Gutted...

Shunter64

Hi all

In 2007 my family and I were on a delayed Thomas Cook flight from Fuerteventura. I remember it clearly because we had a nine hour delay and when we returned home we found we had been burgled.

The delay was caused because our aircraft developed a technical fault over Portugal on it's journey over and had to return to Gatwick. At the time we received vouchers to the value of about £20 to spend in the airport.

Usually when I go on holiday I email all the documents to myself so that I can access them through my email account wherever I am. I have searched high and low for some sort of documentation but have been unable to find anything. I still have my own luggage labels, the emails I sent to get quotes for hotels, the insurance policy I had at the time but cannot find the confirmation email.

I decided to write to Thomas Cook anyway and to be fair to them they replied within 3 weeks acknowledging that our flight was delayed, apologising for the delay but also saying that the legislation requires me to provide my invoice, boarding pass or ticket booklet to prove I was on the flight. I did say that all my details were still the same as when I booked (name, address, email etc.) and that their passenger mandate should confirm that but to no avail. I think I'm going to have to give up on this one but just wondered whether anyone else had perhaps used bank statements to prove they traveled?

It's a long shot I know but what the hell, you don't ask, you don't get.

Cheers

Ian

stooklie

I am in the same position and have been instructed by Thomas Cook to write to their head office in Peterborough enclosing FEE OF £10 in order to obtain the relevant booking details for the purposes of the claim. I have done so and await their response.
Additionally, did you pay with a credit card, even a deposit? You may have a claim via the credit card company. It seem to me that they have admitted the delay and it is up to them disprove your evidence.

Shunter64

Stooklie,

Thanks for that. They didn't mention that I would be able to obtain the relevant booking details but perhaps that's because my claim is for €1600.00. We did pay by credit card but I'm not sure how I would go about getting that information and even if I did it doesn't prove I was actually ON the flight does it?

stooklie

I believe that if they hold data on you then you are entitled to know what that information is and the fee is an admin cost to find and supply it.
In relation to the credit card details I simply contacted my credit card company and gave the a rough estimate of when I thought I had paid. They checked their records, found the transaction and provided me with a copy of the statement with the relevant information.
There are others on this forum more knowledgeable than I who are of the view that it is up to the airline to prove you were not on the flight. I am not sure about the rest of the UK but in terms of proving you were on the flight, in small claims court in Scotland, you are only required to prove your case on the balance of probablilties. If you booked and paid for flights, have confirmation of staying at your accomodation from that date and any other relevant spending, say at airport , in the resort etc then a court may believe on the "balance of probabilties" you did in fact take the flight.

Shunter64

Well I've checked their website regarding data and it does indeed say they will provide information they hold for a fee of £10 so I shall be sending off a letter over the weekend. It's interesting that they have asked for the invoice, boarding pass or ticket stub when others on here have just provided a booking reference and they seemed to have been happy to accept that. Anyway I'll post as to how I get on.

richardw

The booking ref may be on the transaction on your credit card statement.

JPears

Yes you need to make a Subject Access Request under the Data Protection Act. This forces the company to provide you with a copy of every bit of information/data they hold on you.
You need to be quite comprehensive in the data you request. Perhaps a search on the forum under PPI claims should provide some pointers or an adaptable template?
And 2007 you need to be quick 6 year limit looming up fast!

Shunter64

JPears wrote: »

Yes you need to make a Subject Access Request under the Data Protection Act. This forces the company to provide you with a copy of every bit of information/data they hold on you.
You need to be quite comprehensive in the data you request. Perhaps a search on the forum under PPI claims should provide some pointers or an adaptable template?
And 2007 you need to be quick 6 year limit looming up fast!

Thanks for the replies. I know there is a 6 year time limit, does that mean that all action much be complete by then or does the fact that I've lodged my complaint already mean the clock stops ticking do you know?

Mark2spark

It's a pathetic delay tactic.
Write back and say unless they proceed with the claim, you give them 14 days notice that you'll issue a court claim, and they will be set to task to prove that you wasn't on the flight!

You must file the claim before the time limit is up. It doesn't have to be heard in court before then, just action commenced.

Shunter64

Mark2spark wrote: »

It's a pathetic delay tactic.
Write back and say unless they proceed with the claim, you give them 14 days notice that you'll issue a court claim, and they will be set to task to prove that you wasn't on the flight!

You must file the claim before the time limit is up. It doesn't have to be heard in court before then, just action commenced.

My response started with - "It is with regret that I note your flight with us was delayed" etc.

Emailed them today saying that as they have acknowledged my flight with them was delayed they must have been able to confirm that with my personal records that they hold and therefore they have 14 days to proceed or else. Also sent them a SAR letter by RD post and have my credit card company sending my statements for the time that I booked.

Invaluable help on here - thanks to all who have posted, will keep you posted as to how I fair.

Shunter64

Latest from TC:

"Thank you for your email regarding the flight delay that you had in July 2007.

With regard to your request for us to deal with your claim under EU Regulation 261/2004, the legislation does ask that the customer prove that they travelled on the flight. In order to continue with your claim, I therefore require proof of your reservation with our airline before we can proceed. I would therefore ask you to send us one of the below documents to confirm your reservation with our airline.

1. Your confirmation invoice
2. Your ticket booklet
3. Your boarding cards

Unfortunately, should you be unable to confirm to us that you had a reservation with us; we cannot accept your claim or meet with any request for compensation."

Just waiting on credit card statements and a reply to my SAR request.