Thomas Cook Flight No TCX995L -13 OCT 2009

wilbur1947

The above flight from Malta to Birmingham was delayed for just over 23 hours so when the EU ruling came out in Oct 2012 I wrote to Thomas Cook asking if we were entitled to compensation. They replied in February 2013 rejecting our claim on technical grounds.
I then took it up with the CAA who initially said we had a good case to claim but told me I would have to contact the Maltese National Enforcement Body (NEB) to get their confirmation of this delay. However despite two requests to them for information no reply was forthcoming so I again took it up with the CAA. They then said they could not enforce the Maltese NEB to reply to me and also that they, CAA, would not pursue my claim any further.
I took out a Small Claims Court case out against Thomas Cook on the grounds that a technical fault was not a reason for rejecting our claim based on the initial EU court ruling last October. The case was heard Fri 26th July 2013 in Lincoln and initially the barrister representing Thomas Cook raised the point with the District Judge as to whether this case should be heard in a Civil Court under Article 16 of the EC Regulation 261/2004. The District Judge agreed with the barrister despite I pointing out similar claims had been heard in similar courts. The District Judge decided to carry on with the case and his findings was that this was an extraordinary event not subject to routine maintenance, completely unforeseeable failure of the part, a rare failure that could not be guarded against so my claim could not succeed.(A preliminary list of extraordinary circumstances has come in since I submitted my claim) and that they took reasonable measures to subsequently avoid the disruption.The District Judge also said In summing up that I had come up against a ' Jurisdiction Roadblock' as I had followed the instructions in taking this complaint up with the CAA and the responsible NEB and there was no instructions for me on what to do then onwards. I was told to take it with my MP about it which I have already done.
Thomas Cook did not inform me of the technical fault , the flow fuel generator failed and the replacement part had to be flown in from Manchester along with the engineer,( despite an engineer being flown in earlier in the day to look at the problem as it could have been one of four things) until they sent me the court documentation which included a statement from their power plant engineer. This meant the aircraft could not take off until this part was replaced.
The lesson to be learned from this case is that the passenger must insist on the airline telling then exactly the cause for the delay and that the airline in turn must be more honest and upfront with their passengers. At no time during the delay were told of the actual problem, not until the captain addressed us all shortly before take off on the 14th October 2012. We were continually being fobbed of by the Representatives of Thomas Cook during their updates at the hotel they took us to and not given any of the information that came light in their papers submitted to the Court.
At the end of the day the Judge has decide whether or not the delay was caused by the criteria as printed now ( but is for information and Guidance only, it does not represent a binding opinion on the European Commission) not on how the airline looks after their passengers during such delays.
We deserve to be treated as human beings not animals (although some animals are looked after better).
One is left to wonder what will happen if the European Commission do not agree on this Preliminary List of extraordinary circumstances. No doubt it is a case of ' watch this space'

maghater

I would send Fiona Hall MEP an email She has brought these regs up a few times in the EU parliament,

wilbur1947

Thanks for that advice. How does one go about letting her know.

maghater

wilbur1947 wrote: »

Thanks for that advice. How does one go about letting her know.

I think her email is Fiona@fionahallmep, if not just google MEPs

wilbur1947

I have now had a reply from Fiona Hall MEP but as I am not one of her constituents she has passed it onto my MEP who in turn has told me it is a case for the courts and didn't seem to be interested in my case.

wilbur1947

I have now received settlement from Thomas Cook in the form of a voucher. However as I have requested a cheque they have put me back in the queue and it may take time for their specialist time to process.
It would appear that Thomas Cook are not following the guidelines that compensation shall be paid in cash, at the passenger's bank account, by bank transfer or by cheque. If the passenger accepts it compensation may consist of travel vouchers.
Thomas Cook send a voucher first , only then if you want a cheque instead will they send you one, but this will put tour compensation payment back.