I concede that the OP says that they attempted to phone BA, but on which number? According to the BA website the number that they should have phoned is 0848 845 845. Was this number tried?
If the OP had gone on-line they may have been able to change their booking, but they didn't want to as it is too expensive. Probably not 600 quid which is what they forked out in the end for replacement flights, but there you go.
Why not give up the futile exercise of trying to get to the airport and find somewhere to get on-line? An internet cafe or something of that ilk. Surely at some point the OP must have realised that they were not going to make it...
Another option would have been to call someone they trusted, who was at home or at work, and ask them to go on-line for them.
Was the OP holding a flex ticket?
If not the whole discussion is moot, no changes are allowed and you agree to that at the time of booking. If it was a flex ticket then a visit to the website, selection of 'Manage my Booking', and stump up the change fee might well have done the trick.
Last edited by Avionker; 10th Jul 2012 at 16:16.