Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Thomas Cook ONLY

dunkertruck

hi, long time reader and now just joined and I would love to hear your opinion on what you would do in our predicament.


I'll give the short version.

1.
We claimed in July 2014 about our delayed flight from MAN-Sharm back in July 2010. The flight was delayed for 5hrs 45mins.

2.
Thomas Cook obviously rejected the claim and gave the following reasons.
"A full investigation has been carried out to find out what the cause of the delay was and from that we can see that the flight was delayed due to unexpected safety issues. Our Engineering and Operations Teams took all reasonable steps to minimise the delay and despite our routine maintenance schedules, which comply with CAA regulations, and the manufacturers recommendations, the problem could not have been prevented.

On this occasion under EU Regulation 261/2004 compensation would not be payable. "


3.
So we then wrote back asking for the specific unexpected safety issue and to our surprise they got back to us and told us.
The exact reason the flight was delayed was that damage was sustained to the nose wheel well area as well as dents under Door 2. The delay was compounded by the fact that a Boeing repair scheme had to be obtained and approved before sheet metal work and HFEC tests could begin.


4.
We appealed to the CAA with all our information we had accrued and after a short delay we received this reply dated 9th October 2014.. which is before the Huzar decision obviously:-
We have reviewed the information available to us in accordance with new guidelines clarifying the “extraordinary circumstances” exception of EC Regulation 261/2004.

It appears from the information provided that the airline cannot rely on the “extraordinary circumstances” exception from the Regulation to refuse to pay compensation. It is our considered view that the airline have not taken appropriate measures to avoid and or minimise the disruption. As such, in our opinion, the disruption to your flight is of a type which means that the airline should pay compensation.

We have given our view to the airline and have asked them to pay compensation to you as required in EC Regulation 261/2004


5.
We then received the email yesterday that I presume all other compensation seekers received which stated:-
Due to the high workload that we are currently experiencing we want to apologise for any delay in coming back to you with a further update. We will try to reduce the time you have to wait to hear from us again to acceptable levels as quickly as possible.

We are very sorry that your flight was delayed. As soon as we have fully investigated the reasons why, we will be back in touch.

____________________________________________________________

So, we were basically wondering if we should proceed through the Scottish Court system as we had intended to do (We were going to submit this in January 2015 once Christmas was over)

or

do we do as they have requested in the email we received yesterday and just sit back and wait till they re-assess our claim and make us an offer?

Thanks
D

batman44

razorsedge wrote: »

This is how the hearing went last December:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/64064188#Comment_64064188

Not much has changed yet since (but I know how to alter that)

Thanks for that, what was the judges name? Mine will be in Manchester.

batman44

dunkertruck wrote: »

hi, long time reader and now just joined and I would love to hear your opinion on what you would do in our predicament.


I'll give the short version.

1.
We claimed in July 2014 about our delayed flight from MAN-Sharm back in July 2010. The flight was delayed for 5hrs 45mins.

2.
Thomas Cook obviously rejected the claim and gave the following reasons.
"A full investigation has been carried out to find out what the cause of the delay was and from that we can see that the flight was delayed due to unexpected safety issues. Our Engineering and Operations Teams took all reasonable steps to minimise the delay and despite our routine maintenance schedules, which comply with CAA regulations, and the manufacturers recommendations, the problem could not have been prevented.

On this occasion under EU Regulation 261/2004 compensation would not be payable. "


3.
So we then wrote back asking for the specific unexpected safety issue and to our surprise they got back to us and told us.
The exact reason the flight was delayed was that damage was sustained to the nose wheel well area as well as dents under Door 2. The delay was compounded by the fact that a Boeing repair scheme had to be obtained and approved before sheet metal work and HFEC tests could begin.


4.
We appealed to the CAA with all our information we had accrued and after a short delay we received this reply within the last 4 weeks.. which is before the Huzar decision obviously:-
We have reviewed the information available to us in accordance with new guidelines clarifying the “extraordinary circumstances” exception of EC Regulation 261/2004.

It appears from the information provided that the airline cannot rely on the “extraordinary circumstances” exception from the Regulation to refuse to pay compensation. It is our considered view that the airline have not taken appropriate measures to avoid and or minimise the disruption. As such, in our opinion, the disruption to your flight is of a type which means that the airline should pay compensation.

We have given our view to the airline and have asked them to pay compensation to you as required in EC Regulation 261/2004


5.
We then received the email yesterday that I presume all other compensation seekers received which stated:-
Due to the high workload that we are currently experiencing we want to apologise for any delay in coming back to you with a further update. We will try to reduce the time you have to wait to hear from us again to acceptable levels as quickly as possible.

We are very sorry that your flight was delayed. As soon as we have fully investigated the reasons why, we will be back in touch.



So, we were basically wondering if we should proceed through the Scottish Court system as we had intended to do (We were going to submit this in January 2015 once Christmas was over)

or

do we do as they have requested in the email we received yesterday and just sit back and wait till they re-assess our claim and make us an offer?

Thanks
D

You have a claim, if you have already contacted them the it's time for a NBA letter to put the pressure on. They should and have had plenty of time to get ready for this. Just beacuse they are very busy with claims is their own fault for not paying up in the first place. Put it in soon as don't wait as this will take 28 day to expire anyway. See Vaubans guide for more detailed instructions.

dunkertruck

many thanks Batman44... i will look at that Claim Guide later at home as the link to the orangedox item is seemingly banned through our work server.

Mark2spark

batman44 wrote: »

TC are telling the court untruths about the cause of the delay, I know exactly what it was but not told them yet, how do I confirm from TC what the real cause was? The way I see it I will need to argue with them about the real cause and produce my evidence, just wondering if this will be a pre hearing or on the day.

Surely TC have included an 'Events Log' in their bundle? Which if your info is correct, the log will contradict itself.
Which you then ask the judge to throw out if it's a concoction

batman44

Mark2spark wrote: »

Surely TC have included an 'Events Log' in their bundle? Which if your info is correct, the log will contradict itself.
Which you then ask the judge to throw out if it's a concoction

It's gone to the judge to set a hearing date, nothing has been exchanged yet but from their preliminary defence it is hog wash. I have not told them what I know, I am waiting for them to tell me so i can rebuff the rubbish.

Vauban

It's hilarious when they tie themselves in knots and their own evidence contradicts what they've said elsewhere - often in a signed statement. Don't be surprised though if they change their story - but do point out all the inconsistencies to the judge, as it all impacts on their credibility.

kasia0707

I have today been awarded compensation for the flight delay but they have said i am only entitled to 400 euros and we had 24 hours delay and before I was told 600 euros, where do I stand? email attached:

Following your recent enquiry about your flight and previous claim with Thomas Cook Airlines, we have now reviewed your claim for flight TCX027L.

Thank you for your patience whilst we have looked into this for you.

As you are aware, the previous investigation revealed that the cause of the delay was as a result of a technical fault which was not inherent in the normal course of activity.

A recent Supreme Court decision in the case of Huzar vs Jet2.com, has resulted in a change to how EC Regulation 261/2004 is interpreted. This is the Regulation that provides for compensation payments for flight delays. The decision of the Supreme Court now stipulates that a number of technical incidents leading to flight delays can no longer be classified as extraordinary circumstances. This is different to previous guidance from the CAA and other national enforcement bodies.

Following this review, under EU Regulation 261/2004 compensation is payable for your claim. I have arranged for a voucher to the value of £2616.00 to be sent to you to use on your next holiday. This equates to 400€ per person as outlined in the Regulation.

Due to the high workload that we are currently experiencing, we want to apologies for any delays in issuing the compensation for your claim. You will receive the compensation within 28 days.

Once again, please accept our apologies for the delay to your flight. The on-time performance of your flight is as important to us as it is to you, and I’m really sorry that you were delayed. We look forward to welcoming you back soon.

NoviceAngel

Depends on the distance to your destination up to 3500km then €400 over 3500km €600.

See Vaubans guide for further info, if they are wrong - then go back to them, but hey £2616 is a good result, - so far!

dunkertruck

I see that £2616 is a voucher to use on a next holiday... I thought (maybe wrongly) that it was €600 per person and that it was compensation rather than a "come back on holiday with us" type thing?