Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Ryanair ONLY

TMDaines

Is anyone able to review my ESCP form for taking Ryanair to court to receive a full refund for rerouting costs?

Please see previous posts for status so far. Still cannot post links!

JJGreen

Hello everyone
Surprise surprise, I have been having a protracted battle with Ryanair regarding a claim for compensation under the EU 261 regulation. My flight in July 2017 was delayed by four hours, we were told on the plane that it was due to a technical fault but Ryanair subsequently changed this to weather delays, and therefore cited extraordinary circumstances. Once I'd received a final rejection notice from the airline I referred the case to the Aviation ADR because no other flights leaving the airport at that time were delayed, so I thought it unlikely that bad weather was causing such a long delay, and waited interminably for a decision from the ADR.

In January the adjudicator found in favour of the airline, citing some fairly flimsy evidence of a screenshot of some air traffic control advice that Ryanair had sent them (completely without context as far as I could tell). I queried the decision on the basis that the airline itself had in its original response to me said that the delay to my flight was a "knock on" delay, which does not fall within "extraordinary circumstances", but was told that since I had not provided any extra evidence they would not be reviewing the decision. They said I was free to pursue a claim in the courts which I was then preparing to do.

However, my sister who was on the same flight and had submitted an identical claim to me via the ADR (she literally copied and pasted my complaint) then tells me, a couple of weeks later, that Ryanair had agreed to pay the claim on the basis that the delay was "reactionary" - as I had claimed originally. I have contacted the ADR again and they have said that they have approached Ryanair again asking them to review my claim based on their admission. I do not anticipate that they will voluntarily do this given that the adjudicator has found in their favour. So my questions to the forum are as follows:

1. As I understand it my next port of call, should they not reverse their decision, is to the Small Claims Court - should I simply claim the full compensation amount I am due for me and my two fellow passengers (on the same booking), or should I claim for more?
2. Can I make a complaint regarding the adjudicator who in my view has shown bias towards the airline in not examining the evidence to any degree (made obvious by the fact that the airline itself has now admitted they are in the wrong)?

Thank you in advance for your advice!

Josh

JPears

Another example of the abysmal inconsistancies within the ADR system.
There would appear to be NO appeals process for ADRs. The complaint process concerns administrative errors only. You cannot complain about the actual decision of the adjudicator, however they reached their decision.
This I find most peculiar, given that the adjudicators are supposedly legally qualified, they seem to be able to brush off any comeback or poor service/decisions with impunity. No other business or profession has this luxury.
ESCP would appear to be your only route but at least you have an example and evidence of a successful claim.

Tyzap

Hi Josh,

This is more than likely due to the fact that each ADR adjudicator comes to his/her own decision based on the facts and their understanding of each individual case.

It also shows how disingenuous Ryanair can be, nothing new there!

This is why we have witnessed some unusual and contradictory results from other ADR providers too. Sometimes there is no rhyme or rhythm to their adjudications.

If they won't see sense you will need to use the European equivalent of MCOL which is the ESCP. Look back through the Ryanair thread for details or the signature of Dr Watson who specialises in this area.

Good luck.

JPears

Dr Watson

JJGreen

Thanks JPears and Tyzap, that's helpful. It seems mad to me that there is no means of reviewing an ADR decision. I understand you can complain to the Independent Standards Board if you're dissatisfied with your ruling (which I will do once this has played out), but I don't think they have the power to overturn decisions. I guess eventually I'll find out. In the meantime I'll hold on to the very very slim hope that Ryanair will see sense, surely having admitted fault on the flight in question their case in court would ultimately be very weak?!

legal_magpie

When you think of it sensibly, it's not surprising that different adjudicators reach different decisions as they base those decisions on the evidence presented to them. Some people present cases better than others. Of course, unlike judges, they don't have the benefit of seeing or hearing from the people involved although even then the standard of preparation can be abysmal. Some people even leave the crucial documents at home.

JJGreen

legal magpie - I quite agree, and had different evidence been presented in this case I wouldn't have a problem. However, identical claims were submitted, both of which referred to the response from Ryanair that the delay was a "knock on" delay. In my case, the adjudicator ignored that and decided that Ryanair's claim that it was an "extraordinary circumstance" delay, in my sister's case, Ryanair admitted that it was a knock on delay and would pay the compensation.

Drivad

Hi everyone,

Not sure if this is the right place for this but our weekend break got canceled due to the Stansted fire. Our Ryanair flight to Oslo was canceled and there were no other available flights that weekend so the entire trip had to be canceled. I realise this is 'Unexpected Circumstances' or whatever but does anyone know if we have any recourse for compensation of any kind? Ryanair were dreadful in informing us of what was going on and they cancelled all of their flights in the small window where other flights were still leaving, so I reckon there might be a chance that the cancellations might be partially their fault. Having to get a last minute train back from the airport plus canceling bus tickets, seat reservations etc did put a dent in our finances so it would be good if we could recoup some of this somehow.

Any ideas welcome!

legal_magpie

Have you checked your travel insurance policy.