Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Flybe ONLY

JPears

Stuffed either way.....

EdCar25

NoviceAngel wrote: »

Funny thing is, I'm doing almost the same route in a few weeks LBA, SOU finally Jersey, and like you car hire and hotel booked, never been to Southampton but don't fancy a day at the airport there, the pub lunch sounds good, but when your driving in Jersey you can't even make the most of that.

I'll have to go back and read your earlier posts on your delay, I take it the plane went tech at SOU and you had to disembark, the other flights during the day were already full and you ended up getting the last flight out early evening ?

Cheers,

NoviceAngel

We like Jersey - been quite a few times now - and the idea was to go on Fri for an extra day with nice hotel (Royal Yacht) before moving into our self-cater apartment in St Helier for the week. Flights were booked as follows:

Fri 04-Jul-2014
BE764 EDI-SOU 10:25-12:00
BE241 SOU-JER 14:10-14:55

Arrived in SOU on time in the sunshine and had a lovely lunch in the pub as we had a comfortable 2+hours transfer. Was keeping an eye on the board and just over an hour before departure time the flight was cancelled due to "technical difficulties". Went straight to the desk and joined the queue and by the time we were seen the next flight had been filled meaning we were bumped to the evening flight BE249 19:05-19:50. Chatted to other passengers and local staff who said that SOU Flybe flights get cancelled/pulled a lot. If you're in the know, you get on the self-service terminals and grab the remaining seats on the next flight before they go. Arrived JER in the rain and too late to do much of anything once we got the car and got to the hotel. Waste of a day.

During the claims process I asked them to clarify exactly what the problem was and they replied "the unexpected technical issue was with the aircraft torque control system and that the issue occurred at Southampton Airport".

Have a great time in Jersey - hope you have an uneventful trip!

NoviceAngel

Thanks for the extra info, I've been to Jersey a few times, just a totally chilled out break without the heat of the Greek islands...

I love the history of the island and La Mere wineries are a great visit, beautiful wine.

After reading yours and JP's post, I'm getting nervous now! At least we have an early morning flight and if we get bumped, then EU 261 can come in but like yourself would rather get there without the delay, think I'll take a hard copy of Vaubans guide with me just in case.

Cheers,

NoviceAngel

johnnymcsponge

Hi all,

I've been reading this thread for a while and it's been immeasurably helpful, so I thought it would be useful to add where I'm at.

I too have had the email offering €250 euros per person. I tried to ring Flybe to point out the court case regarding payment in sterling and mentioned anecdotal evidence that Flybe had paid other customers sums of £200 but I spent 15 mins getting absolutely nowhere. I then replied to my email with the link to the court case details provided by NoviceAngel and others and got the following reply:

Thank you for your email with regards to claiming compensation and requesting the sum in Sterling. I can confirm that €250.00 equates to £180.25 on todays rate of exchange.
Please call Customer Relations on 01392 683152 quoting card number credit card/debit card and expiry date and we can organise this for you.
Thank you for contacting Flybe and we look forward to hearing from you soon.
Kind regards

I got this a day after the phone call, so it's clear that Flybe were more that prepared to pay in Pounds but for some reason are just still trying to be needlessly awkward with customers. So it seems like emailing is the way to go but does anyone that has received a payment in GBP have any specific advice on what they did to get a more representative figure in GBP? My flight was delayed back in August of last year and if Flybe hadn't spent all this time needlessly delaying the payments, the figure would be closer to £200.

Hope this has been of some use and any advice would be welcome.

NoviceAngel

Problem is that DJ Jenkison ruled that payment is due in GBP, but said the correct exchange rate to use, was the one at the commencement of legal proceedings, I take it you've not commenced legal proceedings, so even if you did it would be at today's exchange rate anyway, I personally would be happy with their offer, and I'm not sure if there's any way you can get them to improve on that....

Unless you can make use of vouchers? They may give you slightly more in voucher form.

Cheers,

NoviceAngel

EdCar25

johnnymcsponge wrote: »

Hi all,

I've been reading this thread for a while and it's been immeasurably helpful, so I thought it would be useful to add where I'm at.

I too have had the email offering €250 euros per person. I tried to ring Flybe to point out the court case regarding payment in sterling and mentioned anecdotal evidence that Flybe had paid other customers sums of £200 but I spent 15 mins getting absolutely nowhere. I then replied to my email with the link to the court case details provided by NoviceAngel and others and got the following reply:

Thank you for your email with regards to claiming compensation and requesting the sum in Sterling. I can confirm that €250.00 equates to £180.25 on todays rate of exchange.
Please call Customer Relations on 01392 683152 quoting card number credit card/debit card and expiry date and we can organise this for you.
Thank you for contacting Flybe and we look forward to hearing from you soon.
Kind regards

I got this a day after the phone call, so it's clear that Flybe were more that prepared to pay in Pounds but for some reason are just still trying to be needlessly awkward with customers. So it seems like emailing is the way to go but does anyone that has received a payment in GBP have any specific advice on what they did to get a more representative figure in GBP? My flight was delayed back in August of last year and if Flybe hadn't spent all this time needlessly delaying the payments, the figure would be closer to £200.

Hope this has been of some use and any advice would be welcome.

Hi,
From my own experience and reading that of others I would say its hit and miss depending on who responds to your claim - Flybe either have no clear policy or it is ambiguous enough that staff can interpret it differently. I find that a strongly worded concise letter/email is usually best. Here is the full chain of my letters and replies as they tried all the usual wriggles - note that they just paid-up £400 for 2 people for a cancelled flight on 04-Jul-14 with the claim going in on 27-Jul-14.

==
Original claim:
Dear Sir / Madam,

Re: Compensation claim for cancelled flight
Booking reference: XXXXXX

I am writing regarding flight BE241 on Friday 4th July 2014, due to depart from Southampton airport to Jersey airport at the scheduled departure time of 14:10. Passengers were advised that this flight was cancelled approximately 1 hour 30 minutes before flying and accordingly I am seeking compensation under EC Regulation 261/2004.

The passengers in the party were Mr X X and Mrs X X.

Our scheduled flight length (overall trip from Edinburgh to Jersey via Southampton) was less than 1500 kilometres and the delay to the destination of the alternative flight offered (BE249) was over 5 hours (actual arrival time of BE249 was 19:58 vs. our original scheduled arrival time 14:55). I’m therefore seeking compensation of €250 per passenger in my party. The total is €500 for all passengers.

I enclose copies of original Boarding Passes and luggage labels, Customer Receipt for the flight alteration and Boarding Passes for the alternative flight taken.

I look forward to a full response to this letter within 14 days. If I do not receive a satisfactory response I intend to pursue my complaint further, which could mean taking it to court.

Yours faithfully,

==
Their first response on 14-Aug-14 informed of a stay of the claim "which arose as a result of technical difficulties" pending the Jet2 v Huzar case going to the Supreme Court (as the case was similar).

My reply:
Please could you clarify exactly what the "technical difficulties" were with flight BE241 on Friday 4th July 2014 as this will have a direct bearing on the applicability of Huzar case to my claim.
Regards,

Their further response added that "the unexpected technical issue was with the aircraft torque control system and that the issue occurred at Southampton Airport".

==
There were then periodic emails to advise of progress until they made the first offer of £300 or 350 Euros/person in vouchers on 30-Mar-15.

My reply:
Dear Sir/Madam,

I note your acceptance below of my entitlement to compensation under my claim, Incident: xxxxxx-xxxxxx

I reject your offer of vouchers in lieu of the prescribed rate of monetary compensation due under EU 261/2004.

Please respond as soon as possible with your proposal for settlement of my claim by way of payment at the defined rate of €250 per passenger, payable in Pounds Sterling at the currency conversion rate applicable at the date of the flight (04-Jul-2014). I note that similar such claims at that time, as reported in public forums, have been offered a rate of £200 per passenger.

Yours faithfully,

==
They then offered 250 Euros/person to be paid directly on 07-Apr-15.

My final reply:
Dear Sir/Madam,

Ref. your email of <date/time> [Incident: xxxxxx-xxxxxx]

I reject your offer of payment in Euros and reiterate my claim for payment to be made in GB Pounds Sterling. As a point of clarification, I would proffer that this should be at the currency conversion rate applicable at the date of the claim (27-Jul-2014) as this would be in line with a recent Court judgement on this matter (below). I note that similar such claims at that time, as reported in public forums, have been settled by Flybe at a rate of £200 per passenger.

I refer you to the Blake -v- Easyjet case (District Judge Jenkinson) in March 2015, where the Judge ruled that EU 261/2004 does not require either the airline to pay or the passenger to accept payment in Euro currency. The judge went on to rule that the exchange rate for converting the Euro sum into GBP should be the date that the court proceedings were issued by each passenger in question. A summary of this case may be read at <url was the last one given by NoviceAngel>

Yours faithfully
==

I think its a fair interpretation to ask for the exchange rate at the time of the initial claim.

Good luck.

johnnymcsponge

Thanks both,

I'm pleased to say after one more email they've agreed to pay £200 per person. I replied with some details of what the exchange rate was on the day of the flight and too mentioned that similar claims were being settled for £200 and that seemed to do the trick. It would be nice if they didn't make every customer go through this effort of emails backwards and forwards though. I agree that technically the ruling only stated for it to be the exchange rate at the commencement of legal proceedings, but it feels fair given that's the rate it would have been had they not persisted with all the court delays.

bkm

Success for me too at the £200 instead of €250 at todays rate. Very pleased to finally get a settlement for a claim dating back to 2011. Thanks for all your help and guidance everyone..

sabzee

Hi can someone please tell me how should I claim my vouchers. I tried emailing them and even left a voice message. Kindly help.

Dear Syeda Zeba & Syeda Rizvi

We are writing as promised following our final review of your claim.

Following our investigations we can confirm that you are entitled to compensation in accordance with EU 261/2004 following the disruption experienced. As a result Flybe would be pleased to offer you a voucher to the value of £300.00 / 350.00Euros (per person) for redemption against a future Flybe flight.

The voucher may be claimed and utilised via our dedicated team within the next 18 months from today’s date. Your journey must also have flown within this period. Our Vouchers Team may be contacted via email (vouchers@flybe.com) Monday to Friday. Bookings made via our Vouchers Team will be subject to our online rates found via Flybe.com

By accepting this offer with our Vouchers Team your claim is settled in full and final settlement of all claims, demands, actions and proceedings arising out of the flight described within your letter of claim.

Thank you for your patience whilst we have reviewed your claim and we hope to have another early opportunity to welcome you on board our services again soon.

Kind regards

Flybe

Many thanks,
Syeda

Justice13075

Only accept the vouchers if you want them, You don't have to take them. If you want the money inform them that you do not want vouchers but want the cash instead.