Three months ago, I paid British Airways £3650 ($6387 USD) for a business class ticket from London to Cape Town. However, they failed to provide the service I paid for and have been dishonest in avoiding a proper refund.

When I tried to check in online, I received an error message, forcing me to check in personally. To my surprise, they said there were no available seats for check-in and I had to wait for "seat allocation." Just 20 minutes before takeoff, they informed me that a first class passenger was downgraded to my seat due to a malfunctioning seat. Despite having colleagues in first class who confirmed there were no vacant seats, the airline changed their story, claiming the seat was being used as a "crew rest seat."

As a business class passenger, I expected British Airways, a previously reputable company, to refund me without issue for the service they failed to provide. Unfortunately, three months later, I am still battling for a refund. Their initial response was a meager offer of air miles as compensation, followed by claims of losing my refund claim and a policy limiting refunds to 50% of the one-way fare, which they couldn't prove.

Despite evidence to the contrary, British Airways maintained that a first class seat had failed, resulting in an empty seat. After two months of dispute, they changed their story and admitted to overselling the business class cabin. This allowed them to limit the refund by exploiting a European law that protects passengers. While they lied about the broken first class seats, they confirmed that the business class cabin was not technically oversold, avoiding the passenger protection law.

European law requires airlines to provide a 75% refund, compensation, call for volunteers, and process refunds within seven days if intentionally overselling a flight. British Airways avoided seeking volunteers and used deceptive tactics to hide their responsibility to refund at least 75%.

In the end, they refunded 75% of the one-way fare minus tax, claiming it fulfilled the law's requirements. However, this still left me paying over £450 for a one-way flight, whereas an economy ticket on the same route costs £250.

As a business class passenger, I expected more than the bare minimum from British Airways. Their initial evasion of responsibility and manipulation of European law to minimize the refund showcases their disregard for customers. I advise fellow business class passengers seeking reliability for their business commitments to avoid British Airways. Their clear policy of overselling business class leaves your seat uncertain, regardless of the price paid. Their treatment of refund requests for unprovided services is indicative of their true regard for business class passengers.