How long do I have to complain about a getting delayed returning from holiday.

rhys29

Hi all, a newbie here, well, a newbie posting, I'm sure you all can help....
long story-short
went on holiday last year with A1 travel, got delayed on way back.
my wife, 2 children & me.... food, hotel and flight change for 4, cost me £500+ and delayed 30 hours.

mislaid all paperwork due to lent luggage, it has now re-appeared
so i have made a written complaint for compensation and have been told that I should have complained within 28 days as per their terms and conditions.
I have read and re-read the T&C's but can only find a section which states that complaints should be made within a "reasonable time" which seems a bit vague.... would any of you knowledgeable helpful people know what rights and timescale I actually have?

tbw

I would have thought that waiting at least 8/9 months after your return was not reasonable! You could have had a baby in that time. I doubt you will get anywhere after all this time.

rhys29

tbw wrote: »

I would have thought that waiting at least 8/9 months after your return was not reasonable! You could have had a baby in that time. I doubt you will get anywhere after all this time.

thanks for the prompt reply, I dont see what having a baby has to do with anything! it was actually nearly 12 months.

I was after some factual advice rather than personal opinion

can anybody help with an informed reply please?

fluffnutter

When exactly last year? But as tbw says last year means at least 8 or 9 months ago. If you've lived without compensation for that long, it can't have really been a priority. I think you'll have to wave bye-bye to any refund. Worth a try I guess but if you're after a stipulated legal timescale that works in your favour, I doubt you'll find anything. As far as I'm aware timescales aren't mandated in consumer law but rather are up to each company to specify. 'Reasonable' is of course open to interpretation but I reckon you'll not get very far arguing that more than 8 months is reasonable.

Edit: Just seen your post. I doubt 12 months will be classed as reasonable.

rhys29

thank you, I agree that 12 months is a long time, unfortunately the paperwork to back it up was lost until recently and I'm sure any one on here would chase £500 lost due to operator error,
none of this was my fault and I now have all paperwork to back it up, they are ABTA registered and I can go to Arbitration up to 18 months from the date I returned, this may be my only option.

as far as I'm aware all purchases have a 12 month guarantee, I purchased a holiday, it was faulty, I complained within 12 months.
would it not be reasonable to take an item back within a year which was not satifactory?

k3lvc

Most of the operators specify claims must be made within 28 days of return - I suspect some of the companies A1 use will stipulate this but not all hence A1 avoid giving details

What exactly happened to result in you spending an additional £500 ?

Did they not provide accomodation/food/alternative flight at the time ?

visidigi

A holiday doesn't get covered by a 12 month guarantee....its a service, not a good.

Now - the missing paperwork, you say this wasn't your fault, was this the holiday agent? Did you at any point mention to the agents at any point over the 12 months that there was a delay?

rhys29

k3lvc wrote: »

What exactly happened to result in you spending an additional £500 ?

Did they not provide accomodation/food/alternative flight at the time ?

no, they couldn't authorise any flight changes or accomodation as they could not get hold of a supervisor, they told me to keep all receipts etc and they would re-inburse.

rhys29

visidigi wrote: »

A holiday doesn't get covered by a 12 month guarantee....its a service, not a good.

Now - the missing paperwork, you say this wasn't your fault, was this the holiday agent? Did you at any point mention to the agents at any point over the 12 months that there was a delay?

The missing paperwork is down to us but the agent was well aware of our situation at the time, they have records of the problems we incurred.


do you guys want to see a copy of my letter to them?

arcon5

Could you not somehow get copies of the lost paperwork? :huh:

rhys29

arcon5 wrote: »

Could you not somehow get copies of the lost paperwork? :huh:

getting eastjet on the phone was hard enough, getting copy paperwork - impossible "not their fault" which it wasn't.
all the other receipts were from food outlets at the airport, taxis and a hotel who's proximity and name I didnt take too much notice of at midnight with two tired children.