Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Thomas Cook ONLY

Beanie46

They were horridly dismissive until I took them to Court. As soon as the Court hearing date was set they caved in. Got all my court costs back too.

Notgoingaway

Beanie46 wrote: »

They were horridly dismissive until I took them to Court. As soon as the Court hearing date was set they caved in. Got all my court costs back too.

Hi well done! please would you post more details about your flight and excuses! I think it helps others claiming too :j

icy75

They are abusing the court system to try and put people off claiming, its about time the regulators took charge of this ridiculous situation.

chili2001

Centipede100 wrote: »

I disagree. Airlines are as entitled to try to defend their position as much as passengers are entitled to bring a claim

There is no regulator to turn to in disputes over 261/2004. Please don't confuse the work of the CAA as National Enforcement Body for the UK with that of a regulator, the 2 are somewhat different.

That's a strange attitude considering you started this thread!
I agree that the airlines have every right to defend claims against them but in their eyes 99% of these claims they see as EC and automatically reject. Then the delay and time wasting starts. If they want to treat their own customers like that then that's one thing, but to purposely waste the courts time is something else. There SHOULD be someone to say enough is enough and sort them out.
The CAA might not be a regulator but they still have the power to sort out the airlines if they wanted to by bringing their own prosecutions but prefer to turn a blind eye.

merlin31

Centipede100 wrote: »

You might care to include the date of this flight since it is likely to operate on several days per week across several months each year and over several years!

I would use either Peterboro or Bradford since TC seem to acknowledge that both can be used.

Your claim will be allocated to your local county court.

Woops! Thanks Centipede.

For information, this is how Thomas Cook have treated the case so far:

1 TC could not trace our booking.
2 I provided tickets
3 TC said flight was not delayed for the qualifying period
4 I provided flight stats
5 TC said there was a technical fault and it was extraordinary, they were closing my case and referred me to CAA.
6 I asked why it was extraordinary (3 times) no reply. Also asked who I should report the case to as CAA not correct, still no reply. (I do know who to report it to, just wanting TC to tell me the correct address)! All this originally came from 'Customer Relations' and now, silence from 'Customer Relations'.

What actually happened:-

Half the passengers were allowed to board with no luggage because the brakes were not working and there was a problem with weight. Half the passengers could not travel until the following day while the other half were over 3 hours late arriving in Birmingham minus their luggage. If TC didn't get enough volunteers to stay on it would have been a random selection meaning any party travelling together would have been split up. Thankfully they received sufficient volunteers.

Final question, do I put a court form in for both parties or do we do it separately? There was only one payment to TC but two passengers affected. I just don't want anything thrown out before we begin.

merlin31

Should read 22 June 2012 (TCX4113)

morgana

I am going to post the NBA this morning and have emailed my 'contact' at TC with a copy. As I always add a Read receipt, I know they have actually read that email.
Will keep the forum updated with progress, or lack of.

Thanks all (especially Centipede for FAQs and letter template ) for your help so far.

DTDfanBoy

Centipede100 wrote: »

I disagree. Airlines are as entitled to try to defend their position as much as passengers are entitled to bring a claim

There is no regulator to turn to in disputes over 261/2004. Please don't confuse the work of the CAA as National Enforcement Body for the UK with that of a regulator, the 2 are somewhat different.

And that is where the problem lies, the regulation places enforcement at the hands of the CAA, yet the CAA are extremely reluctant to act as regulator :mad:

Article 16



Infringements



1. Each Member State shall designate a body responsible for

the enforcement of this Regulation as regards flights from

airports situated on its territory and flights from a third

country to such airports. Where appropriate, this body shall

take the measures necessary to ensure that the rights of passengers

are respected. The Member States shall inform the

Commission of the body that has been designated in accordance

with this paragraph.

2. Without prejudice to Article 12, each passenger may

complain to any body designated under paragraph 1, or to any

other competent body designated by a Member State, about an

alleged infringement of this Regulation at any airport situated

on the territory of a Member State or concerning any flight

from a third country to an airport situated on that territory.

3. The sanctions laid down by Member States for infringements

of this Regulation shall be effective, proportionate and

dissuasive.




As the CAA does virtually nothing in regards to EU 261/2004, especially in regards to paragraph three, the courts are the only source of recourse left open. I've seen numerous posts on here that involved the CAA finding the airline in question liable, but the airline has simply ignored the findings which has meant the affected party has had no option but to walk away or take the airline to court.

The proposed amendments to the regulation place even more responsibilities on the NEB's in question. In particular the proposed article 16a which is entitled

Passenger claims and complaints

At some point the fact that this regulation is being almost completely ignored by the parties it is designed to regulate will be have to be addressed. I seem to recall the figure of either 5% or .5% being used to identify the percentage of passengers who actually receive the compensation they are due, so in at least 95% of cases the regulation is not enforced.

Hopefully the European commission will step in and take member states to task, the regulation makes it clear that national enforcement bodies should be ensuring compliance not the courts, this simply isn't happening at present.

merlin31

Centipede100 wrote: »

So which half were you in, those delayed for 3 hrs or those who flew the following day, it makes a big difference to your claim.

Delayed for over 3 hours and no luggage for 5 days - suitcase damaged and had to throw away. Took pictures of case, TC will have nothing to do with it and referred us to our insurance company of which we have to stand the first £70 of each claim - which is what the case cost.

waxbill

My delay was 4.5 hours this year. I sent in my initial claim and received the 'even cars break down. . . not our fault' response.
I sent a reply this morning asking them to give details of the reason for the delay. I didn't give a time frame for a reply.
Is it likely they will come up with any details or should I just issue a LBA letter and go to court?
Thank you