Every trip starts with an expectation of adventure. Perhaps adventure is not an appropriate description of the circumstances that befell us on this occasion.
As many would be aware, British Airways had an IT malfunction that saw BA flights cancelled all over the world on May 27. We were caught like many thousands by this but we were probably luckier than most......however the knock-on events left a bitter taste for the next few days.
We arrived at Heathrow to find an enormous crowd at Immigration. We had no idea why the queue was so long and it took two hours to reach the Immigration desk. It was here that we learned that all those poor souls who had checked in and made their way into the lounges to wait for their flights had to go through Immigration to get out of the airport when their flights were cancelled. It was also particularly galling to see the UK/EU desks virtually deserted but staffed and thousands queuing to pass through Immigration. We collected our suitcases which by now had been removed from the carousels and placed in random spots around the baggage pickup area. From there we made our way to the BA domestic terminal where it was confirmed that our flight was cancelled.
We approached a lady from BA who told us that we should return home, monitor the BA website and return only when we knew we had a flight available. When we responded that was not possible as we had just arrived from Australia, the reply was a very curt "l'm sorry" accompanied by a shrug of the shoulders. When asked about hotels we were told to find our own. No help or assistance was offered in any form.
We retreated for a cup of coffee to consider our next step. Trawling the internet revealed that few hotels were available, almost certainly occupied by other distraught and distressed BA customers. A check of the hotels around Kings Cross where we normally stay saw that price gouging had commenced. Hotels that normally charged £100 to £120 were now charging £350 to £400. Australian readers should note that these charges are in ££s not $$s. We were looking at $700 to $800 for a stay of one night. We eventually found a hotel at Canary Wharf for £180 and booked that.
I attempted to contact Novatel to tell them that we could not make it tonight. The number l called was an Indian call centre ( that was what the lady said when l asked where she was) and she put me on hold for so long that l eventually hung up. It probably wasn't that important as l had prepaid the room some months ago.
We bumped into a Heathrow Airport volunteer who gave us much more information and assistance than the BA staff - we were very grateful. He thought it may be a few days before things were back to normal and he thought that we should seek alternative transport to Edinburgh, perhaps the train.
We eventually made our way to the hotel after multiple train changes and ate a very late dinner. After checking the BA website, we decided to book the train to Edinburgh.
We arrived at the station and put our luggage in the guards cabin and we tried to board the 9am train. It was so full we took our cases off and waited for the next train in 1/2 an hour. Despite being one of the first on the train, we could not find a seat as nearly every seat was reserved. We stood for nearly three hogurs until some seats became available as passengers left the train. Apparently the east coast line was closed and passengers who would normally travel to places such as Glasgow were on this train as well as people impacted by the BA disaster. After nearly five hours we arrived in Edinburgh and made our way to the hotel.
I announced that l had booked a room and gave my name. The response was breathtaking to say the least.
The hotel had decided that we were a "no show" and had relet our room despite the fact that l had already paid for the room some months ago. This message was delivered in a very aggressive fashion and the receptionist had not heard about the BA disaster and she could not have cared less. When I explained that l had tried to ring she demanded to see the number l had called. She said that the number was not their direct dial and we should have rung that. We didn't have that number. She also denied receiving the email l had sent earlier that morning from the hotel in London. My patience had started to run out and l wanted to know what they were going to do with my money that I had paid. At this point her attitude softened a little and she asked us to sit in the bar while she made some enquiries.
She eventually returned and she said that she was trying to find alternative accommodation. She offered us a drink from the bar while she continued to look for that accommodation.She returned after a few minutes and said that she was able to find that alternative accommodation. They paid for a taxi to take us there - which they should have anyway.
This was a nightmare start to our trip and BA and Novatel are not customer focused - l would never recommend either to anybody.
