Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Tui/Thomson ONLY

tonxy22

blondmark wrote: »

Although that wouldn't be the end of the claim. When a claimant realises they've sued an incorrect party, they make (and pay for) an Application to substitute the defendant with the correct party, which is normally approved. Then the claimant crosses out the incorrect party in red and substitutes that name with the correct party, also in red

!!!!!! - this has me worried now...

I noticed yesterday that the 6 year anniversay of my flight delay is early this week and therefore time is of the essence. Thomson have been dealying and stalling with the 2 year cut-off response probably hoping I would lapse over this time limit so I bit the bullet and filed on MCOL for the amount owing. However, distracted by the big TUI logo on the top of their letters and flustered by the realisation on the time limit I filed the claim against TUI - although I do mention Thomson in brackets in the particulars

as per below:

"I am claiming compensation for myself and my
wife under Article 7 of EC 261/2004, pursuant
to the Sturgeon judgment in the ECJ (Case
C-402/07 of 19 November 2009), which provides
for €400 (£340) per passenger to be paid in
the following circumstances.
These were that TUI (Thomson)delayed our
flight from Manchester to Santorini (Thira)
at 08.30 on 14/06/2007 by 6 hours.
Despite writing to TUI on two occasions
since this event, most recently on 19 March
2013 with a final notice before action, they
declined to respond to my request for
compensation.
I will provide the defendant with separate
detailed particulars within 14 days after
service of the claim form.
The claimant claims interest under section 69
of the County Courts Act 1984 at the rate of
8% a year from 14/06/2007 to 08/06/2013 on
£680.00 and also interest at the same rate
up to the date of judgment or earlier payment
at a daily rate of £0.14."

Any suggestions on whether I should I amend this claim officially to Thomson??

Vauban

tonxy22 wrote: »

!!!!!! - this has me worried now...

I noticed yesterday that the 6 year anniversay of my flight delay is early this week and therefore time is of the essence. ... Any suggestions on whether I should I amend this claim officially to Thomson??

Blondmark can better advise than I can, but if you haven't issued proceedings against the right company then I would reissue the MCOL tomorrow before you are timed out.

tonxy22

Vauban wrote: »

Blondmark can better advise than I can, but if you haven't issued proceedings against the right company then I would reissue the MCOL tomorrow before you are timed out.

Thanks for your response

Excuse my ignorance on this - never had to do this before!!

By re-issue you mean pay another £60?? I don't know what you mean by timed out also??

Vauban

tonxy22 wrote: »

Thanks for your response

Excuse my ignorance on this - never had to do this before!!

By re-issue you mean pay another £60?? I don't know what you mean by timed out also??

You must initiate court proceedings against the airline before the sixth anniversary of your flight - otherwise you are "timed out": you won't be able to pursue the matter in the court.

You have started proceedings against Tui - whom I suspect are not the right defendant. What I am not sure about is if they defend the action on the basis that they are not the appropriate defendants (but Thompson Airways are), whether you can transfer the action to another party (given you'll be beyond the six year point from them).

Unless someone here can give you an assurance that having started the action you can transfer it to another party if necessary (even if you are "out of time") I would personally restart the MCOL and name the right defendant.

PM Blondmark for some urgent advice!

stavros42

tonxy22 wrote: »

Thanks for your response

Excuse my ignorance on this - never had to do this before!!

By re-issue you mean pay another £60?? I don't know what you mean by timed out also??

If I were you (seeing as time is of the essence) I would issue a new claim against Thomson Airways as I don't think you would have enough time to amend your original one.

blondmark

You haven't said which party you put under the 'Defendant' box on the claim form. If it isn't 'Thomson Airways Ltd' (or at the very least just 'Thomson Airways') then you should consider vacating the action (with TUI's consent) and reissuing it immediately in the correct name if timing is so tight that your right to sue will lapse in a few days.

Yes that would be another £60, but an application to substitute the defendant will take time and will cost £40, and will most likely take you out of time for bringing any action which may well result in the whole £100 being wasted.

I would bite the bullet, pay the £60 again and get it issued against the correct party today.

spaceaarvark

I got a date for a court hearing this morning, but was surprised by the wording:

"The claim is listed for a conciliation appointment... At this appointment the District Judge will explore with the parties whether the case is capable of agreement or whether the issues between the parties can be narrowed. In the event that the case is not resolved at the conciliation appointment, further directions will be given for witness statements and the disclosure of documents."

Is this normal? I did not elect for mediation (and I do not think that a conciliation appointment with the Judge is the same as mediation).
And does this mean that, if Thomson put up a fight, we will have to come back again at a later date, or would it mean that we get to go through the rest of the palaver there and then?

I will, of course, turn up fully prepared in any event!

tonxy22

blondmark wrote: »

You haven't said which party you put under the 'Defendant' box on the claim form. If it isn't 'Thomson Airways Ltd' (or at the very least just 'Thomson Airways') then you should consider vacating the action (with TUI's consent) and reissuing it immediately in the correct name if timing is so tight that your right to sue will lapse in a few days.

Yes that would be another £60, but an application to substitute the defendant will take time and will cost £40, and will most likely take you out of time for bringing any action which may well result in the whole £100 being wasted.

I would bite the bullet, pay the £60 again and get it issued against the correct party today.

I had put TUI in the defendent box so I'll get the first one cancelled and get a new one re-issued!

Thanks for your help!

christopherc9214

hi sorry if I am posting this wrong but never posted before.
My problem is that I was on a flight from Tenerife to Manchester in april after much waiting around in the airport the pilot came to tell us that there was a technical fault with the plane (problem with a hydraulic hose) we were then sent to a hotel for the night and went on a flight the next day 22hrs late. I sent Thomson a letter (a template from the net)Thomson have replied with a 5 page letter explaining why they are not paying compensation citing "unexpected flight safety shortcoming " arising from the discovery of a technical defect that doesn't fall into the category of something that was or ought to have been discovered during routine maintenance.
I have searched everywhere to see if this does indeed fall into extraordinary circumstances but it would seem this is a very grey area.
any help greatly appreciated
thank you

111KAB

christopherc9214 wrote: »

I have searched everywhere to see if this does indeed fall into extraordinary circumstances but it would seem this is a very grey area.
any help greatly appreciated
thank you

Sorry to disagree but a technical fault is not an extraordinary circumstance and is therefore not a grey area. I'm afraid it looks like you will have to submit your own court claim, use a no win no fee firm or forget it.