British Airways customer wins back £300 after taking airline to court over refund

A British Airway passenger has been awarded around £300 after he successfully took the airline to the small claims court.

Dr David Fotheringhame, 50, an IT worker from south London, argued that he should’ve been given a cash refund instead of a voucher for flights that were cancelled during the pandemic.

After taking his case to Croydon County Court, he was refunded the £283 he'd paid for the flights, along with £50 for his court costs.

David had paid for flights pre-Covid from London to Barcelona for a cycling trip in June 2020.

But after this was cancelled, he accepted the voucher in “desperation” after claiming his calls to British Airway were ignored and there was “no mechanism” to apply for a cash refund online.

British Airways had denied David the opportunity to swap his voucher for cash (PA)

He later submitted an official complaint and took BA to court after they turned down his request to swap the voucher for cash.

Speaking to MoneySavingExpert (MSE), David said: “I honestly think that anyone could do this and you don’t need to have any experience of the court system.

“There’s no more work involved in doing this than there is to write a letter, but the effect is way more consequential.

“It’s very easy for people to access justice and it gives the little guy a real chance."

MSE says the court case isn't binding for other airline customers who are struggling to get a refund, but that "it could be used as an example of case law when bringing similar complaints to court".

It also suggests going through other avenues first before going to the small claims court - we explain below.

Have you taken an airline to court and won? Let us know: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk

Small claims court isn't for everyone and there are avenues to try first (PA)

There are fees involved when going to the courts, starting at £25 and rising up to £455, depending on how much you’re trying to claim.

But if you win your case, you should also win back these costs.

You’ll need to be trying to win back £10,000 or less to open a case through the small claims court in England and Wales, or under £5,000 in Scotland or £3,000 in Northern Ireland.

What to do before going to the small claims court

If an airline has cancelled your flight, you're entitled to a full cash refund or alternative flight - unless you’ve agreed in writing to accept a voucher.

You should complain to the airline in the first instance if you've been offered flight vouchers instead of a cash refund.

If your airline refuses to pay out, your next step should be to contact the relevant alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme.

For British Airways, this would be CEDR - although David told MSE he didn't do this as he wasn't aware of the scheme.

If an airline doesn’t offer an ombudsman scheme, you can complain directly to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Other methods you may want to consider before going to the small claims court include using Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act or the Chargeback scheme.

Section 75 dictates that your credit card provider is partly responsible if you don't get the service you paid for and can be applied for items that cost between £100 and £30,000.

For items paid for with a debit card, or by credit card for purchases under £100, you could try using Chargeback.

To start a Chargeback claim, you need to contact your card provider but as it isn’t written into law there is no guarantee you’ll get your money back.

If you disagree with the ombudsman's decision or none of the above work for you, you could then decide to go to the small claims court.

MSE explained: “As part of the process, you may need to submit a witness statement containing evidence to back up your claim.

“David told us his evidence centred around the fact that vouchers are not worth the same as a cash refund due to the limited time you have to use them and other restrictions placed on rebooking.

“You may also want to consider referencing news reports or similar complaints or cases you've seen.”

In a statement British Airways said: "Where a customer's flight is cancelled, we always contact them to offer options including a full refund.

“Customers who are unable to travel, or choose not to, can continue to change their flights or request a voucher for future use as part of our Book with Confidence policy, which has been available since the beginning of the pandemic."