Compensation for delayed flights Discussion Area

Eve4ever

Hi

I hope someone can advise me please?

In Feb I booked a return flight from Manchester to Sharm El Sheikh, leaving 9.30am on 11/5/12 and returning 1 week later.

Two weeks before departure I received an email advising me that my flight time had been moved to 2pm and my return flight was now also 5 hours later than I originally booked.

I wanted a morning flight as I am a female, travelling alone, Sharm was not my final destination and I didn't want to travel by road in Egypt late at night. I called Monarch and explained this and they offered to move my flight to the morning flight the next day (12th) again, returning 7 days later.

When I arrived on the 12th at Manchester for my morning flight, I was advised of a 5 hour delay, which coincidently meant I was now meant to depart at exactly the same time that I would had, on the re-arranged flight, the day earlier. Evidentially, I departed 7 hours later.

It will come as no surprise that exactly the same scenario happened on the way back, arrived as per the ticket sold to me, told at check in that I had a 5 hour delay, again meaning we would leave Egypt on the same time flight I had already turned down.

I wrote to Monarch in June demanding compensation. Was fobbed off with £75 voucher. I waited for the outcome of the appeal hearing and then wrote again in Sept. I received claim forms and duly completed them together with copies of everything they required. Called 3-4 weeks later to chase up. They had no record of receiving my paperwork so I had to submit all again, this time by recorded delivery. On Friday I got an email stating they have my claim and it will take 8 weeks for them to consider my claim and advise me accordingly.

Questions - Do I press ahead now with small claims ? It would appear they are just stalling as I'm sure they will tell me I'm not entitled to anything in 8 weeks. If I do press ahead now, will I appear unreasonable to the judge?

Can I claim for the return leg of the journey in the country or should I be pursuing a different course of action for this?

Finally, do I need to contact the Civil Aviation Authority and lodge a complaint in order to tick all the boxes?

Thanks in advance for any advice given.

richardw

Brandnew wrote: »

..…what is the earliest date I can claim back to? It seems to state more than 6 years on the moneysavingexpert flight compensation thread:

“you can backdate any claim to 17 February 2005.”

Please search this thread for the answer.

Brandnew_2

How do I search it? It's over 200 pages long.

It states that on the Moneysavingexpert news page, the one with all the criteria for claiming. I just cannot mary the info with the 6 year ruling the Courts made?

richardw

At the top it says "search this thread".

The_Wingco

Mark2spark wrote: »

Have you tried logging on to 'my bookings' on the Monarch site, and seeing if the details are there? Print off a confirmation if they are

Where on the Monarch website is the 'My Bookings' tab? Did a search for it without success - perhaps they've taken it down to frustrate claimants?

Brandnew_2

I can't find the answers, does anyone know them?

Dopey1980

Brandnew wrote: »

I can't find the answers, does anyone know them?

From another thread (might help)

Basically, if I'm understanding it correctly, you can claim as far back as Feb 2005 through the airline, however, if you need to go through the small claims court you can only go back 6 years.

Centipede100 wrote: »

QUOTE FROM MSE NEWS STORY:
The doors for mass compensation for long flight delays have been flung wide open today for huge numbers of passengers, following a landmark ruling.(Correction - mass compensation will not occur a la PPI mis-selling as airlines will usually force potential claimants to small claims court to pursue their claim. The 'landmark' ruling actually happened in November 2009, this latest judgment was purely to respond to a time-wasting tactic brought by a number of airlines).

Key Points

• ECJ supports passengers' right to compensation
• Up to £490 for 3-hour+ delays
• Amount depends on length of journey and delay

A European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling means travellers can claim up to £488 for delays of three hours or more. It also allows victims to reopen claims put on hold pending today's judgement.


Passengers can claim compensation if the following conditions are met:

• The flight arrived at its destination three hours or more late.
• The flight departed on 17 February 2005 or later. (Correction - if your flight departed before 24 Oct 2006 and you have not started a County Court claim before today, you will not receive compensation for a flight delay prior to that date as small claims track claims must be started within 6 years of the event which gave rise to the claim).
• The flight departed from an EU airport, regardless of airline, or was on an EU airline where the flight departed from or landed at an EU airport.
• The delay was the airline's fault.

A number of carriers, including British Airways and Easyjet, had challenged a 2009 ruling that these passengers should be compensated if they are, or were, delayed by three hours or more. The ECJ in Luxembourg today upheld the original decision. In the interim, all claims were on hold.

Today's ruling applies to goodwill compensation for delays, not a refund of any costs.

Archna Luthra, MoneySavingExpert.com consumer products analyst, says: "This is great news for consumers and ends years of uncertainty. Everyone should check and grab the cash they're entitled to." (Correction - see above, this is not a case of grabbing your cash. A claim has to be properly brought, usually in the county court small claims track).

What if my flight was cancelled or delayed by over five hours?
If a flight is cancelled, or delayed by over five hours, you are entitled to your money back for the ticket cost or re-routing, plus meals and accommodation in some cases. (Correction - if your flight is delayed by 5 hours or more, you are entitled only to a refund of the ticket cost plus a return flight to the first point of departure, at the earliest opportunity not to a re-route, after all you are waiting for a delayed flight not a cancelled one! Meals and accommodation costs may also be claimed if relevant to the passenger's situation).
You're also entitled to compensation of up €600, but if you go for the refund option, you cannot apply for compensation for the delay on top of this.

What if the airline is not at fault?
Where the delay is out of the airline's hands, you are not entitled to compensation.



These circumstances include:

• Bad weather
• Industrial action
• Political problems
• Security or safety issues
• Air traffic management decisions

You may still be entitled to re-routing (correction - not with delay only cancelled flight) or your money back if the delay is more than five hours or your flight is cancelled, but there will be no additional compensation.

How do I claim?
You need to contact the relevant airline to get compensation.
Check on its website or call its customer services line. This is the British Airways compensation page.
Send in all evidence that you travelled and the airline will match that against its records.
A British Airways spokesman says: "We are aware of the ruling and will continue to comply with the regulations."
MoneySavingExpert.com will publish a full reclaiming guide on this topic next week. To ensure you get it, sign up for our free weekly email.

What proof do I need?
Acceptable evidence includes boarding passes, the original ticket or e-ticket or itinerary from the airline or travel agent. If you can't find these immediately, check your email inbox for e-tickets.
If you don't have any documents, then state whatever you can, such as the flight number, airports you travelled through and dates.
The more evidence you send in, the better. (Passengers should only need to be able to quote the original PNR or booking ref to lodge a claim. On the other hand, if they cannot produce any of the above booking ref or PNR then airlines will almost certainly refute their claim).

What if my claim is on hold?
There are a number of compensation cases that were put on hold by airlines from 2009 pending this decision.
If you've got a claim in, contact your airline to get it re-started.
CAA regulatory policy director Iain Osborne says: "Today's judgment offers much-needed clarity for passengers, the airline industry and the CAA about when compensation must be paid following delays."
END QUOTE

It is pretty disappointing for MSE to publish such an error-strewn or incomplete article. I have only edited it where it conflicts with the Regulation or case law and do take issue with the message that everyone should and can bring a claim from as far back as 17 Feb 2005. Only if legal claims for flight delay compensation had been commenced before the legal 'stay' was put in place in Aug 2010 would be eligible for flights going back to that date, and there were very few of these.

Airlines will force claimants to court in virtually all cases. Be under no illusion of this. Having lost the legal appeal, airlines are not about to suddenly cave in and pay out unless absolutely forced to which only a court will do in each individual case.

More advice can be found on the usual thread: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/47230

Brandnew_2

Thank you

Does anyone know whether if a claim is valid if you don't take a flight because it is so much delayed?

Daza

Brandnew wrote: »

Thank you

Does anyone know whether if a claim is valid if you don't take a flight because it is so much delayed?

I have read that if the flight departure is delayed by MORE than 5 hours and you do NOT use your flight ticket then you can claim a refund - also if the arrival of the same flight is MORE than 3 hours at the destination you can also claim compensation for the delay.

A little strange how you can claim compensation for a flight you didn't take, but that is what it says.

richardw

Daza wrote: »

...I have read that if the flight departure is delayed by MORE than 5 hours and you do NOT use your flight ticket then you can claim a refund....

Where does it say that?