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BA debits move welcomed by agents
GTMC Conference Special: British Airways says it will no longer issue Agent Debit Memos – an invoice for incorrect bookings – which concern indiscrepencies in the fare charged by agents amounting to less than £25.
The move has been welcomed by business travel agents who have criticised the one-sided nature of the debits.
Under the rules, airlines issue ADMs to agents when a ticket is discovered to have been sold for the wrong price.
Previously an ADM would be issued for indiscrepancies in fares of as little as £1, but the new announcement from BA means ADMs will only be issued if the fare is more than £25 below what it should have been.
The Guild of Travel Management Companies has long argued the agent is often not at fault and is forced to spend time and money proving their innocence.
P&O Travel managing director Alan Coles said: “The move by BA is a small step but a welcome one.
“Agents receive ADMs for tiny amounts, sometimes £1 or £2, and if the agents questioned it, airlines would charge an extra £25.
“It is the one-sided nature of the ADMs which is wrong.
If the airline makes a mistake we have no comeback.” Business Travel Management managing director and GMTC deputy chairman Adam White said: “We need to get to a point where a fare displayed is a fare guaranteed.”
Coles also called for airline and agent contracts to be updated in the wake of a changing industry. “We have to jump through hoops to deal with airlines.
The industry has moved on with things such as e-ticketing but we’ve had the same contracts for 30 years. It is time it changed.”
Report by Steve Jones
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