getting a refund out of easyjet

[mira666]

Apologies for the length of the next posting

It all started at Glasgow airport on the evening of Monday 15th June, on arrival for the 19.10 flight back to STN, was advised that the flight had been delayed until 20.10, ok no real issue there. After arriving at the gate, the flight was again delayed at 19.30 to 21.10 and subsequently to 21.45 and 22.05 and finally 22.45. refreshment vouchers were given out at apx 20.45.
Just before 22.00 a plane arrived from Luton and all the Stansted bound passenger’s queued up expectantly to board only to be told by ground staff that the flight had been cancelled and the option was there for a free re-route to Gatwick and being bussed to Stansted (ETA apx 3am the next morning) or we could have our bags back and seek a booking on a later flight, I chose to reclaim my bags and made my way back to East Anglia the next day by rail.

I sent an email to Easyjet for a refund on the Wednesday (17th June 09)
and received the following response from them on the 24th June 09

Thank you for contacting us.

I would like to sincerely apologize for the long delay in responding to your e-mail. I would like to assure you that this is not of our usual standard.

I apologise for the inconvenience caused to you due to the cancellation of the flight number EZY218 and you can understand your frustration.

Having checked our records, I can confirm that you have been provided with the free transfer and you chose not to fly. Under such circumstances, I am unable to refund the cost of the flight.

To which I sent the following response.

Dear Sir

The reason I chose not to fly was that would have left me at Stansted airport at 3am with no physical way of travelling prior to 7am as I am reliant on public transport.

Which generated the following response from Easyjet on 26th June 09

would to offer our apologies for the inconvenience the disruption to your flight will have caused you.

I would like to inform you that as you have been already provided the option of free transfer to London Gatwick airport. I would like to inform you that we can only process refund in that case if you have incurred amount to travel form Gatwick to Stansted which was your final destination.


So yet another email went back to Easyjet as below (thanks to MSE’ers for posting a link to the regulations)

Dear Sir

I bring your attention to EU Regulation EC 261/2004

Under this I am covered as the delay was longer than 2 hours and the option given by easyjet would have resulted in me arriving at stansted 7 hours later than originally scheduled. I was also entitled to use of a telephone to make calls, this was not made available. also in the event of any delay or cancellation information must be made available to all passenger's concerning their rights under EU regulations.

Therefore I give easyjet two options:

1 - Easyjet refunds the cost of my flight and we consider the matter resolved.

2 - I seek legal advice based on Easyjet's breach of the above European Regulation and claim compensation through the courts, and also contact every major newspaper and television station in the country to bring attention to my plight and my rights under these regulations

so I received the following from Easyjet on 27th June 09

I would like to offer my sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused by the cancellation of your flight. Unfortunately, this was necessary due to bad weather conditions. This was an extraordinary circumstance that could not have been avoided, even if all reasonable measures had been taken.

I regret to confirm that you are not entitled to compensation for this cancelled flight, inline with our carrier's regulations and the EU legislation regarding delays and cancellations, because the cancellation was as a result of an extraordinary circumstance. I apologise for being unable to assist you further with this matter.

The option given to you during the disruption was a refund of the cost of the flight if you did not wish to continue your journey with us, or a free re-route to the next available flight.

As you chose the option to re-route your flight, I cannot offer any compensation on this occasion. However, my best advice would be to contact your travel insurance about making a claim. I will be more than happy to help with any information required to assist with your claim.

I would also like to inform you that that we do provide the facility for telephone calls, but this is only done of passenger request. I can also confirm you that telephone call are only offered if you want to call easyJet contact centre to get the details of your flight.


So my next email went back to Easyjet as below

what you have written above is a complete contradiction,

you are saying that (and I quote) "The option given to you during the disruption was a refund of the cost of the flight if you did not wish to continue your journey with us, or a free re-route to the next available flight." - at what point did I say that I had re-routed as quoted by yourselves "As you chose the option to re-route your flight, I cannot offer any compensation on this occasion", I did not re-route, that option was pressed upon all passenger's by Easyjet ground staff yet I chose not to fly at all and requested my baggage back and made my own way home the next day therefore based on your response i am entitled to a refund which quite frankly is not forthcoming from easyjet, therefore I will be seeking legal advice.

And I have today received the following response from Easyjet

I am sorry to learn that you are not happy with my response.

I would like to inform you that in order to check the details for you, I have send the request to the concern department, as soon as we get the details form them and will work on your request accordingly.

So I know I’m not likely to get anything back at all but was wondering what other’s thoughts were and where I should go next?

[richardw]

General impression with easyJet is that you have to commence the appropriate legal action to get anywhere and be 100% sure of your case.

[lufcgirl]

And after we'd been saying how good easyjet was too! Can't you call them rather than all this e-mail talk and try and get to a supervisor...or write a letter to Stelios. You never know, they might give you a free flight instead!

Oh and was there actually bad weather that delayed the flight and then caused it to cancel?

[ferf1223]

Originally Posted by mira666

The option given to you during the disruption was a refund of the cost of the flight if you did not wish to continue your journey with us, or a free re-route to the next available flight.

************

So I know I’m not likely to get anything back at all but was wondering what other’s thoughts were and where I should go next?

You have it from them that you were given the option of a refund or reroute...you chose refund and made your own way...so I would think that a refund would be forthcoming. it seems to me that he/she was initially confused and thought you had taken the transfer and if he/she can see that you didn't take the transfer, the clearly a refund should be forthcoming.

I'd wait a bit longer before getting too worked up over it as you have an email from them saying what your options were which does include a refund if you opt not to take the transfer.

I think that sometimes the folks they have answering emails with standard replies glaze over a bit and don't actually read what was said...I've had standard replies to specific queries from any number of sources...but after pointing out their error they've sorted things out.

[mira666]

***update***

well finally easyjet have refunded the cost of the flight to my credit card, weight off my mind, huzzahs

[denpatcham10]

Our flight to Malaga was cancelled Saturday 17th, we re-booked for Sunday but that flight was cancelled. The press it would take days to get things back to normal so we decided to cut our looses and go for a refund rather than transferring the flight to another date as the cancelled flight would be free but to change the return flight, so we would get our holiday would cost us as there was no problem with the return leg.
To get a refund I had to completer an online form which to get I had to register, not in my easyjet log in but another one for some reason. I tried 6 times, there system would not let me register with a new email and password.
Why easyjet could not accept my old details is beyond me.
But I did not give up tried one final time got through and registered then once all completed it asked for a copy of the receipt to attach to the email-fine did all that went to send it-20 minutes later the email was still being sent!!!
I know there must be 1000s of people wanting a refund but surely easyjet could make it user friendly or accept postal applications for refunds and compensation which maybe longer to get.
We hope someone who has been succesful replies.

[iceman]

Can you write a bit bigger next time please?

[grannydrums]

I want to reclaim for extra accomodation etc after the ash delays, but even though I thought I was not bad at negotiating webpages, I just cannot find an on line form or email to start my claim. can you help?

[tsasha]

Im trying to get money back from easyjet after my flight was cancelled and thier computer systems went down as well to make matters worse. We were told that it would be quicker to leave the airport and re-book on the internet as it's the same thing as they do on the easyjet desk and that any costs incurred would be reimbursed. I even specfically went and asked the easyjet person if I hired a car can I clam it back and he said yes as long as I had the reciept.

After submitting the reciepts I got the following responce over two weeks later :

Thank you for contacting us.

I would like to sincerely apologise for the inconvenience that the
disruption to your flight caused you.

The option given to you during the disruption was a refund of the
cost of the flight if you did not wish to continue your journey with
us, or a free re-route to the next available flight.

As you chose the option to re-route your flight, I cannot offer
any compensation on this occasion. However, my best advice would be to
contact your travel insurance about making a claim. I will be more
than happy to help with any information required to assist with your
claim.

I have included a link below to more information about our policy
on cancellations:

There was a link a a delay policy here but can't include in this posWas no help anyway.


I do hope I have been able to answer your question fully. To
update your query please reply to this email. We will be happy to
assist you further.


To which I've replied :

Thank you for your email.

I was advised by the easyjet representative at Alicante airport that
any expense's incured would be refunded as long as we kept reciepts
and submitted them via your website.


Your represenative said that the Easyjet computer systems had gone
down and there would be nothing they could do for 4 or 5 hours and
that if we went away and organised our flights on the internet it
would be the same as waiting at the desk. He also informed us that

any addtional costs for accomadation, transport and food and drink
would be reimbursend if we kept the reciepts.

To keep cost down for Easyjet we hire a car and went back to a friend
place saving Easyjet the cost to accomodation, transport and
food\drink for 4 people.


I believe this flight cancellation fall within the scope of Regulation
(EC) 261/2004 and we choose to take a new flight at a later date,
subject to availability of seats”

Also I believe under the Regulation (EC) 261/2004 ("right to care")
requires airlines to offer you meals, refreshments and accommodation

as appropriate whilst you wait for a rearranged flight. They should
also cover any transport costs between the accomodation and the
airport.

In addition under the Regulation (EC) 261/2004, the airline should
have offered you two telephone calls, telex or fax messages, or
e-mails - No such assistance was offered.


It also states that if your airline did not provide assistance, and
you had to arrange it yourself, the airline should reimburse your
expenses and that you should follow any instructions the airline has

given for claiming reimbursement, which we have done.

I'm not asking for any compensation, I just asking for the

reimbursement of costs incured to my party due to this cancellation.

I look forward to hearing

Today 16days later again I get the following responce :

Thank you for contacting us.

I would like to offer our apologies for the inconvenience the disruption to your flight would have caused you.

Before we can assess your claim for reimbursement for food, we will need copies of your receipts itemised receipts.

Unfortunately it is not easyjet's policy to cover costs for car hire, however we can suggest your try and make a claim through your travel insurance for which we can provide an insurance letter.

If you would like to forward this to us at your earliest convenience, we will give this matter our prompt attention.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

So I've again responded with :

Thank you for your email.
Can you tell me if it's not Easyjet policy to cover cost of car hire why did
your representative at Alicante airport tell me that it would be OK. I
specifically asked your representative if I hired a car to transport my
party to our accommodation would I be able to claim it back and I was told
"yes" as long as I have the receipt.
According to the UK's Consumer Watchdog for the Aviation Industry, Air
Transport Users Council (AUC). Under Regulation (EC) 261/2004, it states
that if the airline did not provide assistance, and you had to arrange it
yourself, the airline should reimburse your expenses and that you should
follow any instructions the airline has given for claiming reimbursement.
On this occasion Easyjet did not provide any assistance so by following
instruction given by Easyjet I had to arrange everything myself. Incurring
costs which I was told would be reimbursed as this was the information I was
given by Easyjet.
I am attaching a copy of the food receipt again as well as the receipt for
the car hire for your attention.
I look forward to your reply and hope this matter can be sorted out
quickly.

I've put my full name and number on the bottom so maybe they will call me instead of email tennis.

Anyone got any suggestions..? Whay to do next..?

[Iwork2shop]

I booked 2 return flights from Stanstead to Lyon in April. Unfortunately I was due to fly a few days after the volcano closed all the airports so I decided to cut my losses and cancelled the flights. As it happened the airports all opened again so both flights actually took off.

Anyway, I informed Easyjet that I wanted to cancel my flights and asked for a refund in my taxes. I received a reply a few months later asking for my reservation nunbers etc and last week I received a refund for £30!

It pays to complain and be persistant.

[debjacka]

They told me at Alicante airport that EasyJet would refund the cost of car hire. Does that not amount to a verbal agreement?

[alpinehermit]

I too have been lied to - at Gatwick airport, both by the person on the info desk and by the easyJet "representative". When my flight was cancelled late on 14 July, I was told that I could rebook from Bristol and so I left the airport. Then it turned out that this was not possible. I am just starting my battle with easyJet by writing to them (at some level of their horrible website they say they don't deal with customers by letter, but at a deeper level they say one can, and their Luton address is provided). The online refund form is certainly virtual. I've managed to access it once, but now it's vanished. I'd copied the URL but even that doesn't work.
EasyJet says they give you 250 or 400 euros compensation, depending on the length of the journey, in the case of a cancelled flight. Is this supposed to cover the cost of things like car hire or is it supposed to be a separate payment? Has anyone succeeded in obtaining these euros?

[karen3w]

Sorry to jump into this thread. I hope someone can help me.

I booked a flight with Easyjet from UK to Germany. They wrote to me several times changing the return flight times which cut short the last day of my visit (I was only going for four days). I decided not to fly and looked at my account on their website, where it said I was entitled to a full refund. I emailed them, but no reply. I emailed them about six times in all and tried to ring them several times but couldn't get through. This all over the period of a month. In the meantime I didn't take the flight as knew I would get a refund.

Now they have finally replied (after I contacted them through their press office and they forwarded it to customer services!) saying they do not give refunds!

What can I do to get this refund? I have written many times arguing with them that it states black on white on their website that I can have a refund but they keep referring me to their terms and conditions that state they give no refunds.

Do I have a chance?

[richardw]

Originally Posted by karen3w

it states black on white on their website that I can have a refund

Do you have a link?

[karen3w]

Yes, but surprise surprise, they have changed what it says!

https://www.easyjet.com/EN/secure/My...erence=EGTB22C

This is what it originally said:

"Hamburg trip - xxx

01 December 2010 - 05 December 2010



Disrupted booking

One or more flights on this booking has been disrupted, entitling you to a free transfer to another flight, or a full refund of the cost of your flight and any directly related unflown sector within the same booking (if applicable).
If you intend to only change your flights, please choose ‘Amend booking’.
NB If your flight has to be cancelled, we will tell you about this separately with an email to your registered email address detailing the actual flights affected and your options. From 48 hours before your scheduled departure, please keep checking the status of your flight via the Latest Travel Information button on the easyJet.com homepage."


I copies and pasted this into an Open Office document. (Have of course amended order ref.).


It still said this when I viewed my account on the Easyjet site until they finally contacted me, then they changed the wording! Devious.


As my husband is out of work from 24th December and there are very few jobs around, getting a refund would make all the difference to me and my family. Surely they can't write something like that on their website and then say they won't give a refund?

[richardw]

Did it say anywhere that you had to contact them before your first flight in this booking?

[karen3w]

Originally Posted by richardw

Did it say anywhere that you had to contact them before your first flight in this booking?

No, not at all. It also gave no details about how to obtain a refund.

[cybersquatter]

Hope someone might have some advice on a problem my girlfriend is having getting her money back from easyJet after our flights were cancelled in all the bad weather before Christmas. As usual it is falling to me to get it sorted out.

It should be a straightforward refund - the flight was cancelled due to bad weather. However the complicating factor is the fact that she booked using a debit card and then closed the bank account (to move to another bank) before the flight was cancelled.

So easyJet have tried to refund the money to the now non-existent account and failed.

What she would like is for them to simply issue a cheque for the refund. First they said they would need a letter from the bank (NatWest) saying the account had been closed. Needless to say this was beyond the wit of NatWest and they instead sent a final statement and an incomprehensible letter. However the statement did show the line "ACCT TRANSFER TO CO-OP" as the final line, so it should be good enough. Anyway having sent a scan of this she then received the following message this morning:

Thank you for contacting us.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but this is not suffice I will need a letter not a statement stating that you received no money from easyjet .My apologies again I realise this must be frustrating .

I do hope I have been able to answer your question fully. To update your query please reply to this e-mail. We will be happy to assist you further.

Yours sincerely,

XXXXXXX
Customer Service Representative

This is a) not what was originally asked for and b) going to be impossible to obtain - of course NatWest aren't going to write a letter saying "We can confirm you did not receive a refund from Easyjet".

Basically it seems like this refund doesn't fit inside the standard procedures so the customer service agents are finding excuses to fob it off.

It is looking to me like a claim through the MoneyClaim service is going to be the only way to get the money back here.

Unless anyone has any advice?

[aitch-aitch]

Easyjet should be able to get their own bank to track the money.

[Voyager2002]

Originally Posted by aitch-aitch

Easyjet should be able to get their own bank to track the money.

Yes, but can they be a***d? That would involve devoting time and attention to customer service.