Flights to Tel Aviv and Dubai where loaded wrongly, a return to Tel Aviv for £195.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44546400

"A BA spokeswoman said the contract with customers was not legally binding if the price was "manifestly incorrect".
Well if it's too good to be true it's not true.

Shame on BA. It was an error fare...but you would be excused if you didn't notice. £195 to TLV isn't unheard of. As the quote in the article says: "They've bought these tickets in good faith at a believable price - it's not as though the tickets cost £5, which would clearly have been a glitch."

Legislators need to hold airlines to their promise, and even more, to the contract that a bought and paid-for ticket is.

Back and forth to TLV for 195GBP?

I’m with BA on this one! I’d cancel those fares for sure.

Government has nothing to do with this.
Mistake made, mistake fixed. Next issue please.

Those fares don’t look that cheap

The airline should honor it. If you go to a restaurant and there's a fly in your soup, you're going to get a new one and probably get it free. It's not the patron's fault the company made the mistake. Help reduce future mistakes by holding those accountable for the current ones.

I would sue BA. It is simply fraud to offer a price, make a contract and cancel

BlatantEcho wrote:

Back and forth to TLV for 195GBP?

I’m with BA on this one! I’d cancel those fares for sure.

I can find return flights from London to Tel Aviv in September for £115 with Wizz Air and EasyJet.

So even if £195 is a cheaper-than-usual British Airways price, BA should've honored it. It's not like they've sold London - Singapore Business Class for £10.

Considering they've given £100 as compensation to each passenger, the difference (say £100 per pax) is probably not worth the bad PR and having news websites reporting on it.

BlatantEcho wrote:

Back and forth to TLV for 195GBP?

I’m with BA on this one! I’d cancel those fares for sure.

Except the fare is not "obviously wrong". BA should have honoured it and nobody would be any the wiser.

BlatantEcho wrote:

Back and forth to TLV for 195GBP?

I’m with BA on this one! I’d cancel those fares for sure.

Government has nothing to do with this.
Mistake made, mistake fixed. Next issue please.

You can may mistakenly offer a price, and you can refuse to sell at that price, but once you have accepted payment and issued a ticket you have made a contract and have to deliver.

That BA decided to make contracts in a fully automated fashion is their decision, hence that is not the customers problem.
The price is nowhere near an obvious error in the industry, no one can expect or demand consumers to know the price range for a particular supplier.

The article seems to indicate that those prices where promoted, so aside of contract laws BA has violated unfair competition laws as well.

downtown273 wrote:

Considering they've given £100 as compensation to each passenger, the difference (say £100 per pax) is probably not worth the bad PR .

Who in his right mind will buy a BA ticket that seems cheap, running the risk of having it cancelled later now?

Best regards
Thomas

scbriml wrote:

BlatantEcho wrote:

Back and forth to TLV for 195GBP?

I’m with BA on this one! I’d cancel those fares for sure.

Except the fare is not "obviously wrong". BA should have honoured it and nobody would be any the wiser.

I would have to agree. Offering fares at the price of their LCC competition for once should better not be unbelievable. Anyway, I'm not aware on the UK law on this matter and on the particulars of the contractual agreement but if only the stated 'Obviously wrong' is the standard to be met then their case doesnt seem to be too strong. What they're essentially telling is that they will never match the price-tag of their direct competitors. I just hope someone sues. Won't raise my confidence in BA who are quite frequently targeting Germans with €400 roundtrips down to Zambia or South Africa which I usually would consider but if €195 to Israel is too cheap is that too? And how about my €300ish roundtrip to the East Coast? BA just being ridiculous and can't believe that it was that many tickets that they can't just honour them.

This started on flyertalk.

BA offered fully flexible Y tickets (with a heap of tier points and avios) at this price, that's why they have been cancelled. They aren't hand baggage only fares at the lowest fare class.

What BA should of done though is downgrade the fare class instead of cancelling the tickets.

Looks a little like bait & switch. BA should have to honor the fare. They listed it and sold it at that price. They should be accountable. But in this case the airline isn't responsible for their own action. No accountability.

Arion640 wrote:

BA offered fully flexible Y tickets (with a heap of tier points and avios) at this price, that's why they have been cancelled. They aren't hand baggage only fares at the lowest fare class.

Which they knew when they booked? And if they knew, do we know that they knew full fare tickets are expansive?
That may be an interesting piece of information, but I don't see how that is relevant to the validity of the contract.

What BA should of done though is downgrade the fare class instead of cancelling the tickets.

Yup, no bad press if they had done so, and probably no care for the change on the passenger side of the story.

Best regards
Thomas

Years ago the same scenario happened to LY a few years ago. They incorrectly publicized JFK TLV R/T at a minimal fraction of the then-cheapest fare and during the 24-hour "error" period the news quickly spread across the NY/NJ Jewish community, leading to hundreds of bookings.
LY had to honor all of those reservations.

BlatantEcho wrote:

Back and forth to TLV for 195GBP?

I’m with BA on this one! I’d cancel those fares for sure.

Government has nothing to do with this.
Mistake made, mistake fixed. Next issue please.

Once you've paid for a service, you have entered into a binding contract and the provider is supposed to honour said service for said price.

Suppose a passenger mistakenly shows up for the 16:00 flight instead of the 14:00 flight to XYZ. Do you honestly think BA would say, 'no problem, it was just a mistake; we won't penalize you for it''?

Im from a business law background. There is nothing illegal as long as BA give them their money back. Morale wise though? Surely for a one off just leave it.....and make sure it doesnt happen again

BA seem to be proving how to handle the low fares concept all wrong these days. Aren't they now also boarding short haul flights on the notion of who paid the least boards last ? What next... ? "Sorry could rows 23-26 please leave the aircraft, we sold your seats too cheaply and have just received a better offer...?"

Samrnpage wrote:

Im from a business law background. There is nothing illegal as long as BA give them their money back. Morale wise though? Surely for a one off just leave it.....and make sure it doesnt happen again

Really? You are very wrong. In this case BA would be responsible also for hotel/car bookings if they cancelled the tickets.
The only way to get out of it from BA is if they cancelled the route, then they can give money back to people and be legal.
Otherwise they've broke the contract of carriage. I hope people will sue them.

It's not the first time BA did that.

https://dcta.boardingarea.com/2017/10/i ... take-fare/

British Airways are the biggest thieves in the airline industry. I am so happy that they have to pay $31 to people from stealing their money over last 7 years.

https://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com ... ss-action/

Who still flies BA and pays those idiotic taxes that they put on their tickets?

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/03/richard ... oyees.html

Gone are the days of airlines and online retailers "honor" mistake prices. There is nothing customers can do.

But, it appears BA took almost 3 days to realize this mistake, what were PR peeps on FT doing? It is an epic failure.

BlatantEcho wrote:

Back and forth to TLV for 195GBP?

I’m with BA on this one! I’d cancel those fares for sure.

Government has nothing to do with this.
Mistake made, mistake fixed. Next issue please.

Why is it when things are sold online the businesses are not accountable for their mistakes? If you walk in a store and you buy something that was priced wrong and you walk out, the business is out of luck. It should be that if you sold it for the wrong price then you are just out of luck. No accountability for the business. If the business was required to honor the price they sold something at they'd be a little more careful the next time. But not as long as they are allowed to get away with it.

I’m of the opinion that ALL error fares should be honored, but just like most other customer service issues, the customer isn’t always as “right” in Europe as they are in America.

Here's the crazy thing - I'm seeing GBP291 tickets on BA LHR-TLV in November - 195 is not some insanely low amount, especially given other airlines are regularly even cheaper.

Given the range of pricing that I'm seeing, I would love to see a judge or the EU/UK require a guide for "manifestly incorrect pricing" that airlines have to abide by if they want to hide behind that meaning. If they do not want to publish a floor for when a fare becomes "manifestly incorrect" on a route or say it is too complex to do, then they shouldn't be able to claim that when cancelling tickets.

BlatantEcho wrote:

Back and forth to TLV for 195GBP?

I’m with BA on this one! I’d cancel those fares for sure.

Government has nothing to do with this.
Mistake made, mistake fixed. Next issue please.

I have to respectfully disagree. If consumers jumped on the fare thinking it was a special and bought it, then BA should own up to their mistake and make sure it doesn't happen again. They should honor the tickets and, gain some street-cred, and be on with it.

Conversely, if a ticket was listed that was outrageously expensive, would BA cancel that one and say "Ooops! That ticket price was far to excessive for what we are providing. We are going to cancel those tickets immediately."? HELL NO, they wouldn't; they'd say "Too bad for you. On your bike. You bought it, we have the money. Deal with it. You wanna cancel? Pay the cancellation fee."

BAD FORM, BA.

May customer cancel "incorrectly" booked BA tickets without substantial loss?

Same stuff happened to Singapore Airlines back in 2014 when they sold 400 J class tickets at Y price!!

SQ initially stated they would not honoured such ticket but caved in to public firestorm at the end.

Lucky 400 pax!?!

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/austr ... s-fares-in

I’m of the opinion that ALL error fares should be honored, but just like most other customer service issues, the customer isn’t always as “right” in Europe as they are in America.

I think it's ridiculous that someone screws up fares and they cry foul. We make a mistake and they want to throw the book at us. I think if it ever happens to me, I may seek legal recourse.

Poor planning on your part DOES NOT constitute an emergency on mine.

flyfresno wrote:

I’m of the opinion that ALL error fares should be honored, but just like most other customer service issues, the customer isn’t always as “right” in Europe as they are in America.

you're kidding, right?
I'm quite certain there have been several occasions of US carriers canceling incorrectly priced tickets sold thru their websites. No, I don't have time to research it right now.

This isn't regional at all - this is about internet commerce of a future delivered service. Travel in particular, has some special nuances to it.
What is "fair" isn't always clear (to the airline? to the customer?).......

Because with their impeccable service you cannot expect such low prices...

dcaviation wrote:

Samrnpage wrote:

Im from a business law background. There is nothing illegal as long as BA give them their money back. Morale wise though? Surely for a one off just leave it.....and make sure it doesnt happen again

Really? You are very wrong. In this case BA would be responsible also for hotel/car bookings if they cancelled the tickets.
The only way to get out of it from BA is if they cancelled the route, then they can give money back to people and be legal.
Otherwise they've broke the contract of carriage. I hope people will sue them.

It's not the first time BA did that.

https://dcta.boardingarea.com/2017/10/i ... take-fare/

British Airways are the biggest thieves in the airline industry. I am so happy that they have to pay $31 to people from stealing their money over last 7 years.

https://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com ... ss-action/

Who still flies BA and pays those idiotic taxes that they put on their tickets?

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/03/richard ... oyees.html

Agree 100%. Apart from being a breach of contract, it is plain stupid. All this bad press for a few thousand pounds? Is it really worth it??

FlyHappy wrote:

flyfresno wrote:

I’m of the opinion that ALL error fares should be honored, but just like most other customer service issues, the customer isn’t always as “right” in Europe as they are in America.

you're kidding, right?
I'm quite certain there have been several occasions of US carriers canceling incorrectly priced tickets sold thru their websites. No, I don't have time to research it right now.

This isn't regional at all - this is about internet commerce of a future delivered service. Travel in particular, has some special nuances to it.
What is "fair" isn't always clear (to the airline? to the customer?).......

I’m talking about CS across all industries, and it’s quite obvious and overt. Businesses in Europe are way, way less likely to honor any mistakes in pricing or promised service than businesses in America. I never said businesses in America always s honor those things, just that it happens more here. It’s totally fine: it’s the culture there (by and large) and Americans should respect it and probably not try to argue when it happens because it won’t usually get them anywhere. I’m just pointing out that this is another example of it happening.

flyfresno wrote:

I’m of the opinion that ALL error fares should be honored, but just like most other customer service issues, the customer isn’t always as “right” in Europe as they are in America.

It's quite the opposite. This IS without a shadow of a doubt illegal in the EU. If BA entered into a contract and they then don't honour it, the passengers are entitled to a refund and a compensation (that is NOT a £100 useless travel voucher). What is the difference between this and if these passengers had already gone to the airport and were told thay cannot fly? In fact, some of them seem not even have been advised, but simply were refunded. In that case, EU law would definitely protect the consumer. It does in this case as well.

As for clarity in consumer information and protection in the EU versus the US: Try marketing something to consumers in the EU as "X EUR + tax", and you'll see what happens...

BA offers 290 euro tickes from FRA to LAS are these correct?

MalevTU134 wrote:

flyfresno wrote:

I’m of the opinion that ALL error fares should be honored, but just like most other customer service issues, the customer isn’t always as “right” in Europe as they are in America.

It's quite the opposite. This IS without a shadow of a doubt illegal in the EU. If BA entered into a contract and they then don't honour it, the passengers are entitled to a refund and a compensation (that is NOT a £100 useless travel voucher). What is the difference between this and if these passengers had already gone to the airport and were told thay cannot fly? In fact, some of them seem not even have been advised, but simply were refunded. In that case, EU law would definitely protect the consumer. It does in this case as well.

As for clarity in consumer information and protection in the EU versus the US: Try marketing something to consumers in the EU as "X EUR + tax", and you'll see what happens...

It is much more likely that a mispriced item would get honored in the US out of goodwill from the company than the EU. EU businesses are notoriously unwavering when it comes to 'giving' to the customer out of generosity.

MalevTU134 wrote:

flyfresno wrote:

I’m of the opinion that ALL error fares should be honored, but just like most other customer service issues, the customer isn’t always as “right” in Europe as they are in America.

It's quite the opposite. This IS without a shadow of a doubt illegal in the EU. If BA entered into a contract and they then don't honour it, the passengers are entitled to a refund and a compensation (that is NOT a £100 useless travel voucher). What is the difference between this and if these passengers had already gone to the airport and were told thay cannot fly? In fact, some of them seem not even have been advised, but simply were refunded. In that case, EU law would definitely protect the consumer. It does in this case as well.

As for clarity in consumer information and protection in the EU versus the US: Try marketing something to consumers in the EU as "X EUR + tax", and you'll see what happens...

For sure, EU consumers have far greater legal/regulatory protections. What flyfresno means in that the "culture of customer service", NOT legally enforced, is more of a "retail tradition" in the US than Europe. Though I think that is correct at large, it does not change the fact that US consumers absolutely have had airline tickets unilaterally canceled, and they have no recourse, so whatever "customer is always right" culture that may exist in the US doesn't really change that fact.

tommy1808 wrote:

Which they knew when they booked? And if they knew, do we know that they knew full fare tickets are expansive?
That may be an interesting piece of information, but I don't see how that is relevant to the validity of the contract.

The guys on flyertalk definitely knew because if you read the threads they all jumped on this fare for that reason. I added this piece of information to ensure people had the full facts in this debate.

Still, we both agree BA are wrong to cancel these tickets.

It appears that the ticket price was composed of 1 pound fare plus airport taxes. When making a booking via ba.com, you only get to see actual composition of the price only once, in a non primary table, which is pretty much hidden in a swarm of other ads/info (avios points, flight details, upgrade options, baggage, climate, charity, best price guarantee and prohibited items on board.)

Now, if anyone actually saw that price composition, that person would probably know something was amiss as there was no 1 pound fare promotion to TLV or DXB at the time. I´m not even sure if BA ever did promotion like this, 1 pound fare promotions are definitely FR and W6 ground. That being said, I actually doubt a lot of people saw that information, as I can imagine most of people just scroll down through that particular section, that is filled with other unimportant info/ads.

Final price of 195 pounds (actually 1 pound fare + 194 airport tax) is definitely not unheard of and while I understand BA´s position, I can definitely understand all those angry customers (apparently up to 2000 bookings were made). Now if we assume it was BA´s intention to generate say 50 pounds fare on these tickets, 98 000 pounds are in question. Apparently BA decided to give out 2000, 100 pound vouchers, which are pretty much useless anyway, and BA knows very well that just a tiny fraction of these will be actually used. Whether the PR damage does not exceed 98 000 + used vouchers value is a different question though, but let´s be honest this is not a major scandal, and by the end of next week only a few people will remember.

So in the end, BA is clearly making a calculated risk decision here.

Varsity1 wrote:

MalevTU134 wrote:

flyfresno wrote:

I’m of the opinion that ALL error fares should be honored, but just like most other customer service issues, the customer isn’t always as “right” in Europe as they are in America.

It's quite the opposite. This IS without a shadow of a doubt illegal in the EU. If BA entered into a contract and they then don't honour it, the passengers are entitled to a refund and a compensation (that is NOT a £100 useless travel voucher). What is the difference between this and if these passengers had already gone to the airport and were told thay cannot fly? In fact, some of them seem not even have been advised, but simply were refunded. In that case, EU law would definitely protect the consumer. It does in this case as well.

As for clarity in consumer information and protection in the EU versus the US: Try marketing something to consumers in the EU as "X EUR + tax", and you'll see what happens...

It is much more likely that a mispriced item would get honored in the US out of goodwill from the company than the EU. EU businesses are notoriously unwavering when it comes to 'giving' to the customer out of generosity.

That's my point exactly. In Europe, a consumer is not left to the whims, "goodwill" nor at the "generosity" of a specific retailer, be it an airline or not. Rather, consumers are protected by law.

From 15 Oct 18 (low season), the lowest BA fare (Q class) LHR TLV LHR is £366 rtn (no bag). I would hardly consider £195 to be unbelievable.

devron wrote:

BA offers 290 euro tickes from FRA to LAS are these correct?

I couldn't find €290 (closest I got was €348) but, yes, the lowest BA published fare to LAS is €20 + tax

FRA-LAS WED-20JUN18 BA
MPM 6688 AT
**ADDITIONAL TAXES/FEES MAY APPLY**
PUBLIC/PRIVATE
CX FARE FARE C AP MIN/
EUR BASIS MAX
1 BA 20.00R OLN2Z2B4 O 21+ V/3M
2 BA 60.00R QLN4Z2B4 Q 14+ V/3M
3 BA 90.00R OLN4T6B4 O 14+ 6/1M
4 BA 100.00R NLN7Z2B4 N 7+ V/3M
5 BA 100.00R OLN2Z2M4 O 21+ V/3M

offloaded wrote:

From 15 Oct 18 (low season), the lowest BA fare (Q class) LHR TLV LHR is £366 rtn (no bag). I would hardly consider £195 to be unbelievable.

devron wrote:

BA offers 290 euro tickes from FRA to LAS are these correct?

I couldn't find €290 (closest I got was €348) but, yes, the lowest BA published fare to LAS is €20 + tax

FRA-LAS WED-20JUN18 BA
MPM 6688 AT
**ADDITIONAL TAXES/FEES MAY APPLY**
PUBLIC/PRIVATE
CX FARE FARE C AP MIN/
EUR BASIS MAX
1 BA 20.00R OLN2Z2B4 O 21+ V/3M
2 BA 60.00R QLN4Z2B4 Q 14+ V/3M
3 BA 90.00R OLN4T6B4 O 14+ 6/1M
4 BA 100.00R NLN7Z2B4 N 7+ V/3M
5 BA 100.00R OLN2Z2M4 O 21+ V/3M

Which makes a £1+tax fare to TLV even more credible...

MalevTU134 wrote:

offloaded wrote:

From 15 Oct 18 (low season), the lowest BA fare (Q class) LHR TLV LHR is £366 rtn (no bag). I would hardly consider £195 to be unbelievable.

devron wrote:

BA offers 290 euro tickes from FRA to LAS are these correct?

I couldn't find €290 (closest I got was €348) but, yes, the lowest BA published fare to LAS is €20 + tax

FRA-LAS WED-20JUN18 BA
MPM 6688 AT
**ADDITIONAL TAXES/FEES MAY APPLY**
PUBLIC/PRIVATE
CX FARE FARE C AP MIN/
EUR BASIS MAX
1 BA 20.00R OLN2Z2B4 O 21+ V/3M
2 BA 60.00R QLN4Z2B4 Q 14+ V/3M
3 BA 90.00R OLN4T6B4 O 14+ 6/1M
4 BA 100.00R NLN7Z2B4 N 7+ V/3M
5 BA 100.00R OLN2Z2M4 O 21+ V/3M

Which makes a £1+tax fare to TLV even more credible...

Exactly. Totally agree.

Actually, they're offering NYC for €1 + tax:
FRA-NYC WED-20JUN18 BA
MPM 4612 AT
**ADDITIONAL TAXES/FEES MAY APPLY**

CX FARE FARE C AP MIN/
EUR BASIS MAX
FRANYC
1 BA 1.00R OLN2Z2B4 O 21+ V/3M
FRAEWR
2 BA 1.00R OLN2Z2B4 O 21+ V/3M
FRANYC

offloaded wrote:

MalevTU134 wrote:

offloaded wrote:

From 15 Oct 18 (low season), the lowest BA fare (Q class) LHR TLV LHR is £366 rtn (no bag). I would hardly consider £195 to be unbelievable.


I couldn't find €290 (closest I got was €348) but, yes, the lowest BA published fare to LAS is €20 + tax

FRA-LAS WED-20JUN18 BA
MPM 6688 AT
**ADDITIONAL TAXES/FEES MAY APPLY**
PUBLIC/PRIVATE
CX FARE FARE C AP MIN/
EUR BASIS MAX
1 BA 20.00R OLN2Z2B4 O 21+ V/3M
2 BA 60.00R QLN4Z2B4 Q 14+ V/3M
3 BA 90.00R OLN4T6B4 O 14+ 6/1M
4 BA 100.00R NLN7Z2B4 N 7+ V/3M
5 BA 100.00R OLN2Z2M4 O 21+ V/3M

Which makes a £1+tax fare to TLV even more credible...

Exactly. Totally agree.

Actually, they're offering NYC for €1 + tax:
FRA-NYC WED-20JUN18 BA
MPM 4612 AT
**ADDITIONAL TAXES/FEES MAY APPLY**

CX FARE FARE C AP MIN/
EUR BASIS MAX
FRANYC
1 BA 1.00R OLN2Z2B4 O 21+ V/3M
FRAEWR
2 BA 1.00R OLN2Z2B4 O 21+ V/3M
FRANYC

Dare one book it?? (Not that BA would go under if nobody did...but it shows the lack of credibility these actions create.)

Can customers also get a refund if they mistakenly buy an air ticket? (I think the answer is yes, if caught within 24 hours).

This area of contract law is pretty well established in UK law at least. Under the common law doctrine of unilateral mistake, a contract is voidable should its enforcement be "unconscionable" or if the other party (i.e. the consumer here) had reason to know of the mistake.

There have been cases in the past where this is demonstrated. An online store advertises a state of the art TV for £150 when the real price should be around 10 times as much. Any reasonable person would know that the £150 figure must be a mistake. As such, it is perfectly legal for the store to not honour the sale.

It all boils down to whether the people buying these tickets ought to have known the pricing was a mistake. This is where BA could be in trouble. While state of the art TVs are clearly worth more than £150, the world of airfare pricing is much more complex. Airlines seem to come to their ticket prices taking into account the lunar cycle and a host of other apparently random factors. A number is generated - multiplied by the age of the airline's CEO's first born son and that is the final price.

Take into account the mysterious world of ticket pricing plus the fact that: 1) the ticket prices aren't much different to prices offered by competitor airlines, 2) Airlines do sometimes have deals offering cheaper tickets... and you might start to question whether all consumers ought to have known this was a mistake on BA's part.

That just deals with the Common Law side of things though.

Flighty wrote:

Can customers also get a refund if they mistakenly buy an air ticket? (I think the answer is yes, if caught within 24 hours).

That is left at the discretion of each airline. There is no regulation in the EU, to my knowledge, that would impose a blanket obligation on the airlines to offer this facility.

Flighty wrote:

Can customers also get a refund if they mistakenly buy an air ticket? (I think the answer is yes, if caught within 24 hours).

Not sure if because of US law, but I believe BA does allow this, if caught within 24 hours. A friend recently purchased an MIA-LHR ticket in the morning, and realized in the afternoon that he wouldn't be able to go. BA issued a full refund.

Still, this whole story seems like BA just created a lot more hassle for themselves than simply carrying these people would have been.

BlatantEcho wrote:

Back and forth to TLV for 195GBP?

I’m with BA on this one! I’d cancel those fares for sure.

Government has nothing to do with this.
Mistake made, mistake fixed. Next issue please.

What are you talking about? Ive flown to TLV for £230 on BA in the last year and £195 sounds like a sale price. More bad publicity for this joke of an airline.

reffado wrote:

Flighty wrote:

Can customers also get a refund if they mistakenly buy an air ticket? (I think the answer is yes, if caught within 24 hours).

Not sure if because of US law, but I believe BA does allow this, if caught within 24 hours. A friend recently purchased an MIA-LHR ticket in the morning, and realized in the afternoon that he wouldn't be able to go. BA issued a full refund.

It's indeed US law and as far as I know only applies to tickets purchased in the US. The Qantas cancellation rules, for example, have a special note saying "Customers who purchase a ticket in the United States may cancel their reservations and obtain a ticket refund without charge within 24 hours of ticketing when purchase is one week or more prior to departure of the first flight in the itinerary". Everybody else has to make do with the Same-Day Correction policy that QF offer (without being required to) that allows for waiver of change and service fees if the change is made on the same calendar day as the booking.

2000 of these tickets were sold.
The fare wasn't 195GBP, they were sold at £1 plus taxes (a clear error).
BA (or any other airline) doesn't legally have to honour this obvious error.

Any money that BA would have lost on the cheap tickets is of no consequence for a company of its size. The cancellations show that whoever authorised it is not too bothered about BA's image. Why? Because this will all blow over as people continue to book with BA.