My wife, Kelly O’Brien, fronts a Dolly Parton tribute act. On August 4, she and her band were to fly from Heathrow to Dublin – to perform at the All Together Now Festival near Waterford.
The barcodes on the boarding passes for two band members worked, but the barcodes for the four other members did not. BA reprinted the passes five times, but the barcodes still did not work.
As a result, BA did not allow these four to board the flight and were unable to find seats on other flights that would arrive on time. So the stranded members booked an Aer Lingus flight to Cork – and a costly taxi from there to Waterford.
BA is refusing to reimburse any of the costs, even though the band had to wait six hours for the Cork flight and were offered nothing in terms of food and drink. They got there in time and the gig was a success, but we would appreciate your help in getting BA to see sense.
B.V., Hertfordshire.
Sally Hamilton replies: ‘It’s enough to drive you crazy if you let it’, as Dolly Parton’s hit song Nine-To-Five laments.
Your wife seems as feisty as the real Dolly Parton. The replacement tickets and other costs came to £1,380 and she wasn’t going to let BA ignore her claim.
She tried customer services and was told her team were denied boarding because of their lack of documentation and nothing more could be done. She told the airline this did not ring true as they all their travel documents with them and the boarding passes had been printed numerous times – the barcodes simply didn’t work when presented.
She was later told the flight was overbooked but she didn’t buy that as she took a photo of four empty seats on the flight.
Kelly escalated her grievance to the executive level at BA, but still did not get matters resolved.
More than a month later, I joined the fray. Customer services then offered her a £300 voucher, as compensation for a late departure. She turned this down.
Days after my intervention, BA finally agreed to pay £1,380 for replacement flights and taxi fare from Cork to Waterford.
It also added £880 statutory compensation – £220 for each band member denied boarding. Under regulation UK261 (formerly EU261) this must be paid if someone is bumped from a flight at no fault of their own and a subsequent flight gets them to the destination more than three hours late. Longer flights attract more compensation.
At the end of July, I received my new TV licence, in my husband’s name. He died last December and while changing accounts from his name to mine, I didn’t think about the TV licence, especially as payments were still made from our joint bank account, which changed to my sole name in January.
When I let TV Licensing know at renewal, I was told the licence would be cancelled and a new one issued with a new payment mandate. My reading of the confusing new arrangement is that I am being charged for six months already been paid for. I queried this but was told I couldn’t claim a refund for the six months after my husband died as I hadn’t informed them. Please help.
C.F., Ormskirk, Lancashire.
Sally Hamilton replies: When you described your new payment arrangement to me, I was so puzzled I felt in need of the same analytical skills as BBC TV’s latest sleuth, Ludwig.
You were told that from October 1 this year, you would need to pay £42.39 for the first month, £42.37 for each of the following three months, then from February 2025, £14.18 a month for six months. From August 25, it would settle at £14.12 a month.
I contacted TV Licensing, part of the BBC, for a plain English explanation of its calculations so you and I could be sure the requested sums were correct.
TV Licensing explained that unlike most utility bills, which tend to be paid for in arrears, the licence fee is a fixed sum charged annually in advance. If a viewer chooses to pay up front, the charge is £169.50 for a colour licence, which allows them to watch TV programmes live, access services such as ITVX, or use iPlayer for a full year.
But those taking out a licence for the first time who wish to pay by monthly direct debit, see their payments start higher then reduce later. This happens because the rules say the cost of the first licence must be met over six months or less. After six months, licence holders have paid for a full year’s licence and start paying for next year’s licence in 12 monthly instalments of £14.12.
It seemed they were asking you to catch up on a fee you believed had already been paid. However, it turns out that your late husband, who died aged 83, had a free over-75s licence until 2020, when they were withdrawn for anyone not on Pension Credit.
He was on a special payment schedule for those previously on a free licence, allowing him to pay monthly as he went rather than in advance, and the scheme died with him – or when that year’s licence expired in July.
Your schedule was set up to pay the new licence from scratch over four months, which was why the early sums were so high.
You were not being asked to pay extra for the six months since your husband died, you were being asked to pay as a first-time licence holder who wanted to pay monthly.
TV licensing admits customer services made a mistake by saying you couldn’t have a refund for not informing them of your husband’s death – it wasn’t relevant.
If a licence holder dies and the licence needs to be transferred, call the bereavement line on 0300 131 1261. Find out more at tv licensing.co.uk. Your confusion is understandable, it’s arguably more complex than necessary.
But, like cases investigated by TV’s Ludwig, there is generally an answer to the puzzle in the end.
Straight to the Point
Wizz Air overbooked my flight to London in August and I had to fly into Liverpool the next day – a lot of extra time and money was spent. The airline promised me 400 euros’ compensation but I haven’t received anything.
M.H., via email.
Wizz Air apologies and says the claim has been processed. Due to a technical error, there was a delay in receiving a refund.
More than two years ago Thames Water came to fit a water meter. A few months ago I still thought my charges were too high so called Thames Water who told me I was not on a meter. I want compensation for the overpayments I’ve made.
M.E., London.
Thames Water apologises. While it fitted a meter at your home, it wasn’t activated. An engineer has now activated it and you have been paid £387.31 as a goodwill gesture.
I tooka trip to Rotterdam last November but left a jewellery case in our ferry cabin. DPD collected the case from the ferry company but it has now disappeared. We thought our package was insured for £15,000 but later found out they don’t insure jewellery – but no one told us.
J.N., via email.
DPD says it believes the parcel was misdelivered but a ‘potentially relevant recipient’ denies having it. It apologises, but there is no case for compensation as the contents are on its prohibited list.
In April I had a stroke but remembered I took out a critical illness policy nearly 25 years ago and was still paying the premiums so made a claim. But I still don’t have the money six months later. My husband and I are supporting two children on one income. The policy payout is £65,000.
Z.C., Bedfordshire.
The insurance company apologises and has now paid out in full
- Write to Sally Hamilton at Sally Sorts It, Money Mail, 9 Derry Street, London, W8 5HY or email sally@dailymail.co.uk — include phone number, address and a note addressed to the offending organisation giving them permission to talk to Sally Hamilton. Please do not send original documents as we cannot take responsibility for them. No legal responsibility can be accepted by the Daily Mail for answers given.
