British Airways passengers face having to pay £730 over 'simple booking error'

A simple flight booking error is costing British Airways customers an eye-watering £730. When Raluca Hamilton was arranging family holidays, a computer autofill error meant her son’s name was wrong. The tickets had to be refunded and bought again at a higher price, the Guardian newspaper reports.

On its website, BA says: "Name corrections can be avoided by ensuring you spell the customer's name as shown on their passport. We recommend you make bookings with the customer's full first name rather than just an initial. Entire name changes are NOT permitted as tickets are non-transferable. However, if a customer has made a booking in their married name, but their passport shows their maiden name (or vice versa) or they have officially changed their name or gender, documentation will be required to prove they are the same person.

"Authority from Trade Support is still required for you to action the amendment." Raluca told the Guardian: "“I have flown for decades – on my own, with my husband, with my children and as part of wider groups. Getting a name wrong on a booking has never happened.

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“Despite being a loyal customer of BA for years, this is clearly not enough, and hundreds of pounds more were charged for the coffers of BA in the name of a policy which is, at best, obscure and, at worst, a cash cow for BA’s benefit.” When she went to select her seats a week before departure, she discovered that her son’s ticket was for “Mstr Raluca Hamilton” instead of “Mstr Adrian Hamilton”.

British Airways says the airline has a “24-hour cooling-off period”. “It is the customer’s responsibility to ensure they book a ticket in the correct name,” it says. Coby Benson, a solicitor at the law firm Bott and Co, said: “We understand BA’s stance – if passengers could readily change names, then companies could book flights at the cheapest prices with a holding name like ‘John Doe’ and then sell those flights to somebody else for a profit."

He went on: "“It’s a cautionary tale in checking and double-checking."