BA / Virgin offering partial refunds on fuel surcharges

baby_frogmella

Apparently if you purchased a long-haul ticket on BA or Virgin between 11th August 2004 and 23rd March 2006 you are entitled to a PARTIAL refund of up to £20. More details on www.airpassengerrefund.co.uk

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS


1. Why did I get this Notice?
You received this Notice because you are a passenger who may have paid a fuel surcharge on one or more purchases of passenger air travel from either BA or Virgin Atlantic. Either (a) you requested this notice, or (b) BA or Virgin Atlantic provided your contact information to the Court-appointed Settlement Administrator.

• This Notice explains:
• What the lawsuit and the Settlement are about.
• What the lawsuit claims and what BA and Virgin Atlantic say about the claims.
• Who is affected by the Settlement.
• Who represents the Class in the lawsuit.
• What your legal rights and choices are.
• How and by when you need to act.

2. What is the lawsuit about?
The class action lawsuit, filed in federal court in the U.S., claims that BA and Virgin Atlantic unlawfully conspired to fix prices of fuel surcharges imposed on long-haul passenger fares, and as a result caused harm to consumers.
BA and Virgin Atlantic have admitted that they participated in the conspiracy, but do not believe that their conduct caused any harm to consumers. However, BA and Virgin Atlantic have agreed to provide a partial refund of the fuel surcharge paid by settlement class members.

3. Why is this a class action?
In a U.S. class action lawsuit, one or more people called “class representatives” sue on behalf of people who have similar claims. The people together are a “class” or “class members.” The court must determine if it will allow the lawsuit to proceed as a class action. If it does, all decisions made will affect everyone in the class.
Here, the people that sued (“Plaintiffs”) and BA and Virgin Atlantic (“Defendants”) have reached a Settlement. The Court has preliminarily approved the Settlement for classes of purchasers in the United States and United Kingdom—the U.S. Settlement Classes and the U.K. Settlement Classes—who purchased at least one coupon for long-haul passenger air travel from either airline. The purchase must have (a) been made in the United States or in the United Kingdom, (b) occurred between 11 August 2004 and 23 March 2006, and (c) included a long-haul fuel surcharge that was not refunded. There will be a Fairness Hearing for the Court to decide whether to give final approval to the Settlement. (See Question 19.)

4. Why is there a Settlement?
In the U.S., lawsuits are commonly resolved via settlement. A settlement is an agreement between a plaintiff and a defendant following negotiation. Settlements conclude litigation but this does not mean that the court has ruled in favor of the plaintiff or the defendant. A settlement allows both parties to avoid the cost and risk of a trial and permits both parties to establish a just, fair and final resolution that is best for all involved. In this case, the Settlement was reached after mediation before a neutral mediator, Kenneth R. Feinberg. If the Court approves this Settlement, then BA and Virgin Atlantic will no longer be legally responsible for the claims made in this lawsuit.
The lawyers representing the Class (“Settlement Class Counsel”) and BA and Virgin Atlantic have engaged in extensive, arm’s-length negotiations regarding the issues presented in the lawsuit and the possible terms of a settlement. BA and Virgin Atlantic want to settle the claims in this lawsuit and Settlement Class Counsel believe the Settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate and in the best interests of the Classes.

5. Who is a Class Member?
You are included as a Class Member if you purchased at least one coupon for long-haul* passenger air travel from BA for travel on a flight operated by BA or from Virgin Atlantic for travel on a flight operated by Virgin Atlantic. The purchase must have:

• been in the United States or the United Kingdom;
• been for long-haul travel;
• occurred between 11 August 2004 and 23 March 2006; and
• included a long-haul fuel surcharge that was not refunded.

* Long-haul flights include most flights between the U.K. and non-E.U. destinations, including flights to and from the United States. All flights on Virgin Atlantic qualify as long-haul. A complete list of qualifying flights on British Airways can be found by clicking the tab to the left entitled “Important Documents” and clicking the List of Qualifying Long-Haul British Airways Flights.
Both businesses and individuals may be class members. The party that purchased the ticket is entitled to the refund.
There are a number of people who are not included in the Class. These people include:

• The Defendants and their officers, directors, employees, counsel and agents; and
• All government entities.

6. How do I know if I am included in the Settlement?
If you purchased at least one ticket for long-haul passenger air travel on BA for travel on a flight operated by BA or from Virgin Atlantic for travel on a flight operated by Virgin Atlantic and the purchase (a) was in the United States or in the United Kingdom (b) occurred between 11 August 2004 and 23 March 2006, and (c) included a long-haul fuel surcharge that was not refunded.


BENEFITS OF THE SETTLEMENT


7. What does the Settlement provide?
BA and Virgin Atlantic will refund up to £73,531,076 to members of the U.K. Settlement Class who submit valid claim forms, with any unclaimed refunds to be retained by the Defendants. They will also refund up to $59,007,273 to U.S. Class Members who submit valid claim forms. Members of either Class who file a valid claim will be paid 33.3% of the passenger fuel surcharge they paid on qualifying coupons. Refund payments will range between £4 and £20 per passenger per round-trip ticket purchased in the U.K. and between $7 and $34 per passenger per round-trip ticket purchased in the U.S.

8. How do I submit a claim for payment from the Settlement?
To be eligible to receive a payment, you must either: 1) submit your claim online on or before 31 December 2012 by clicking the Submit Your Claim Online tab to the left, or 2) complete the Claim Form, which you can download from the Important Documents tab to the left, and post it so that it is postmarked by 31 December 2012.

• If you prefer to submit your claim by post, complete a claim form and post it to the following address so that it is postmarked by 31 December 2012:
  
  Kenneth R. Feinberg
  Settlement Administrator
  c/o Epiq Systems
  P.O. Box 62677
  London
  EC2P 2UB

You should make a copy of your claim form to keep for your records.
If you accept a refund, you will give up your legal right to bring any further claims in respect of this matter.

9. Is the data that is provided to the Settlement Administrator protected?
Yes. All data provided to the Settlement Administrator is confidential and will be used for no purposes other than the processing of claims submitted in this Settlement and will be disclosed to no third parties for other purposes. Both the Settlement Administrator and the Claims Administrator comply with all U.S. and U.K. laws for the protection of data. The Settlement Administrator and the Claims Administrator have certified compliance with the Safe Harbor principles negotiated between the United States and the European Union (EU) regarding data protection. The European Economic Area (EEA) also has recognized the U.S. Safe Harbor principles as providing adequate data protection.

hammy_the_hammer

it's actually purchased not flew within those dates

baby_frogmella

hammy_the_hammer wrote: »

it's actually purchased not flew within those dates

sorry, i was wrong you must have purchased a ticket between those dates. Looks like a visit to Specsavers is needed:eek:

IvanOpinion

If anybody is interested there is more informaiton here

ivan

jackieblack

Martin already started a thread on this back in February!

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=749633

Elljay_2

Is there any way of finding out what your flight numbers were? I tried to complete the online form and it needs the flight numbers. i thought the date and dep point/dest would have been enough!:(

richardw

U can just choose the frequent flyer option if you used that.

tiff

I'm having trouble with the claim form, it says missing/invalid information highlighted in red, but nothing is highlighted in red! I've been through all the boxes, has anyone else had this?

Speculator

I am having problems with the form.

I flew to Hong Kong on BA in 2004 but the form does not allow me to enter the flight details of the return flight from Hong Kong to Heathrow.

Engadine

Speculator wrote: »

I am having problems with the form.

I flew to Hong Kong on BA in 2004 but the form does not allow me to enter the flight details of the return flight from Hong Kong to Heathrow.

I am having the same problem, the form will not allow me to enter the flight details of my return flight from Sydney to Heathrow.

pennylane99

I have just submitted mine ok, just put the return flight on the next line underneath the outward flight details

date and route, didnt put flight number