumers.”
How to claim a BA refund
BA still has an online form for refunds, with the phone line outlining their website as its preferred contact method.
Other methods such as Facebook or Twitter often drives customers back to the online form.
When contacted by The National about improving their systems, BA did not respond.
After the US fine, BA said it “acted lawfully at all times” during the pandemic and allowed customers whose flights were cancelled to either re-book on different dates or claim a refund.
The airline also said it had issued more than 5 million refunds since the pandemic began.
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority investigated BA and Ryanair over concerns they may have broken the law by failing to offer refunds for flights that customers could not legally take during lockdown.
The CMA ruled in 2021 that a lack of legal clarity made it uncertain that it would be able to secure refunds for customers who were prevented from flying by Covid restrictions.
