Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Thomas Cook ONLY

veryverydisgruntled

I was on a flight from Zante to Manchester which was delayed by over six hours. We were given a letter stating that the flight would be delayed by just over six hours. once on board the captain apologised and explained the delay was due to a faulty part which had to be sourced and replaced. then the crew were out of hours and a replacement crew had to be located. So far so good, I knew we were entitled to compensation and the reasons given for the delay were avoidable. the next day I tried to contact Thomas cook to make a complaint and claim compensation, that's when the fun started, the customer services website was down for upgrades to the online complaints form which would take two weeks. I tried to make contact by phone, only to have it ring out every single time I phoned. Two weeks later I tried the website, still down for upgrades, over the next two weeks I tried the website and phone with no success, if I did manage to speak to someone I would be put on hold until the line mysteriously went dead or I would be forced to hang up due to time constraints. I finally managed to make contact on the next to last day of Thomas cook's 28 day complaint period. to my surprise I was told my party is entitled to compensation and I would receive a cheque within 28 days. I was not surprised when 28 days elapsed and no cheque. On the 31st day I phoned and was shocked to be answered immediately, after establishing my I.D. I was told that Thomas cook no longer make payments by cheque, that facility finished two weeks ago, but payment is now made by BACS and will be paid directly into my account. I was annoyed but commented that at least i'd get the money today. That's when I was told I would not receive the money until Friday the 26th as BACS transfers are approved on Mondays and paid on Fridays. At no point during this period have I received any correspondence from TC despite the promise of conformation e mails and if I hadn't chased them would still be waiting for the money as TC did not have my account details, this being the same account the money was taken from in the first place IF the money appears on the date promised that will be nearly two months after TC accepted my claim is valid.
So the dirty tricks are :- website down cannot claim
unanswered phone calls cannot claim
permanently on hold cannot claim
calls hung up cannot claim
delay payment until the very last day
change of payment method
no contact from Thomas cook
still using Bradford address despite office closing down

latest news I have just checked and guess what the complaints website is still down for upgrades to the on line complaint form

111KAB

veryverydisgruntled - I think you have done very well at 2 months ~ many posters on this forum have had far greater time to wait (me included) and have then had to go to Court (me included) and then had to wait over two months even when the Judge says you've won (me included).

veryverydisgruntled

111KAB
I have had confirmation my claim is valid and two promises of payment, but have not actually received anything yet

sky_rat

Good news ! Finally, having been through the small claims court I have received a letter admitting liablity on the condition that I provide a booking reference number (seems I forgot to include the reference number on the claim form!).

The flight delay was 23 hours and the distance was 6950km (Orlando to Gatwick). I made a claim of 600 euros for each passenger, as there were 3 of us the total claim was for 1800 euros.

However, Thomas Cook stated that the claim amount should use the exchange rate on the date of the delayed flight (20/10/07), this being 69p to the euro. Therefore the claim amount would be £1252.80 (this actually makes an exchange rate of 69.6p to the euro).

I just wanted to confirm that Thomas Cook are correct about using the exchange rate at the time of the delayed flight, before responding to them with details of the booking reference number.

Also, what about the £80 court fee I had to pay ? Does Thomas Cook have to refund this too ?

I had to go through the small claims court because they refused to pay out when I initially wrote to them and the CAA.

Vauban

sky_rat wrote: »

Good news ! Finally, having been through the small claims court I have received a letter admitting liablity on the condition that I provide a booking reference number (seems I forgot to include the reference number on the claim form!).

The flight delay was 23 hours and the distance was 6950km (Orlando to Gatwick). I made a claim of 600 euros for each passenger, as there were 3 of us the total claim was for 1800 euros.

However, Thomas Cook stated that the claim amount should use the exchange rate on the date of the delayed flight (20/10/07), this being 69p to the euro. Therefore the claim amount would be £1252.80 (this actually makes an exchange rate of 69.6p to the euro).

I just wanted to confirm that Thomas Cook are correct about using the exchange rate at the time of the delayed flight, before responding to them with details of the booking reference number.

Also, what about the £80 court fee I had to pay ? Does Thomas Cook have to refund this too ?

I had to go through the small claims court because they refused to pay out when I initially wrote to them and the CAA.

Yes. Historic exchange rates apply. But you should certainly get all court fees too. And you could hold out for interest at 8% if you were inclined (the airline wouldn't agree to settle if Rey thought they had a case!)

Davidvgoliath

sky_rat wrote: »

Good news ! Finally, having been through the small claims court I have received a letter admitting liablity on the condition that I provide a booking reference number (seems I forgot to include the reference number on the claim form!).

The flight delay was 23 hours and the distance was 6950km (Orlando to Gatwick). I made a claim of 600 euros for each passenger, as there were 3 of us the total claim was for 1800 euros.

However, Thomas Cook stated that the claim amount should use the exchange rate on the date of the delayed flight (20/10/07), this being 69p to the euro. Therefore the claim amount would be £1252.80 (this actually makes an exchange rate of 69.6p to the euro).

I just wanted to confirm that Thomas Cook are correct about using the exchange rate at the time of the delayed flight, before responding to them with details of the booking reference number.

Also, what about the £80 court fee I had to pay ? Does Thomas Cook have to refund this too ?

I had to go through the small claims court because they refused to pay out when I initially wrote to them and the CAA.

Bit confused - you say you have been through the small claims court but TC have admitted liability via a letter.

I assume that you have not actually argued your case in the county court yet, but have initiated a claim on the small claims track and TC have admitted liability before the case mad it to court?

If so;

I would suggest that the exchange rate at the time of the delay is correct

my advice would be that you suggest to them that interest is payable on the settlement from the date of the delay - your claim form would have no doubt suggested that an interest rate of 8%
was applicable

my advice would also be that you suggest that your claim expenses - namely your £80 court fee

I would also suggest that you advise you will accept settlement in cash only, since their next craft trick/delay is to try to settle in vouchers.

Since the have admitted liability, if they do not agree then you should proceed to court since in my opinion your case is a slam-dunk.

Hope that helps.

PS - might be worth posting on the court successes thread on this forum.

Well done by the way!!!!!!

David_e

sky_rat wrote: »

.
However, Thomas Cook stated that the claim amount should use the exchange rate on the date of the delayed flight (20/10/07), this being 69p to the euro. Therefore the claim amount would be £1252.80 (this actually makes an exchange rate of 69.6p to the euro).

I just wanted to confirm that Thomas Cook are correct about using the exchange rate at the time of the delayed flight, before responding to them with details of the booking reference number.

That's a very interesting point. I don't know the answer but given that the compensation is an amount in Euros (as per EU Regulation 261/2004), I can't see any logic in using anything other than the current exchange rate. Tell them you want it paid in Euro!

sky_rat

Davidvgoliath wrote: »

Bit confused - you say you have been through the small claims court but TC have admitted liability via a letter.

I assume that you have not actually argued your case in the county court yet, but have initiated a claim on the small claims track and TC have admitted liability before the case mad it to court?

Yes this is correct, I initiated online using the Money Claim Online website.

When I login to see the claim history it says:

- Thomas Cook notified the court of a change of address on 01/07/2013
- Thomas Cook notified the court of a change of address on 16/07/2013
- Thomas Cook issued a part admission on 16/07/2013

I received the letter from Thomas Cook today. This is the first time Ive ever used a small claims court so Im not really sure how it works. Should I ignore the letter and let the court sort it out ?

Davidvgoliath wrote: »

my advice would be that you suggest to them that interest is payable on the settlement from the date of the delay - your claim form would have no doubt suggested that an interest rate of 8% was applicable

For some reason I didnt think the interest was applicable so did not put this on the claim form. Does this make a claim for interest void ? If not, then is the interest as follows:

((£1252.80 * 8%) / 365) * 2098 = £576

Note: 2098 is the number of days from the delayed flight (20/10/07) to todays date (17/07/13)

Davidvgoliath wrote: »

my advice would also be that you suggest that your claim expenses - namely your £80 court fee

How do I do this ? Do I include it on a letter to Thomas Cook or continue to go through the small claims court ?

Davidvgoliath wrote: »

I would also suggest that you advise you will accept settlement in cash only, since their next craft trick/delay is to try to settle in vouchers.

Are they likely to do this ? The letter clearly states they admit liability of £1252.80 but no mention of vouchers ? Can I ask for a bank transfer ?

PS. Thanks for the advice

picardygirl

Edendoyle wrote: »

Hoping someone can help? On the 3rd of July I went to Dalaman from gatwick, when we checked instead 6am as our flight was meant to be at 9 am; we were told we would be delayed 5 hours. About 9/10am the board changed to "more info at 17.00" - instead of 14.00.. We were then told that our plane was in Manchester and waiting for parts to be flown in from Germany, and that it had been there overnight!! At 17.00 we were given our flight time being 18.30. So 9 and half hour delay.. I'm about to e-mail Thomas cook and I have the proof of the delay which we were given when we landed. But from reading comments on this how do I prove I was on the flight?
Thanks, Eden

Our friends were on the same flight!!! On the first page of this thread gives you a link as to what to do....

Basically what our friends and done, and we have done the same, as our return flight from Dalaman on Saturday was delayed by 5 hours, is write to Thomas Cook, using the template letter supplied by Moneysavingexpert and enclosed a photocopy of our boarding cards and confirmation of our holiday booking (copy of our e-ticket).

Good luck

Davidvgoliath

sky_rat wrote: »

Yes this is correct, I initiated online using the Money Claim Online website.

When I login to see the claim history it says:

- Thomas Cook notified the court of a change of address on 01/07/2013
- Thomas Cook notified the court of a change of address on 16/07/2013
- Thomas Cook issued a part admission on 16/07/2013

I received the letter from Thomas Cook today. This is the first time Ive ever used a small claims court so Im not really sure how it works. Should I ignore the letter and let the court sort it out ?



For some reason I didnt think the interest was applicable so did not put this on the claim form. Does this make a claim for interest void ? If not, then is the interest as follows:

((£1252.80 * 8%) / 365) * 2098 = £576

Note: 2098 is the number of days from the delayed flight (20/10/07) to todays date (17/07/13)




How do I do this ? Do I include it on a letter to Thomas Cook or continue to go through the small claims court ?



Are they likely to do this ? The letter clearly states they admit liability of £1252.80 but no mention of vouchers ? Can I ask for a bank transfer ?

PS. Thanks for the advice

Essentially what you have here is an offer of an out of court settlement from TC. They either think they have a weak case (most likely) or they dont have enough personnel to attend court, assuming a date has been set - they must be heaving under the weight of litigated cases by now!

If you havent included interest on your claim form then I dont think you can introduce this now!

Therefore, in my view, you dont stand to gain anything by going to court at this stage.

I would suggest you write back to them telling them you accept their offer on the proviso that they add in your costs to initiate litigation - essentially your filing fee of £80 - and that payment must be made within a stipulated period, and if payment is not made within that period (say 14 days) then you reserve the right to take the case all the way to court. From recent posts payment is likely by electronic transfer so perhaps give them your bank details as well.

Payment in vouchers is another of their often used tricks, I am not saying that this is what they will offer but it is best to be clear about what you will accept to stop TC from dragging out the settlement.

Look back and previous posts on this forum to see more of the pathetic tricks TC use to keep hold of your cash for as long as possible.

You are in the driving seat here - they have admited liability. Even if you have to go to court now (a long shot in my view), you have an admission of liability in your back pocket.

One more thing - when you have the cash dont forget to let the court know that TC have settled. If you have gotten to the stage where your case has been allocated to a court and you have paid an additional 'hearing fee', then you can claim this back from the court when you cancel your hearing.