Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Tui/Thomson ONLY

pcyuljr

I thought this may prove informative of my ongoing experience of the claim process, providing timescales etc. It relates to a 12 hour delay from 2011 - Manchester to Orlando.

Timeline of Compensation Request.

November 19th 2012: Initial compensation letter request to Thomson

December 21st 2012: Complaint submission forms received from Thomson.

January 2013: Complaint submission forms completed and sent to Thomson. (I didn't have the boarding card to attach but I realised this was just a ploy to put people off. Who on earth keeps that small piece of card for 6 years?)

April 2013: E-mails sent to Thomson requesting an update. No reply.

April 2013: Phone call to Thomson requesting an update. Told claim has been received and is pending.

April 15th 2013: Phone call received from Thomson stating that the compensation request has been rejected due to the delay being a result of a bird strike to the incoming aircraft.

April 2013: Online complaint to to Civil Aviation Authority to appeal the rejection.

(Has anybody else used the online CAA system? All advice I have read on the forum talks about sending a letter, but the website states a preference for the online submission, which provides a handy reference number also)

Vauban

pcyuljr wrote: »

(Has anybody else used the online CAA system? All advice I have read on the forum talks about sending a letter, but the website states a preference for the online submission, which provides a handy reference number also)

I wrote to the CAA months ago. Have heard nothing, but gather it takes a very, very long time. I have started legal action, since the CAA are unlikely to be able to do anything anyway (they haven't stopped Monarch, for example, misrepresenting the CAA's own guidance in Monarch's claims form, or stopped Monarch from unilaterally reducing by half all claims between 3 to 4 hours late. So why trust the CAA to hold the airlines to account. I've seen limited evidence of them doing so.)

catoutthebag

NBA ADVICE

After 3 telephone prompts, I received a letter from Thomson just shy of 56days

Delayed 4+ hours UNDER TWO YEARS ago. The flight was initially slightly delayed and FURTHER DELAYED when it picked up other passenger from a nearby EU airport. Seeking 400 euro x2

CLEARLY NOT EC

Thomson have replied:

It was a 'rescue flight' to pick up these other passengers and 'unexpected flight safety shortcoming' after a technical fault that would not have not been discovered routinely.

Now, CLEARLY it is not EC. There was no problem with our flight & there was nothing stopping them deploying another aircraft from picking up the other passengers which experienced technical problems with THEIR flight.

Question: apart from writing my NBA saying that ^ (and bypassing caa), what other laws/guidance should I be quoting please?

Will be getting a letter sent this weekend

markavo1

catoutthebag wrote: »

NBA ADVICE

After 3 telephone prompts, I received a letter from Thomson just shy of 56days

Delayed 4+ hours UNDER TWO YEARS ago. The flight was initially slightly delayed and FURTHER DELAYED when it picked up other passenger from a nearby EU airport. Seeking 400 euro x2

CLEARLY NOT EC

Thomson have replied:

It was a 'rescue flight' to pick up these other passengers and 'unexpected flight safety shortcoming' after a technical fault that would not have not been discovered routinely.

Now, CLEARLY it is not EC. There was no problem with our flight & there was nothing stopping them deploying another aircraft from picking up the other passengers which experienced technical problems with THEIR flight.

Question: apart from writing my NBA saying that ^ (and bypassing caa), what other laws/guidance should I be quoting please?

Will be getting a letter sent this weekend

have a look at Finnair v Timy Lassooy. this case effectively states that extraordinary circumstances suffered by a set of passengers on a one flight, cannot be transferred to a set of passengers on another flight, just because the airline makes a business decision to try and ease the inconvenience. its a direct ruling on 261/04 and so thomson really do not have a leg to stand on.

markavo1

Vauban wrote: »

I wrote to the CAA months ago. Have heard nothing, but gather it takes a very, very long time. I have started legal action, since the CAA are unlikely to be able to do anything anyway (they haven't stopped Monarch, for example, misrepresenting the CAA's own guidance in Monarch's claims form, or stopped Monarch from unilaterally reducing by half all claims between 3 to 4 hours late. So why trust the CAA to hold the airlines to account. I've seen limited evidence of them doing so.)

don't know why people keep bothering with the CAA. they are unable to force thomson to pay compensation. court action is the only way forward

pcyuljr

markavo1 wrote: »

don't know why people keep bothering with the CAA. they are unable to force thomson to pay compensation. court action is the only way forward

Because when at court it is very useful to show you have taken all necessary actions before getting there. Courts are not big fans of people going there direct, they prefer you to have jumped through every hoop and use them as a last resort.

It shouldn't matter, but perception is a useful tool to have when fighting a big corporation.

Also, by the courts having to effectively be an Airline regulator it may show to others the CAA to be a toothless tiger and lead to legislation which provides them with a bit more muscle.

mboo29

Slowly losing the will here folks!!!!

So, I went to my local Sheriff Court in Scotland today armed with my completed forms and my evidence, only to be shot down in flames when they told me they have never even seen these forms or heard of this before.


They just handed me the normal small claims forms and said these had to be filled in. Has anyone else filed a small claim in Scotland against Thomson - don't want to let these bampots get away with what they're doing!!

nm88

Living in Scotland, am I right in thinking I can proceed with my Small Claims Case against Thomson via the Sheriff Court using form 1b?

scotcourts dot gov dot uk/taking-action/small-claims

edit: just saw the posts above - seems like form 1b is the way to go then, will have a proper look at filling it out correctly this evening!

poplar

Has anyone been successful with their claim against Thomson?

I posted a claim last week to Thomson still awaiting a reply,we were delayed outward 11.5 hours to Dominican then on return delayed 13.5 hours.

catoutthebag

markavo1 wrote: »

have a look at Finnair v Timy Lassooy. this case effectively states that extraordinary circumstances suffered by a set of passengers on a one flight, cannot be transferred to a set of passengers on another flight, just because the airline makes a business decision to try and ease the inconvenience. its a direct ruling on 261/04 and so thomson really do not have a leg to stand on.

Thanks for that I'll look into it