Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Thomas Cook ONLY

cawman45

Anyone have an opinion on this? CAA has published guidance on what constitutes ECs. Dated 23rd July; this extract from what's not an EC seems a bit concerning but not entirely unexpected from the Airlines' friends at CAA?

Full doc. on CAA web site

"26

Unexpected
flight safety
shortcomings

Any other technical defects which become apparent immediately prior to departure or in-flight (where the system or part had been maintained in accordance with the required maintenance programme) and which require investigation and/or repair before the aircraft is airworthy for the intended flight. "

J_B

eddiemacthedog wrote: »

So dont give up and if you are prepared to forgo a % for no hassle i can recommend a company if required.

Recommend away ... please

scottishnellie

scottishnellie wrote: »

I read everything on this forum then posted on here a couple of weeks ago that I was just back 2 weeks in Turkey, flight with TC. Outbound flight was 5.5hrs delayed Glasgow to Antalya, and return flight was 5hrs delayed Antalya to Glasgow for 4 passengers each way so I sent the initial letter off claiming for both flights. I also mentioned that the same flights were 5-7hrs late every week for 3 consecutive weeks so thought less chance they could claim EC. If you can see the timeline below I'll try to explain what's happened now:

• 06/07/2013 - posted initial claim for 4 x 400 euros each way = 3200 euros
• 13/07/2013 - email rec'd acknowledging claim giving case no
• 18/07/2013 - email rec'd standard reply declining compensation for outbound flight citing 'technical issues' no mention of inbound flight
• 18/07/2013 - I emailed back asking why no mention of inbound flight and saying I would issue NBA
• 19/07/2013 - Posted NBA asking for details of technical issue for outbound flight and asking that they respond regarding inbound flight
• 20/072013 - Email rec'd offering voucher for £1406 for inbound flight, saying to phone them with bank details if I want cash instead (as I put in my initial letter not to offer me vouchers)

I'm delighted they are immediately paying out on the return flight, but I want to know whether I can accept the payment for that flight and still continue process for the other flight given they appear to have treated them as two separate claims.

Or by accepting the payment am I accepting settlement in full and giving up the right to seek the payment for the inbound flight. The email offering payment for the inbound just doesn't mention the outbound flight at all.

Any advice welcome - thanks

Following advice on here (thanks so much) I have accepted the £1406 for my inbound flight, rang TC with my bank details and rec'd an email confirming the funds will credit my account within 10 days for that flight.

I have received a reply to my request for more information on the EC Technical issues on my outbound flight which just says

On receipt of your initial claim a fullinvestigation was carried out by the airline into the circumstances surroundingthis delay. This investigation included analysis of historical maintenancedata, discussions with engineers, and a review of the activity of our otheraircraft at the time. Following this thorough process we remain confident thatthe technical fault was extraordinary and that we took all reasonable measurespossible to avoid the delay in question.

The CAA have sent me a case number and said it will take them around 8 weeks to reply. My question is really around timing now.

As I'm in Scotland I can't do an MCOL so my next step is to go to the local court and submit a Small Claims Summons.

Advice I'm looking for now is should I:

1. Wait 8 weeks for CAA to respond before doing anything else
2. Email TC back giving them my CAA case ref and asking them again for detailed info
3. Submit the Small Claims

I've read everything but can't find the answer to this so would be grateful for advice (again...)

Thanks

blondmark

scottishnellie wrote: »

Following advice on here (thanks so much) I have accepted the £1406 for my inbound flight, rang TC with my bank details and rec'd an email confirming the funds will credit my account within 10 days for that flight.

I have received a reply to my request for more information on the EC Technical issues on my outbound flight which just says

On receipt of your initial claim a fullinvestigation was carried out by the airline into the circumstances surroundingthis delay. This investigation included analysis of historical maintenancedata, discussions with engineers, and a review of the activity of our otheraircraft at the time. Following this thorough process we remain confident thatthe technical fault was extraordinary and that we took all reasonable measurespossible to avoid the delay in question.

The CAA have sent me a case number and said it will take them around 8 weeks to reply. My question is really around timing now.

As I'm in Scotland I can't do an MCOL so my next step is to go to the local court and submit a Small Claims Summons.



Advice I'm looking for now is should I:

1. Wait 8 weeks for CAA to respond before doing anything else
2. Email TC back giving them my CAA case ref and asking them again for detailed info
3. Submit the Small Claims

I've read everything but can't find the answer to this so would be grateful for advice (again...)

Thanks

None of the above. Send TC a letter before claim asking for full details backed by documentary evidence of the nature of the technical issue, and the steps they took, if any, to ensure that your flight took off as near to schedule as possible, failing which you will issue proceedings in 14 days.

Use the European Small Claims Procedure Form A, and check first that your local court is familiar with the procedure (many aren't).

lwyatt2001

eddiemacthedog wrote: »

Good news, after being constantly being told no to a claim i had against Thomas cook back in 2007, i went to one of these websites which take it on for a %.

They were on the phone yesterday saying thomas cook will not be defending in court and will post out a cheque for just over a thousand pounds, ok ill give up a percentage but a percentage of something is a
lot better than 100% of nothing!!!!

What makes it all the sweeter was we served the court papers with a day to spare before the 6 year rule. lol!!!!

So dont give up and if you are prepared to forgo a % for no hassle i can recommend a company if required.

What % company did you use please thanks in advance x

dawyldthing

I've wrote a letter from the template regarding TCX5033 from Corfu to East Midlands on 29/6/2013, should have landed at 6.25am and finally landed at 10.59 after being in a cattle shed as there were nowhere for us to go and it was like picidilly circus in there (i've travelled a lot, but never in my life seen anything like it to be honest). They said on the ground it was due to the earlier plane, which according to the flight stats it says it was scheduled to depart at 10.55pm, but set off at 3.58am, but theres no landing time for it. People said they saw the flight had arrived on time and when I went for a walk at 5am to have a look to see what was happening it had disappeared off the screen, making me think they didn't have an incoming flight and ours had to come in from elsewhere so made us wait for a different flight possibly and with whatever flight possibly being delayed made ours delayed. Theres no arrival time for the one we went in on a week before either, it was on time the week before, just seems bizarre.

Anyway I sent the letter signed for on the 11th they had the letter on the 12th July 2013 and someone has signed for it.

They e-mailed on the 18th claiming that they didn't have the details and couldn't find us on the system, even though I stapled to the letter the boarding card (do have a photocopy of it though and have found the luggage label for the flight) and also the booking confirmation I had printed off to check in.

I e-mailed back the same day with a copy of the booking on the e-mail as requested as they needed one from

1.Your confirmation invoice (from your tour operator or your travel agent)

2.Your ticket

3.Your boarding card

Patiently waiting a response as on the letter it asked for a reply in 14 days, might be to bind there time but day 14 starting again from when they e-mail will be Thursday so will be interesting what they say to be honest.

The other thing that was bizarre was that on the boarding card it said that the departure was 09:55am, as though they knew hours before, which looking on the tracker they knew hours before there would have been a 5 hour delay and had we known we could have stayed at the apartment as i'd booked it until 12pm the following day anyway as I didn't want to be out too early.

jackndaz

To Dawyldthing Quote Anyway I sent the letter signed for on the 11th they had the letter on the 12th July 2013 and someone has signed for it.

They e-mailed on the 18th claiming that they didn't have the details and couldn't find us on the system, even though I stapled to the letter the boarding card (do have a photocopy of it though and have found the luggage label for the flight) and also the booking confirmation I had printed off to check in.

I e-mailed back the same day with a copy of the booking on the e-mail as requested as they needed one from

1.Your confirmation invoice (from your tour operator or your travel agent)

2.Your ticket

3.Your boarding card

Patiently waiting a response as on the letter it asked for a reply in 14 days, might be to bind there time but day 14 starting again from when they e-mail will be Thursday so will be interesting what they say to be honest.

The other thing that was bizarre was that on the boarding card it said that the departure was 09:55am, as though they knew hours before, which looking on the tracker they knew hours before there would have been a 5 hour delay and had we known we could have stayed at the apartment as i'd booked it until 12pm the following day anyway as I didn't want to be out too early.[/QUOTE]

TC will continue to try to use the" WE CAN'T FIND YOU " on our system excuse they are once again just delaying you in the hopes that you will get fed up of waiting and just go away and from personal experience they never stick to time lines given by the person trying to claim compensation back. Good luck.

Luke1991_2

Luke1991 wrote: »

Hi,

Flight: TCX1224 London Gatwick to Enfidha Tunisia, 26.06.2013 1869km

I got back from a 10 day holiday yesterday, my outbound flight TCX1224 was delayed by 4hrs 20 minutes at departure and arrived 4hours late at Enfidha Airport, Tunisia.

We were told numerous times that it was due to a wire that needed replacing in the aircraft and that it was being driven from Luton Airport to us at Gatwick. I tried to get this in writing but apparently the check in managers don't have the resources to do this (I'm not sure how pen & paper is not available by I digress).

I've checked on flight stats and the last status is status-unknown, so I'm wondering if this is normal for flightstats? Is there any way to get more detailed information on the flight arrival? By my count it arrived at 00:45.

Jun 26 7:58 PM Time Adjustment
Estimated Gate Departure Changed To 06/26/13 10:00 PM

Jun 26 10:07 PM STATUS-Active
Actual Gate Departure Changed To 06/26/13 10:06 PM
Status Changed From Scheduled To Active

Jun 26 10:17 PM Time Adjustment
Actual Gate Departure Changed From 06/26/13 10:06 PM To 06/26/13 10:09 PM

Jun 26 10:27 PM Time Adjustment
Actual Runway Departure Changed To 06/26/13 10:14 PM

Jun 27 12:15 PM STATUS-Unknown
Status Changed From Active To Unknown

I've just recieved the following email back from Thomas Cook, the flight was delayed because there was a broken part on the plane, this is definitely not extraordinary circumstances so what is the best reply to this?

Dear Mr X

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

Initially, I would like to apologise for the disruption to your flight plans. Please be assured that a lot of work goes on behind the scenes to ensure that any delays are kept to an absolute minimum, as we do fully understand the inconvenience and frustration these can cause.

It is not always immediately apparent as to when a revised take off time can be secured and a number of factors have to be considered, which quite often rely on outside influences, such as Airport Authorities or Air Traffic Control. We do appreciate the importance of communication, and I would assure you that information is passed onto our customers as quickly as possible, through our handling agents at the airport.

Having carried out a full investigation the specific circumstances surrounding the delay to your own flight were of a technical nature. These were extraordinary, in that Thomas Cook took all reasonable precautions necessary to avoid the situation, and despite our proactive measures the problem could not have been prevented. All our aircraft are maintained to a very high standard, in line with CAA regulations, however, despite these steps, mechanical failures can arise without prior warning. These unpredictable events can be likened to those we encounter with our own cars, despite having full service histories, or MOT’s.

In line with Regulation 261/2004 a payment of compensation would not be considered applicable in this case.

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.

Kind Regards,

Daniel Malloy

Customer Relations

This correspondence is confidential, may be legally privileged and is for the intended recipient only. Access, disclosure, copying, distribution or reliance on any of it by anyone else is prohibited and may be a criminal offence. Please delete if obtained in error.

Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender, except where the sender specifically states them to be otherwise.

Airtours
Customer Relations
Tel No: 0844 8798 136
Opening Hours: 8am-10pm Mon-Sun

Airtours is a trading name of Thomas Cook Tour Operations Limited
.
Registered Office: The Thomas Cook Business Park, Coningsby Road, Peterborough, PE3 8SB
Register in England No. 3772199

blondmark

Luke1991 wrote: »

I've just recieved the following email back from Thomas Cook, the flight was delayed because there was a broken part on the plane, this is definitely not extraordinary circumstances so what is the best reply to this?

Ask for a verbatim copy of the full investigation they say they conducted to be sent to you within 14 days, failing which you will issue proceedings for the compensation due to you under EU Reg. 261/2004. Then sue.

And did you notice the disclaimer that the content of that email only reflects Daniel Malloy's views and not the views of Thomas Cook!

By the way that correspondence is not legally privileged and accessing, disclosing, copying, distributing or relying on it is not a criminal offence.

What clowns!

blondmark

jackndaz wrote: »

Patiently waiting a response as on the letter it asked for a reply in 14 days, might be to bind there time but day 14 starting again from when they e-mail will be Thursday so will be interesting what they say to be honest.

That should of course have read:

"Patiently awaiting a response as on the letter it asked for a reply in 14 days otherwise I shall issue proceedings".

It's obvious what they will say - the plane was abducted by aliens and this constitutes extraordinary circumstances for which no compensation is payable ... or similar.