Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Thomas Cook ONLY

grazzzz

pete146 wrote: »

Just for completeness, my email to the CEO along with their response is below!

Hi

I am hoping that you, or somebody from your office, could please help to resolve a complaint and claim that I made to Thomas Cook Airlines in Dec 2012.

I have avoided pursuing this matter through the CAA, or the courts, as Thomas Cook have served me extremely well in the past, and I would like to give you the opportunity to resolve this 'In House'. However, my loyalty will only extend so far and I am extremely disappointed in the way my complaint has been handled.

Please see the attached document for a full list of my communications with Thomas Cook.

I hope that you can bring this to a swift resolution

Many thanks for your help

---

Thank you for your letter addressed to our Group Chief Executive Officer, Harriet Green. As my job involves responding to correspondence on behalf of our Directors in matters of customer service your letter has been passed to me.

I write further to your most recent correspondence and I am sorry that you remain unhappy with the response you have received so far from our Customer Relations Team. Unfortunately we are not able to provide you with the answers detailing the cause of the breakdown as this is a private matter to be addressed by Thomas Cook.

The cause of the breakdown could not have been foreseen prior to your aircraft departing and for that reason, we class this flight delay as an ‘extraordinary circumstance’ and no compensation would be applicable.

We, as Thomas Cook, stand by our decision and should you wish to pursue this matter further, I would therefore suggest that this is done through the Civil Aviation Authority by logging on to their website

I thank you once again for taking the time to contact Customer Relations and whilst I appreciate your disappointment at present, I hope that Thomas Cook may be of assistance to you in the future.


Kind Regards,

Karen Borthwick

Karen Borthwick
Directors Office
Thomascook UK and Ireland
Part of the thomascook group plc

Off to court you go then CCA are taking around 3 months to reply and cant help with your claim !

holidayhelp_2

I emailed Thomas Cook through their website asking for compensation of our flight back in 2008 to Gran Canaria which was delayed 6 hours. Thanks to you guys I was able to look up the flight details and even though I didn't have any booking reference at that time I thought I'd give it a go! Their reply was that without a booking ref they couldn't find any info on us and couldn't help. Luckily I still had an old computer which had all the details including the 5 pre-booked flight seats and confirmation. 3 weeks later I get a phone call from a lovely Scottish fella saying my cheque will be in the post - he just needed my address. So fingers crossed my luck is really in and I will be celebrating by the end of the week. A huge thank you for all your great advice :j

Daza

grazzzz wrote: »

Off to court you go then CCA are taking around 3 months to reply and cant help with your claim !

I wish the CAA replied in 3 months --- I emailed them on 1st December and still not had a reply back from them yet almost 5 months later. (apart from an auto-response email with a claim number)

becbec1982

becbec1982 wrote: »

I was hoping I might be able to get some advice as to when to take my case to court please?

As per my previous post, I have taken the process with TC as far as possible, having issued NBA and still they cite EC. I contacted the CAA 3 weeks ago but have heard nothing more. Should I wait longer or start court proceedings?

I also read that the NBA needs to be sent by post rather than by email - so should I resend this by post to ensure I have done everything correctly, then when that gets rejected again, start court process?

Many thanks

Sorry, just wanted to give my post a bump before it gets lost (and I get a reply )

TC told me that if I want to take it further I need to take my case to CAA - which I did a few weeks ago and have heard nothing. Do I have to wait for this to be resolved before I go to small claims court? Will it strengthen my case if I wait for them? Seems like the CAA are taking forever to respond then they don't help, so don't want to wait around if there's no point.

Many thanks!

grazzzz

becbec1982 wrote: »

Sorry, just wanted to give my post a bump before it gets lost (and I get a reply )

TC told me that if I want to take it further I need to take my case to CAA - which I did a few weeks ago and have heard nothing. Do I have to wait for this to be resolved before I go to small claims court? Will it strengthen my case if I wait for them? Seems like the CAA are taking forever to respond then they don't help, so don't want to wait around if there's no point.

Many thanks!

i ve waited over 3 months from a reply from the caa and heard nothing a previous poster above your thread has waited neary 5 months ,i have gone to court as i think my EC is not an EC at all and TC still refuse to tell me what the EC actually was ,however the airport staff at the terminal did tell us but i dont have it confirmed in writing so to court i have gone !
Will see what there defence says soon

Shelley01

claretmad2007 wrote: »

sent my first letter to Thomas Cook on 1st April not heard anything from them,sent an email but they havent even replied to that,should i give them more time or what should i do next

thanks

Hi I am in the same position as you. I got know where with an email but what I did was to put in in writing using the MSE Template letter and you just add your own information into it.

Don't expect a reply within 14 days as MSE has made an error, it is 28 days. I also phoned customer relation and I actually found them helpful. I have been given a case ref no and was told to call back in 14 days. What I have said though, is if you give me the run around I will pursue a court case through MCOL! this is an online small claims procedure you can use. I hope this helps...

Please let me know how you get on...

galasteve

so I've got round to getting an NBA letter drafted and here is what I have got - any suggestions are much appreciated.

Dear Sir or Madam

Delayed Flight Compensation - Notice before Action
Flight number: TCX 3457
Date: 14th October 2011
Booking Ref: A & B
Thomas Cook Case Number: C & D
Passenger names: Booking A - my mum and 7 others
Passengers for booking B - myself and wife
Amount claimed: 400 euros per passenger (equivalent to £350.87 [plus interest] per person at the equivalent exchange rate on 14/10/2011 of 1.14 euros to the pound)

I am writing in response of the correspondence I have received regarding my claim for compensation for delayed flight TCX 3457 on 14th October 2011 from Tenerife Sur Reina Sofia Airport [TFS] to Glasgow International Airport [GLA] with the scheduled departure time of 2330. Our flight was delayed leaving TFS and we arrived in GLA some 4 hours and 33 minutes after the scheduled arrival time.

I am sure that you are aware of the following judgment as contained within the ECJ’s ruling in the case of Wallentin-Hermann v Alitalia – Linee Aeree Italiane SpA (C-549/07): - ‘The fact that an air carrier has complied with the minimum rules on maintenance of an aircraft cannot in itself suffice to establish that that carrier has taken ‘all reasonable measures’ within the meaning of Article 5(3) of Regulation No 261/2004 and, therefore, to relieve that carrier of its obligation to pay compensation provided for by Articles 5(1)(c) and 7(1) of that regulation.’

As noted in your correspondence, you have referred to the reasons for delay being ‘of a technical nature, which were extraordinary’. Since technical problems have been ruled by the ECJ to be unlikely to be held as a valid defence of extraordinary circumstances to a compensation claim, then, should you be claiming any such defence I should be grateful if such details could be provided to me within 14 days of the date of this letter.

Should you neither settle my claim in full by cheque nor provide a full defence to my claim within the above timescale, I reserve the right to issue legal proceedings without giving you further notice in writing.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully

Daza

galasteve wrote: »

so I've got round to getting an NBA letter drafted and here is what I have got - any suggestions are much appreciated.

Just to point out that as your delay was in fact originating from Tenerife, you would be better contacting the Spanish CAA (AESA), Thomas Cook won't reply to them - but you will receive a letter from the AESA stating that because Thomas Cook failed to provide evidence of EC they are liable for the delay and should pay compensation -- the AESA will also foward a copy of the letter direct to Thomas Cook for you...

I did this and had a successfull claim after the AESA wrote to Thomas Cook - 3 days later Thomas Cook requested my details so they could pay me and 2 days after that a cheque for £715 was received.

I managed to obtain this email address for the AESA (you won't find it anywhere else, I got it from the source code from their website) sau.aesa@seguridadaerea.es


Below is a copy of what I sent via email to the AESA


Hello, I hope you could help me in regard to a claim for flight delay compensation under the Regulation EC261/2004.


Having submitted a flight delay claim under Regulation 261/2004 via Thomas Cook, they have replied back that the claim is denied under "extraordinary cirmumstances", upon requesting what these "extraordinary cirmumstances" were that caused the delay they now inform me that it was due to essential maintanace work carried out on the aircrafts wing.
The aircraft in question was delayed due to a late departure from Manchester (which is the previous routing of the journey) as I am not claiming for the previous leg of the journey, but the flight from Alicante to Manchester, and as no maintance work was carried out whilst the aircraft was at Alicante - then this is a case of a delay due to a "knock-on effect" and should not be treated as "extraordinary cirmumstances"

As the flight was delayed due to technical problems, this can not be used as "extraordinary cirmumstances" as a way to get out of paying the compensation as per the ECJ Ruling (Case C-549/07 Wallentin-Hermann v Alitalia)

I have been informed I must contact you to enforce the airline to give correct information or to settle the claim in full.

I have attached all the letters I sent to Thomas Cook and the ones that have been received.

I look forward to your reply

Thankyou

jacksback

grazzzz wrote: »

i ve waited over 3 months from a reply from the caa and heard nothing a previous poster above your thread has waited neary 5 months ,i have gone to court as i think my EC is not an EC at all and TC still refuse to tell me what the EC actually was ,however the airport staff at the terminal did tell us but i dont have it confirmed in writing so to court i have gone !
Will see what there defence says soon

If its anything like mine you still won't know. The defence on mine stated 'with regard to the outbound flight, the Defendant is unable to admit nor deny the Claimants claim for compensation as its enquiries in this respect are still ongoing'

afn

Ok so today is the 28th day and have received this email from TC.

I am writing in response to your letter regarding your recent travel arrangements with Thomas Cook.

It is with regret that I note your flight with us was delayed. Whilst delays are an unfortunate part of air travel, I would like to assure you that a lot of work goes on behind the scenes to ensure that any disruption to our passengers is kept to an absolute minimum.

When a delay is initially identified, it is not always immediately apparent as to when a revised take off time can be secured. A number of factors have to be considered, which can vary dependent on the reason for the delay, and quite often we are reliant on outside influences, such as Airport Authorities or Air Traffic Control. Throughout, however, as soon as confirmed information is available, this is passed onto our customers as quickly as possible through our handling agents at the airport.

Although delays do occur on occasion, they can arise for a number of different reasons, and having carried out a full investigation the specific circumstances surrounding the delay to your own flight were of a technical nature, which were extraordinary, despite Thomas Cook taking all reasonable precautions necessary to prevent the situation. All aircraft can experience technical problems that are totally unforeseen, despite all reasonable attempts to ensure they are maintained to a good standard, in line with CAA regulations. This can be compared to any mechanical breakdown which can happen at any time without prior knowledge or warning.

I can see that passengers were provided with welfare during this time, which was deemed appropriate for the length of your delay. It is with regret to inform you that we will be unable to consider any claims for compensation as a result of the delay to your flight.

Please be assured that on-time performance is a key measure for us as a business, and we constantly review our operations to ensure we deliver the best results, and service. I would like to offer our apologies for any inconvenience you were caused on this occasion and I hope that despite this, your stay was found to be an enjoyable one.

We were told by the rep at the hotel before we were due to be transferred that the flight was delayed so we were never taken to the airport when the flight was actually due to leave and were allowed to use all the facilities in our hotel apart from our room of course so can I still claim this compensation? The flight was delayed over 6 hrs. What are my next steps please? Thanks in advance.