Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Thomas Cook ONLY

JPears

But they can appeal to set aside......

Mummykate

What does that mean ??? Time limits are there for a reason they have had long enough like I say I'm not holding my breath

JPears

Mummykate wrote: »

What does that mean ??? Time limits are there for a reason they have had long enough like I say I'm not holding my breath

TC can appeal to have the default judgement setaside, if they provide good enough evidence to show they have a defence that may have a reaonable chance of winning.
Despite the time limits imposed, the court system doen't like default judgements and prefers that a case is heard if possible. Unfortuntely legal firms appear to abuse this constantly.

MrsW86

(Also posted on court success thread)
My husband attended a preliminary hearing today in which the judge gave a verdict in our favour. TC had admitted liability but would not comment on the interest claim and wished for the amount of interest to be determined by the court. We were awarded interest from the date of our flight to today.
Our flight was a MyTravel flight, delayed over 12 hours, they had to fly a replacement plane in from the Caribbean and then the flight crew went out of hours. Originally they claimed that they couldn't locate the flight logs and that the flight was before the merger between MyTravel and TC (however the flight was actually AFTER the merger) they subsequently claimed EC (found the flight logs???!).
When we submitted mcol they said they intended to defend...Their defence was that we hadn't provided them with proof we had been on the flight and they wouldn't comment on the interest payable but they did admit liability.
TC did not submit the mediation forms and chose not to attend the preliminary hearing (which was called to determine whether to escalate to a full hearing as tc had no real prospect of defending the claim successfully).
I don't know how helpful this will be to others as the small claims deadline has now passed for this flight, but I hope that it may assist others who were delayed on MyTravel flights and offer hope to those persuing their claim in the courts.
Just waiting for tc to send us the compensation now....
:j

CobyBenson

Congratulations MrsW86.

Did the Judge apply the full 8% for interest?

MrsW86

CobyBenson wrote: »

Congratulations MrsW86.

Did the Judge apply the full 8% for interest?

Thank you
Yes, we had calculated the interest at 8% when we put the claim in, the judge also added interest from the date we put the claim in to today

Mummykate

Congratulations : )

batman44

Davidvgoliath wrote: »

(also posted in 'Court Success Thread)

Regrettably I must report that at my small claims hearing last week, the judge found in favour of Thomas Cook.

After a three year battle for compensation I feel thoroughly let down by the system, for reason explained below.

My flight was from Calgary (Canada) to Manchester in February 2010. At no point did Thomas Cook give a proper explanation for the delay of 12 hours until I received their court bundle 14 days before the hearing. Their court bundle included witness statements from a full time EU261 investigator and their Power Plant Engineer.

What I found out was that the Airbus destined to fly passengers out to Calgary, and on which we were due to return, had been grounded on the previous flight to Cuba the day before. Long story short, there was a problem with the VSV control unit in one of the planes engines, and TC had to fly an engineer out to Cuba to fix it.

They therefore took one of their other long haul aircraft, a Boeing 767, to service the Manchester - Calgary flight. the problem was though that the second crew waiting in Calgary were not qualified to fly the Boeing back to Manchester, because TC don't cross train their flight crews. The crew that flew the plane out therefore had to rest for 12 hours before flying back.

Also in the court bundle was the 'preliminary list of extraordinary circumstances' released a few weeks before by various NEB's.

In the hearing, I argued that the technical fault could not be relied upon under the Wallentin-Hermann judgement. However the judge seemed to place great importance in number 24 of the aforementioned list, despite my repeated protestations that this was not yet law, and WH was.

As a secondary defence, TC were looking to try and get the case thrown out by arguing that Graham v Thomas Cook meant I was not entitled to take the matter to court, but of course we never got that far.

I feel bitterly let down by the judge. In my view, she clearly had not read any of the material I had sent her (the same material Thomas Cook sent by the way, so she had it twice), particularly the WH judgement.

TC sent a barrister, who by the way handed me a skeleton argument minutes before we went into court. Also present were the investigator and the engineer (their top power plant engineer), all of whom had to come over from Manchester.

So, my conclusion. I feel the law let me down, but I have the satisfaction that I was a complete pain in the rear to TC for three years. Also, my guess is that it cost them far, far more to defend the case than the 600 euros x 2 I originally claimed, and I lost about £150, which I can easily afford. And I tied up several of their people in court/travel/preparing lengthy witness statements and other material for long periods of time, which gives me some measure of satisfaction.

Would I do it again? Yes, in a heartbeat. It was an interesting exercise, and I learnt a great deal, and I let TC know that their 'customers' will not be treated with the contempt they clearly showed, and WE WILL FIGHT BACK FOR OUR RIGHTS.

Oh, and as others have observed, I will never, ever travel with TC again, and I have told dozens of people about their shoddy treatment, so ultimately, their loss. We alone take 4 holidays a year, mostly long haul, so their loss through the coming years is greater than mine.

Ultimately, it is my view that TC might be out of the long grass, but they will never survive with their contemptuous attitude for their customers rights.

I would like to thank all those on this forum for their invaluable advice and encouragement, particularly Centipede100.

If anyone is reading this contemplating litigation, please, please dont give up. The odds are on your side and may you have every success.

I think you should appeal this under section 8 civil law procedure, the DJ should only do a ruling on the law, nothing else matters. Check also the MEL list for your aircraft, all airlines have this, go - nogo items and whats covered for a flight to carry on or not.

batman44

I would also suggest anyone claiming to put the time and effort in and you will find all the info you need to help you. Claims are not given to you easy you need to work on your claim. Only my suggestion as I have found a wealth on info i did not know and a few eyebrow raisers. My case is moving along nicely.

batman44

Here is the info on civil law section 8,

In a case where dispute about the facts is not the main
issue, because both parties agree on what happened, the
court might still need to make a decision about what the
law is in a particular case, to understand which party
is ‘legally right’. In this scenario your claim needs to be
issued under Part 8. Part 8 also lists specific types of cases
which have to be covered by that rule. If your case is one
of these, then use Form N208.
Part 7 proceedings are for all other civil disputes. You can
get both forms, as well as a range of others for various
civil legal disputes here:
www.justice.gov.uk/courts/
procedure-rules/civil/forms

Also anyone taking a case to court will find this very useful.

http://www.barcouncil.org.uk/instructing-a-barrister/representing-yourself-in-court/