Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Tui/Thomson ONLY

razorsedge

peteban wrote: »

Hi well i was just following the guide lines which you say complain to the countrys governing body if you get fobbed off by the airline i was delayed 6 hours 37 mins from larnaca to manchester in may 2011 i used the template and tomoson respond with has to be two years or they wont consider

Have a read of this thread
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4489367

JND1310

Hi all,

My flight TOM1256 from Edinburgh (EDI) to Tenerife South (TFS) was delayed 8 hours on 15th January 2013. The flight was due to depart at 18:10 on 15/01/13 but did not depart until 2:18am on 16/01/13.

Thomson are playing the EC card based on weather conditions and the CAA have also rejected my claim (probably taking what Thomson are saying at face value). HOWEVER, the weather at EDI and TFS was completely fine on the 15th. Unfortunately for me, there was a huge amount of snow later in the week (roughly from 18th onwards) which caused mass travel disruption and Thomson are using this as their excuse.

My flight was due in from Tenerife (no snow there ofcourse) and the weather at the departure airport Edinburgh was dry/cloudy.

On arrival at Edinburgh on the 15th the staff there had been aware of the delay from around 10am that morning. There was an indication that our delay was caused by the closure of Norwich Airport due to snow. Our flight was NOT due in from Norwich.

From my own investigations it would appear that there was supposed to be a flight from Norwich to Tenerife on 14/01/13. This had to be re-scheduled to the 15/01/13 due to a technical fault. When passengers returned to Norwich on 15th the flight was then cancelled as Norwich were unable to cope with the weather conditions. I believe this particular aircraft was SUPPOSED to fly from Norwich to Tenerife on the 14th, stay grounded over night to the 15th, depart to Edinburgh on 15th around noon and then go from Edinburgh to Tenerife at 18:10.

This being the case (I'm almost 100% certain) then our delay was caused by a knock on effect from the original aircraft being grounded on the 14th. Our delay appears to be far too removed (in my eyes) for them to succeed on their EC argument.

I am gathering evidence to proceed with this in court however, Thomson are playing hardball and simply will not tell me anything. I have requested the release of information via the Freedom of Information Act and still nothing. I would be grateful for anyone's thoughts/comments/suggestions.

David_e

JND1310 wrote: »

I am gathering evidence to proceed with this in court however, Thomson are playing hardball and simply will not tell me anything. I have requested the release of information via the Freedom of Information Act and still nothing. I would be grateful for anyone's thoughts/comments/suggestions.

FoI applies to public bodies so you'll get nothing from Thomson. They'll only open up when you get to court.

If you haven't already, can you find information from flightstats about other departures from Edinburgh that day? As you suggest, weather is only a possible defence for the flight concerned.

JND1310

Centipede100 wrote: »

You have been most thorough in your research.

Unless weather directly impacted the operation of your flight then Thomson do not have a valid defence based on 'knock on' effects of weather disrupting other flights.

Either take the DIY option of starting a legal claim or hand it to a NWNF firm to handle for you. You might like to read the FAQs on page 1 of this thread if going the DIY route.

Thank you for such a quick response. I have been working on this for over a year now. Very disappointed with CAA but as with most Gov agencies they are likely to be understaffed and over-worked. I reckon they have settled for whatever misleading information Thomson have decided to provide. Thomson are certainly not putting all their cards on the table.

I have read the FAQ's on many occasions and found them most helpful :-) I will be raising my claim DIY in Scotland and unfortunately for Thomson I am soon to be a trainee solicitor so I see raising the small claim as good practice and really won't let it go.

I am horrified at how poorly they treat consumers in this situation and if I didn't have any legal experience I would have thrown in the towel by now. I even received one of their standard replies stating that my delay was caused by a 'reactionary' - I had to look it up and basically it means political unrest. Perhaps the person who filled in the template had just dealt with an Egypt flight delay, who knows! This was clearly an error before they returned to their bad weather argument (without even acknowledging their mistake). I was pretty furious, they certainly don't always deal with cases on an individual or personal basis. Rant over!

Thanks again for your help :-)

JND1310

David_e wrote: »

FoI applies to public bodies so you'll get nothing from Thomson. They'll only open up when you get to court.

If you haven't already, can you find information from flightstats about other departures from Edinburgh that day? As you suggest, weather is only a possible defence for the flight concerned.

Thank you for your reply.

I realise that now but at the time I was clutching at straws and getting frustrated at Thomson withholding information.

I have been in contact with Edinburgh airport and they confirm that on the 15/01/13 the airport was open and fully operational. They have said that there were some minor diversions due to fog in Aberdeen. It was also staff at Edinburgh who confirmed that the flight was due in from Tenerife and that the Tenerife flight had been cancelled. The main battle I face is in relation to information.

I am having difficulty with flightstats for Edinburgh on 15/01/13 - perhaps it is too far back?

JND1310

Centipede100 wrote: »

It seems as if you are made of the right stuff to take this on!

Let us know if you need anything specific.

Haha, well we shall see, it's a daunting thought and no doubt my legs will be like jelly when the day comes. I am determined but I don't have alot of what I would consider solid information. One of the main things I am struggling with is proving that the aircraft at Norwich is the same aircraft which should have served our EDI to TFS flight the day after. This is information that Thomson hold but have never confirmed. If anyone knows how I can obtain in black and white something that states:
"Flight TOM5180 from Norwich to Tenerife (14th) then becomes flight TOM1257 from Tenerife to Edinburgh (15th am) which then subsequently becomes flight TOM1256 from Edinburgh to Tenerife (15th pm)" that would be particularly helpful!

David_e

JND1310 wrote: »

I realise that now but at the time I was clutching at straws and getting frustrated at Thomson withholding information.

Sounds like them clutching at straws in my view. They aren't obliged to give you information until you take them to court so I wouldn't get too wound up over that.

JND1310 wrote: »

I have been in contact with Edinburgh airport and they confirm that on the 15/01/13 the airport was open and fully operational. They have said that there were some minor diversions due to fog in Aberdeen. It was also staff at Edinburgh who confirmed that the flight was due in from Tenerife and that the Tenerife flight had been cancelled.

So basically there is no evidence your flight was unable to depart due to weather problems, in which case they appear to have no defence.

JND1310 wrote: »

The main battle I face is in relation to information.

You appear to have a strong set of circumstances so they are the ones who have to provide evidence to rebut your claim that the delay wasn't caused by weather problems and that EC didn't exist.

JND1310 wrote: »

I am having difficulty with flightstats for Edinburgh on 15/01/13 - perhaps it is too far back?

It goes way back as far as I recall. I just used it the once for my flight which was more than 5 years previous at the time. Anyway, I'm not sure you need anything else based on what you have said.


If I was you, I would just get the legal action started (NBA first, of course).

Caz3121

JND1310 wrote: »

I am having difficulty with flightstats for Edinburgh on 15/01/13 - perhaps it is too far back?

you need to log in first - flightstats goes back many years

ClaireMC

droylie wrote: »

Dear all

I posted on the main forum but just to let you know that I was due to go to court last Thursday and Thomson agreed to settle out of court for a delay from 2010. Thomson agreed 400 euros each (2 of us) and court costs. My ex-husband is a barrister and he did the claim for me and I am happy to email anyone a copy (it quite lengthy).

This was despite Thomson saying it was 'extraordinary' circumstances (it wasn't) and lying over the distance from Manchester to Palma (to try and get the lower amount). My case was put on hold in 2010 but I didn't give up!

Kerrie :beer:

Hi Kerrie - PM'd you too would love to see the copy please - Claire

legal_magpie

Vauban wrote: »

You will want to remove you email address before it is picked up by a spambot ...

Almost certainly too late
JJ