I lost 50% of my accommodation costs, complained to GSM but all I got was basically a "sorry but it is in our T&Cs"
You said it. When will people ever realise that they agree to Ts&Cs when they book flights. It is clear enough in the booking process.
I think there is an argument that licenses for routes could be allocated based on which airlines have the Ts&Cs most favourable to PAX. That might help iron out some of the ridiculous things they are allowed to get away with!