Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Virgin Atlantic ONLY

Mark2spark

ruby28 wrote: »

Shall i continue with my claim?

Yes. They aren't even claiming an EC on your plane?

Read the EU261 regulation (link in the FAQ's) and go over the bit where EC's have to relate to the flight concerned.

Mark2spark

Gjmickeylove wrote: »

We were also delayed on the VS74 on the 7th of June (Orlando to Manchester).

I have made a claim under the EC no 261/2004 compensation regulation and received my letter back explaining it will take 6 to 12 weeks to make a decision. Due to the issues you can read below, I have been in contact with customer relations, and due to very poor treatment from some customer relations and online staff at VA I spoke to the deputy head of customer services for VA. he has advised me that virgin Atlantic do not intend to compensate us for the 25 hour delay, and that they intend to use 'extraordinary circumstances' as a get out for the pilots 'viral' illness. (Please Note: I spoke to the cabin manager onboard VS74 who advised that the pilot was on oral antibiotics in his hotel and that he did not require hospitalisation to treat his virus). I have advised VA that a viral illness is by no means 'extraordinary' and that we all suffer from them during our lifetime. I have also advised VA that a viral illness does not present 1 hour before it needs treatment, and that the pilot clearly did not realise that his probable symptoms were a virus (which is highly unlikely) or indeed, that the airline have concocted some nonsense to try to get out of the claims. VA have further advised that it was an 'extraordinary circumstance' because they have no hubs in the USA, and therefore found it difficult to source a pilot. Whilst in contact to them I advised them that I could see that there was on excess of 12 flights bound for the USA and further that 4 of them bound for Orlando. I explained that them being able to source the pilot in Las Vegas as been something that was not extraordinary and further that they were unable to use the 'extraordinary circumstance' to get out of compensation.

Anyhow, VA are expediting my claim so that I can contact the CAA and small claims court, and sounded really confident that they would back up their claim. I am not too sure what I need to do now, I have sent another letter explaining that I urge them not to use pilot sickness as extraordinary to deny my claim, but I am not confident this will make any difference. I would really appreciate some advice for my next move???

How do you expect them to sound? Slightly uneasy and hoping their weak kneed excuses sound good?
You're dealing with experts at fobbing people off. Lying through their teeth to avoid paying compensation is normal procedure for them.
Writing letters and trying to reason with them, and adhering to their timescales, is all a waste of time. You will only get compensation if you come to terms with the fact that court action has to commence. If you can't do this yourself, then a NWNF firm is the other option.
IMO time for a NBA letter and a court claim 2 weeks later.
In the mean time, read this thread and see how many people are getting success having commenced court action, v the ones that haven't commenced court action.

worriedwoman_2

Debsyh wrote: »

So have today had a call from the mediation people setting up mediation for next week. Do we know if anyone else has gone through mediation? I've had a look on previous posts and can't see any. I've seen where its been offered but not that it's actually taken place.

hi,
I ticked yes to mediation, but didn't hear anything back. When I rang the helpline for MCOL I was told that Virgin had also opted for mediation and someone would be in touch to set up a date and time with me. I waited a week and as no one had called I rang the mediation team (the helpline gave me their number). I was told that the case had been transferred back to Northampton County Court, so I am now waiting for a hearing date from them.

Vauban

worriedwoman wrote: »

hi,
I ticked yes to mediation, but didn't hear anything back. When I rang the helpline for MCOL I was told that Virgin had also opted for mediation and someone would be in touch to set up a date and time with me. I waited a week and as no one had called I rang the mediation team (the helpline gave me their number). I was told that the case had been transferred back to Northampton County Court, so I am now waiting for a hearing date from them.

I ticked mediation too. But apparently the mediation service had no contact details for either me or Monarch. So after waiting four weeks (with no attempt to contact me) the file was sent back to Northampton - before being allocated to my local court. Doesn't really matter; I showed I was willing ...

kevstarkie

Ok so im looking for help in the next step I need to take. I have started proceedings and today have received Virgin's defense.

Firstly Im guessing I tick yes to mediation service. Yes to small claims track, put my local county court down?

What about expert evidence, im guessing that is a no? Also witnesses, how many did you all say? And is the fee a no? After all that do i just send back to Northampton county court or do I also have to send to Virgin?

Ok now om to Virgins defense. They state the flight departed Orlando on time but during the climb (it was 45 minutes into the flight) the crew noticed a burning smell and vibrations in the cabin. For safety reasons ti was decided to return to Orlando for investigation.

It then goes on to say after significant trouble shooting, the engineers established that the cause of the fault was a burnt connector in lighting ballast located in the upper deck galley and also an air conditioning pack had seized and overheated. The engineers were able to rectify the faults locally. Now to me these are technical issues and should not be classed as EC's, but what are others take on this?

They then also say, the cabin crew have to operate within the legal flying time hours and due to the complexity of the faults and the time it took to resolve the issue it was not possible to carry this out within their legal hours. Now am I correct when Im thinking this again is not classed as an EC?

That's about it really. How do I fill the form in and do people still think Im correct in taking this further? So how many have got to the stage I have and still been paid compensation by Virgin even after sending the questionnaire back to the court?

Thanks for all the time and effort everyone is making to helping others and me out.

millsmum

I have posted off my caa letter and my nba letter, should I wait 14 days or should I start procedings?

kevstarkie

Centipede100 wrote: »

So you have received the Allocation to track form?

You need to indicate yes to both mediation and small claims and insert your local county court. No to expert and witnesses and yes to the fee. Enclose the correct fee and send to the court only unless indicated otherwise by any covering letter.

Try looking at the Court success thread for instances where VS have gone to court and lost or where they have settled before a hearing.

I've answered as advised except for the witnesses part it has no yes or no and just a box for how many including myself, shall I just answer 1?

For the fee there is no mention of it, how much is it and should I include a cheque when I send the form back?

On the covering letter it says it must be completed and returned to the Northampton court by the 15th July but it also says under the court address and serve copies on all other parties. Does that mean I should photocopy the form and send to Virgin as well?

One last ting, nobody advised whether the defense Virgin gave is solid. Am I right in thinking that from what I have read both the reasons they have stated would not be classed as ECs' under the EU ruling?

Thanks for the help once again.

Vauban

millsmum wrote: »

I have posted off my caa letter and my nba letter, should I wait 14 days or should I start procedings?

Presumably your NBA letter gave them a 14 day deadline to respond, else you would initiate legal proceedings. So why wouldn't you wait 14 days before doing so?

Don't bother with the CAA - they're taking at least 6 months to respond, apparently.

worriedwoman_2

Vauban wrote: »

I ticked mediation too. But apparently the mediation service had no contact details for either me or Monarch. So after waiting four weeks (with no attempt to contact me) the file was sent back to Northampton - before being allocated to my local court. Doesn't really matter; I showed I was willing ...

what happened after your case was allocated to your local court - were you given a date and did you have to attend, or was this settled before the court date?

Vauban

worriedwoman wrote: »

what happened after your case was allocated to your local court - were you given a date and did you have to attend, or was this settled before the court date?

Nothing so speedy! I got notice that on 24th May the case had been transferred to my local court, but am still waiting for a date. I chased the court a fortnight ago, who confirmed the judge had the papers. The wheels of justice do not always turn swiftly ...