Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Tui/Thomson ONLY

JPears

CEDR is an adjudication service.
Whilst legally trained, we have seen a recent case where it would appear that the adjudicator was clearly wrong on a fundamental aspect of the regulation and therefore the law.
Fortunately you are still able to follow the legal process if you have a valid case and an ADR fails you.

ClaireB73

Hi
Back in July 2016 my flight from Bristol to santorini was delayed 21 hours, booked with Thomson, I’ve had a few responses saying they are dealing with my enquiry but have not had no responses from them now for 12 months???

Caz3121

Thomson thread is here http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4384699
I suggest you also search for Vauban's Guide (google) grab a coffee and have a read

ClaireB73

Thank you x

gregb

Hi everyone. New to the forum so will try to make this as short as possible.
7 of my family including myself went to Majorca last September 2017 (6 adults, 1 child). This was a package holiday booked with Thomson. The flight however was with Volotea and flew from our local airport in Southend Essex. The holiday was for 7 days.
The flight was supposed to leave at 11am, but because of a technical issue with the aircraft we never got in the air until 7.30pm that evening. I'm not exaggerating by saying that it was one of the most stressful days I have ever encountered. We never got to the hotel in Majorca until midnight when we should of been there by 2pm.
The next day I lodged a complaint to the Thomson rep. This, I was told could take up to 2 months to be acknowledged. She also stated that it wasn't really Thomson's fault and although I would be eligible for compensation I would have to claim through Volotea, even though I never booked the flight with them? I decided to contact Volotea also and they told me that it was not them who was responsible for compensation but Thomson. I decided to wait and see what Thomson replied and after 2 months they said that because it was a chartered flight it had nothing to do with them and I would have to claim through Volotea....You are getting the picture!!
Once again I went to Volotea, who after a few emails again stressed it was not their problem. I had to claim through Thomson.
After becoming extremely frustrated I tried first of all this site (Money savings expert), but for some reason Volotea is not listed as an airline so I couldn't use the resolver online tool as it would not let me continue without entering a valid airline.
I then went to the Civil aviation authority and after starting a complaint online with them I was told that they couldn't do anything regarding Thomson as their disputes were handled by a company called CEDR. I was given a link to these and was told that these would help me. CEDR are a dispute resolution service.
I then had to upload any evidence I had of the delay, any emails, documents, information of the day etc etc. At first I was told that I didn't have enough evidence (obviously a registered delayed flight from a major airport isn't solid evidence?) so after trailing through my emails I managed to find some more correspondence with both Thomson and Volotea and uploaded this. CEDR then said that I had provided enough evidence, so they would now need evidence from Thomson. 2 weeks later Thomson provided in basic terms the email they had previously sent me after 2 months, saying that it was not them at fault but Volotea.
Again after 2 weeks CEDR said they were going to take up my case and appoint an adjudicator. I would get a decision on my compensation claim within 2 weeks.
Today I got a response from the adjudicator saying that they have not upheld the claim for compensation. They have stated that Thomson is not at fault and no compensation is to be paid. They then stated that I had the right to try and claim through Volotea.
I am now extremely frustrated and feel like I am hitting my head against a brick wall. This isn't a small amount of money. Its nearly £1500 which I am entitled to by law. It seems that no one is willing to help even though every site I look at states I am able to claim this compensation.
In my opinion I believe Thomson are at fault. They chartered the Volotea aircraft. I never had a say in it. Surely Thomson would of been paid a penalty for that late flight? Wouldn't claiming the compensation from Volotea on the passengers behalf be the right thing to do by Thomson. Our contract is with them?!
As it stands I am now nearly five months down the line and back at square one. Can anybody help me? I really don't want to go down the route of using a no win no fee service. Why should I pay 30% of what I'm owed to someone else when everywhere I look it says its easy to claim compensation for free??
Please help.......

jpsartre

Any claim for EU compensation is against the operating carrier, i.e. Volotea. There's no point pursuing your claim with Thomson or asking them for help, they're a 3rd party in an issue that's betwen you and Volotea.

JPears

Welcome.
Lets start at the end.
Your last statement about claiming compensation is easy? Forget that. Most airlines will fight tooth and nail to avoid paying out.
You have already experienced this with Thomson and Volotea blaming each other in the hope you will give up and go away.
And that the CAA are useless.
Unless we know the intimate contract between Volotea and Thomson, I suspect you claim is against Volotea. It is usually the operating airline that are at fault and liable for your claim.
You need to downlaod Vauban's most helpful guide. Use the template letters to raise a claim against Volotea. Forget resover, it is just a letter writing exercise.
Don't give Volotea any quater. Issue you claim with a 2 week deadline for payment then send your NBA. Then you will need to start legal action via the small claims court (or ESCP if Volotea don't have a registered office in the UK) if you don't receive your compensation.

gregb

Thanks for the response people.
Ok, so i download this guide and use the template letter but can you clarify 'nba'? I am not familiar with that abbreviation.
I still struggle to see why Thomson get away with it? If that was any other form of contract (because thats what a package holiday is) they would be responsible? But hey ho.
It seems the CAA are rubbish as it was those that led me to believe Thomson were at fault by passing my complaint to CEDR.

jpsartre

nba = notice before action.

gregb

I downloaded the guide. I'll give it my attention over the weekend and start the ball rolling