Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Ryanair ONLY

Dr_Watson

dxc_chappie wrote: »

They can't. Article 15 of EC261 prohibits carriers from trying that trick.

Article 15 of 261/2004 states:-

Exclusion of waiver
1. Obligations vis-à-vis passengers pursuant to this Regulation
may not be limited or waived, notably by a derogation
or restrictive clause in the contract of carriage.

2. If, nevertheless, such a derogation or restrictive clause is
applied in respect of a passenger, or if the passenger is not
correctly informed of his rights and for that reason has
accepted compensation which is inferior to that provided for in
this Regulation, the passenger shall still be entitled to take the
necessary proceedings before the competent courts or bodies in
order to obtain additional compensation.

So how Ryanair can get round that I don't know with their restrictive clause in their contract.
I would go armed with this and More as the argument for one.
And in the alternative go down the unfair contract route as jimcbob mentions.

jsmac

According to web.archive.org (brilliant resource by the way) the T&Cs at the time of my flight (beginning of 2008) were as follows:

"Time limitation for action

Any action in court to claim damages must be brought within two years from the date of arrival of the aircraft, or from the date on which the aircraft ought to have arrived."

Note that this speaks of 'damages' rather than compensation? Is this relevant?

David_e

jsmac wrote: »

Note that this speaks of 'damages' rather than compensation? Is this relevant?

I had a quick google and, unless there is some strict legal difference, I suspect that the two are used interchangeably. "Damages" is usually the term for payments for breach of contract. However, those are usually intended to "compensate" the injured party.

Having said that, the EU "Compensation", being a fixed amount, will pretty well always either under or over "compensate" depending on the extent and consequences of the relevant flight delay.

Anyway, as I think others have said, a contract can't ride roughshod over your legal rights.

jsmac

Thank you everyone. The amount of support that I've received is really helpful.

Like JPears has said it is truly disappointing that the Courts allow Ryanair to get away with their all too predictable nonsense (and all the more frustrating and stressful for it). I expected Ryanair to come up with all sorts of delaying tactics but I also thought that the Court would handle the ESCP a bit more deftly.

In my claim I actually referenced Article 15 of EC 261 and made the point that under this law Ryanair's T&Cs couldn't restrict the time to bring a claim to 2 years. I also referenced More v KLM which should have settled the matter regarding their 2 year defence. But it seems that rather than reading my claim and taking notice of these points the judge simply allowed Ryanair's waffling to muddy the waters enough and scheduled an oral hearing. I can't even find out whether it was Ryanair or the judge that asked for the oral hearing since the Court hasn't sent me Ryanair's answer form.

Thank you for the links Centipede100. And the clarification that there is a difference between damages and compensation. I thought that I'd read that somewhere before.

Dr_Watson

jsmac wrote: »

Thank you everyone. The amount of support that I've received is really helpful.

Like JPears has said it is truly disappointing that the Courts allow Ryanair to get away with their all too predictable nonsense (and all the more frustrating and stressful for it). I expected Ryanair to come up with all sorts of delaying tactics but I also thought that the Court would handle the ESCP a bit more deftly.

In my claim I actually referenced Article 15 of EC 261 and made the point that under this law Ryanair's T&Cs couldn't restrict the time to bring a claim to 2 years. I also referenced More v KLM which should have settled the matter regarding their 2 year defence. But it seems that rather than reading my claim and taking notice of these points the judge simply allowed Ryanair's waffling to muddy the waters enough and scheduled an oral hearing. I can't even find out whether it was Ryanair or the judge that asked for the oral hearing since the Court hasn't sent me Ryanair's answer form.

Thank you for the links Centipede100. And the clarification that there is a difference between damages and compensation. I thought that I'd read that somewhere before.

jsmac,
Get back in touch with the court and insist that they send you a copy of Ryanair's answer form (Form C).
There could be (but possibly not) some further detail as part of Ryanair's defence on this that you may need to know about.
Also on this it will detail if Ryanair have asked for an oral hearing. It will cure your curiosity at least.

tambhoy5

hi,i have just been informed by ryanair that my flight from prestwick has been cancelled due to winter cancellations which i booked on the 19th sept 2013.
obviously i am entitled to a full refund but my question is can i claim compensation for the loss of the money that i have paid for my hotel for the following fortnight?
i find it quite strange that they took the booking knowing that they were going to cancel the winter schedual so close when i would imagine the winter schedual starts From 01/10/13 which is low season according to the baggage charges

BashamandCo

Hi All,

I was delayed with Ryanair for over 5 hours coming back from Croatia recently. I sent the standard letter of 'compensation request' to them and have just had a reply from them stating that no compensation is due as the delay was caused by bad weather. I have read that they need to prove this fact, but they have not so far. What are my next steps? Do I request proof in writing?

Many thanks,

BashamandCo.

BashamandCo

Hi All,

I was delayed with Ryanair for over 5 hours coming back from Croatia recently. I sent the standard letter of 'compensation request' to them and have just had a reply from them stating that no compensation is due as the delay was caused by bad weather. I have read that they need to prove this fact, but they have not so far. What are my next steps? Do I request proof in writing?

Many thanks,

BashamandCo.

bettiemme

Re the proof you might be able to find the email that sent you - but of course you can check your bank details and get it
I know for experience that you are going to have back not only your money but also other compensation

BashamandCo

I mean proof that the flight was indeed delayed due to "bad weather", not proof I was on the flight.

Thanks anyway.

Anyone else have any information on this?