Flight delay and cancellation compensation, KLM/AF ONLY

freeof1

MissusTC wrote: »

I used the template letter provided by MSE to write to KLM/Air France. I sent the letter on 18th August 2013 to their UK office and I am still awaiting a response. Is this the norm for this company?

I sent my first enquiry a few weeks ago, and received a response around 4 days later, with the usual lines about how the circumstances do not qualify as exception according to the EU regulation, etc.

However it's been at least a week since my email challenging their response, and I haven't hear back from them. I'm going to give it a few days until I issue an LBA.

MissusTC

Which email address did you use? I wrote to them because I wasn't sure of where to email. Do you think they live in hope that we'll get fed up waiting? Any advice appreciated.

mrsyorkie

I used the 'contact us' part of the website and got a message saying due to high demand it may take 10 days to reply. They fobbed me off at first but I wrote back, saying that technical faults are covered and I had also emailed the European consumer centre. Nearly 10 days after that, I got a response saying they are sorry, it is covered and to send my bank details. I didn't issue with any NBA. Hope that helps

freeof1

MissusTC wrote: »

Which email address did you use? I wrote to them because I wasn't sure of where to email. Do you think they live in hope that we'll get fed up waiting? Any advice appreciated.

I, too, used the "contact us" section of the website. Click 'Contact Us' on the homepage, then click 'contact the customer relations department', then 'Online Form'. From there, select 'Delay/Cancellation' from the drop-down menu, and enter your message.

Also, you have to reply to their correspondences by clicking the link at the bottom of their reply; initially I replied as normal through my email inbox, and was waiting for a while for a reply until I realised I had to reply by clicking the link in the AF email. After doing that I got a reply quite quickly (although it was so unspecific that I wouldn't be surprised if it's all prewritten templates that they send out).

Anyway, AF's second reply came through today, and they are holding their ground over technical faults being extraordinary. Next up: the DGAC, and after that (because I don't hold up much hope for the DGAC!) legal proceedings.

Incidentally, I did read online that some people had their claim for compensation vs. easyjet dismissed by a court because the claimants did not seek advice from the CAA before taking the matter to court. I had intended to go through DGAC initially, but thought not much of it since their verdict is not legally binding, so airlines can still maintain their ground over not paying compensation. However, it seems it was important in the easyjet cases, so I'll pursue via the DGAC (the French aviation authority) and then an LBA if they persist!

As for your second question, I'm sure as a matter of course they reject claims in the first instance, which can significantly reduce the pile of outstanding claims to only those willing to persist. Better to pay out on 20% of valid claims than 100%, right? After that they may need a little "encouragement", especially if their argument is flimsy.

murphrox_2

Hi
I was due to fly from Humberside to Amsterdam with KLM and onward from Amsterdam - Detroit - Orlando with Delta, at the end of last month. Our flight was delayed by 10 hrs in Humberside due to a problem with the co-pilots safety harness. During this 10 hour delay, we were only given one meal voucher and advised by the ground crew that they could not issue us with another as they had not received a directorate to permit them to do so. We had an option of either waiting for the said Humberside flight to be fixed and travel out on it to Amsterdam, or travel the next morning to Amsterdam. We decided to wait for the original flight. Either way, we had missed our connecting flights and since our original Humberside flight was not technically 'cancelled' (as they were still waiting for a technician from Amsterdam to fix it) there was little the ground crew could do to get us on another flight (e.g. from Manchester) to help us make our connections to the US. We ended up getting the original flight (10 hours late) from Humberside to Amsterdam and KLM put us up in a hotel for the night. In the end, we lost a whole day from our holiday as we didn't arrive in Orlando until the night of the 27th instead of the 26th. We have claimed compensation from KLM for both our missed meal and the flight delay. They have come back to us today asking for receipts for any food we purchased and have offered us a non-refundable voucher for EUR150 or 8000 miles (per person), as a 'good will gesture'. I don't feel that this is good enough but I'm not sure how I should go about arguing the case with them. Q1 - Do I have to provide food receipts or are they obliged to provide us with vouchers for every 3 hour delay? Q2 - I feel their offer of a voucher EUR150 is unacceptable (plus we would prefer a cash payment) and that they are not taking into account our missed connections as we were actually 20 hours delayed in arriving at our final destination. Am I actually eligible to EUR600 each in cash? Any help on this issue would be greatly appreciated.

19donna82

I claimed via the KLM website on 31st Juy, still no response by 2nd September so I complained. By 5th of September I had a response saying both my father and I will be getting £338 each but it will take up to 21 days to be in our accounts. Considering how easy it was to claim I don't mind the wait!

So thank you to Martin and his team yet again for providing us with valuable information, much appreciated :j :T

South_Walian

I have been 'negotiating' with KLM/DELTA since last Nov. regarding a flight from Manchester to New York in Jan. 2008.Their last response was that the delay is not covered by 'extraordinary' circumstances, and so refused the claim. We sat on the aircraft for 1.5 hrs before being told that they were unable to correct the electrical fault, were given £10 vouchers, and eventually took off 4.5 hrs later and were flown via Cincinnatti, arriving in N.Y. at midnight local time! We had missed half a day of our holiday! Nor had I booked an indirect flight!
I have contacted the CAA twice, but am stilling hitting a brick wall.I don't think that Delta/KLM should get away with this so easily. How do I go about taking my claim to the Small Claims Court?
I would appreciate some help / advice, please.

Vauban

South_Walian wrote: »

I have contacted the CAA twice, but am stilling hitting a brick wall.I don't think that Delta/KLM should get away with this so easily. How do I go about taking my claim to the Small Claims Court?
I would appreciate some help / advice, please.

The FAQs on page one of most threads contain a link on what to do next. Plus the thread "Taking the airline to court" has useful templates/links too. Or you could approach a NWNF solicitor (for about 30% of your claim).

nico26

I'm hitting a brick wall now with Air France. They have agreed to the compensation as the flght was cancelled but they said the bank details I gave them are wrong . So sent them new details two months and any time I have asked about it they are now not replying. They are defo putting off paying out. How much longer should I give them It has been going on three months now

Vauban

nico26 wrote: »

I'm hitting a brick wall now with Air France. They have agreed to the compensation as the flght was cancelled but they said the bank details I gave them are wrong . So sent them new details two months and any time I have asked about it they are now not replying. They are defo putting off paying out. How much longer should I give them It has been going on three months now

Three days? Three months? Three years? It's entirely up to you. But if they continue to ignore you, you'll need to start court action.