Anyone used EU Claim/Bott & Co?

David_e

Waitinggame wrote: »

I'm just looking for a bit of advice. I thought it would be easier to use this company to file my claim but I'm now having regrets on the time it's taking.

Current time frame
23/05 I provide euclaim with documents
28/05 euclaim send first letter to airline

I've emailed them a few times now asking what the hold up is. They kept saying they've had 1100 cases to deal with ect ect.

16/10 I sent them another email as after nearly 5 months without progress I was beginning to get a bit annoyed. They replied the same day promising to send out some certificates of suitability as their is minors involved and they would pull the case to the front of the queue.

I still haven't received anything and just wondered where I stood. Am I able to go elsewhere with my claim. It makes no difference to them how long it takes as they are set to receive the interest anyway.

We were a family of 6 on flight TOM882 5th June 2010.

Thanks in advance

As richardw says, you need to find out what you signed up to with these people. It's not acceptable to say thay are too busy, which seems to be what they are doing.

I doubt that they would pursue you if you wrote cancelling whatever arrangement that you signed up to (assuming that you have signed up to some terms and condiations). I suspect that if you give them reasonable notice to get their act together, and they don't, you would be free to regard the contract as terminated. I'm not a contract law specialist so you need to start by seeing what your and their current obligations are - or appear to be.

DTDfanBoy

Waitinggame wrote: »

I still haven't received anything and just wondered where I stood. Am I able to go elsewhere with my claim. It makes no difference to them how long it takes as they are set to receive the interest anyway.


Thanks in advance

Read through the conditional fee agreement that you signed.

Chances are that if you decide to take the claim elsewhere, or pursue it yourself, you will have to pay them for their time spent and costs, and/or pay them the agreed percentage + any agreed costs if you or any other party recover the money.

If the agreement isn't clear to you give them a ring, I'm sure they'll be happy to advise what obligations exist.

111KAB

Waitinggame wrote: »

I still haven't received anything and just wondered where I stood. Am I able to go elsewhere with my claim. It makes no difference to them how long it takes as they are set to receive the interest anyway.

I presume you are actually dealing with Bott & Co and not EU Claim even though you probably approached EU in the first place. As you were on a Thomson flight there is every chance that the matter has been stayed due to their 2 year rubbish however there are a couple of their guys who help others out via this forum and I expect having read your post you will receive a response when they are back at their desks after the weekend.
I understood they only took a percentage of your award (including the interest element) ~ you also mention going elsewhere and I just wonder what alternative UK firms, if any, you have found as most seem to be pulling out of this market.

Vauban

111KAB wrote: »

you also mention going elsewhere and I just wonder what alternative UK firms, if any, you have found as most seem to be pulling out of this market.

Is that right? What's driving this? I cannot imagine that the margins can be very high on a claim that goes to court ...

Bonters

I have it on good authority that the Courts are struggling to allocate all the cases Bott & Co currently have, and are also trying to ensure that judgements are made by experienced officials. However, Bott & Co are monitoring their successes against specific airlines and will pressure them (airlines) to agree bulk settlements as they (Bott) keep winning cases.

socrates1882

I'm happy to unmask myself as Kevin Clarke, one of the guys at Bott&Co.

We currently have literally hundreds of litigated cases in the court system at the moment and are experiencing an unwanted delay whilst the court service decide how to deal with them.

We've approached courts local to ourselves and been told that they don't have the resources to deal with that amount of cases and we're currently having hopefully fruitful discussions with the court service to allow them to deal with cases for the benefit of all. We could just issue all the cases we have and make it a court service problem but we believe it beneficial to discuss the problem with them so we get consistency across the board which benefits everybody - including litigants in person. We're already seeing the benefits of this with the Huzar appeal being passed out to people when they attend court - as a former court service employee I can confirm I've never known that to happen before.

We'd love to litigate on every case as soon as we can - and I promise you we try to do that. But there are tactical implications which we have to consider and it's difficult to explain that to people when they are only bothered about their case and we're trying to consider the greater good. Each airline deals with these claims differently and currently each court is dealing with these cases with their own individual quirks - and we want that to end. We want uniformity in every court before every Judge and I can say that trying to achieve something like that with such a huge organisation as the court service, whilst also ensuring the rules and justice are upheld I may add, will not happen overnight. We're not saying that we're definitely doing this the right way - there is no frame of reference for what we're trying to achieve here - but we are starting to see some successes now and we hope for more over the next few months.

As well as the Huzar appeal we have another around limitation and we're also working on the NEB list, revisions of the regulations whilst also trying to manage and build our existing client roster. We went live as a department on the 21st of February and we are rounding on £1 million worth of compensation recovered for over 2000 clients on almost 1000 flights now. We've settled almost 300 litigated cases and have a lot of cases coming up over the next few months as well. We 're happy to share this information on our site to better arm litigants in person when they go before the court themselves and we'll take the time to discuss issues with those who contact us whether they are our client or not.

We're not perfect by any stretch of the imagination and our process is constantly evolving. Virtually everything we thought we knew before the 21st of Feb has been thrown out of the window because of the way this has evolved, and the users of this forum have played a large part in that. Our communication could be better and that is something we are looking at improving, but what is right for Peter may not be right for Paul and it's a fine balance because a lot of our process has to be automated to manage the 9000 plus clients we have.

I won't post on this thread again because I don't want it to seem like I'm snooping or intruding. What I would say is that if anybody has a problem with our service they absolutely can contact me and I'll do what I canto assist.

I've touched on it earlier, but this forum is a fantastic resource and the information and knowledge a lot of the posters have on here is amazing. When I read it occasionally I get such a buzz from the success stories and it's fascinating the way that it has evolved. Well done to all who contribute and keep up the good work.

Vauban

I'm a litigant in person and have no connection to Bott. But - from the feedback Ive seen - I think they've provided an excellent service for very many people. They spotted a gap in the market and have indeed been recognised by the legal profession for their achievement in such a short space of time.

It's excellent to have lawyers providing this sort of service: not everyone has the confidence, competence or capacity [or time, talent and tenacity if you prefer a different alliteration] to chase these claims down. We LIPs benefit hugely from the advances that companies like Bott have made - Huzar being just the latest example. I can attest that both Kevin and Coby have been helpful and responsive in sharing info when I've bounced something off them.

I have huge sympathy with the courts, claimants and Bott in trying to manage the huge workload generated - let's be clear - by some airlines' systematic campaign to frustrate the law and avoid their responsibilities. And I applaud any initiative to try to create some consistency and fairness in the process. Despite the overwhelming success rate that claimants have enjoyed once starting legal action, we've seen too many people with good cases come a cropper because of the inconsistant application of the law.

As Christmas approaches, I understand why claimants are impatient. All I would say is that the wheels of justice spin slowly for all of us. As a LIP, I started my claim in October 2012, and legal action the following January. My hearing (second and hopefully final) is scheduled for the week before Christmas. This process ain't quick - whether you go the NWNF route or do it yourself.

But - last point - this forum (and the community on it) is great, and the airlines hate our ability to swap information and share advice. It arguably illustrates the remarkable empowerment of the consumer that the Internet can bestow. There is, speaking personally, an important point of principle for me in this issue. Large companies must obey the law, and systematic attempts to deprive folk of their legal rights should be exposed and utterly condemned. The CAA - whose inaction is shameful - won't play the role ascribed to them. So hats off to the many regulars who offer their time - for free - to others in need, and to companies like Bott who offer a complementary (note the 'e'!) service, in helping ordinary people to fight for their rights.

And with that, I shall shut up.

Bennifred

Vauban wrote: »

I'm a litigant in person and have no connection to Bott. But - from the feedback Ive seen - I think they've provided an excellent service for very many people. They spotted a gap in the market and have indeed been recognised by the legal profession for their achievement in such a short space of time.

It's excellent to have lawyers providing this sort of service: not everyone has the confidence, competence or capacity [or time, talent and tenacity if you prefer a different alliteration] to chase these claims down. We LIPs benefit hugely from the advances that companies like Bott have made - Huzar being just the latest example. I can attest that both Kevin and Coby have been helpful and responsive in sharing info when I've bounced something off them.

I have huge sympathy with the courts, claimants and Bott in trying to manage the huge workload generated - let's be clear - by some airlines' systematic campaign to frustrate the law and avoid their responsibilities. And I applaud any initiative to try to create some consistency and fairness in the process. Despite the overwhelming success rate that claimants have enjoyed once starting legal action, we've seen too many people with good cases come a cropper because of the inconstant application of the law.

As Christmas approaches, I understand why claimants are impatient. All I would say is that the wheels of justice spin slowly for all of us. As a LIP, I started my claim in October 2012, and legal action the following January. My hearing (second and hopefully final) is scheduled for the week before Christmas. This process ain't quick - whether you go the NWNF route or do it yourself.

But - last point - this forum (and the community on it) is great, and the airlines hate our ability to swap information and share advice. It arguably illustrates the remarkable empowerment of the consumer that the Internet can bestow. There is, speaking personally, an important point of principle for me in this issue. Large companies must obey the law, and systematic attempts to deprive folk of their legal rights should be exposed and utterly condemned. The CAA - whose inaction is shameful - won't play the role ascribed to them. So hats off to the many regulars who offer their time - for free - to others in need, and to companies like Bott who offer a complementary (note the 'e'!) service, in helping ordinary people to fight for their rights.

And with that, I shall shut up.

Very well said! :T

Waitinggame

Just wanted to update bott and co have now sent the papers to court :-)

kuepper

Just had an update from Bott & Co that they've received airline's defence and are considering it. When I read about all the ppl who are taking cases as LIPs I'm full of admiration but their updates only make me realise I didn't have the wherewithall in so many ways to have handled my own case so glad I went down the Bott route whatever the outcome