Flight Cancelled, airline's fault, not giving compensation

lexie188

I have been put into a similar situation-

My flight from Reus to Stanstead was cancelled, but we were not told this until we had been sat at the boarding gate for two hours (while our flight had yet to leave stanstead) - Ryanair admitted at the time it was within their control and we would be entitled to compensation AND reimbursement of costs (hotels, food etc.)

We weren't given any assistance in finding accommodation (or paying for it) and the airport was being shut so we couldn't stay there

We managed to get a flight 2 days after we were supposed to return, however it flew back to Luton not stanstead- we weren't offered assistance in paying for the taxi transfer to get back to our car at stanstead.

Since this happened (2 months ago) I have written 5 letters to Ryanair, the first 2 denied my claim for Compensation AND/OR Reimbursement and they have ignored the last three letters.

I have written to the AUTC and they have forwarded my complaint onto the Spanish equivalent for them to get back to me.

I was wondering whether you think it would be worth filing a court claim, as I have the sheet 'NOTICE OF YOUR RIGHTS IN THE EVENT OF DENIED BOARDING, FLIGHT DELAY OR FLIGHT CANCELLATION' from Ryanair which shows our entitlement to reimbursement (duty of care), even if we're not eligible for compensation due to the plane going 'tech' but they have flatly refused and subsequently ignored my requests for this reimbursement. (despite including copies of receipts)

Crabman

Hello - the article Compensation for delayed flightsindicates that you should get compensation on top of the travel to the destination or a refund. If they were taking you to the destination I think it should include all costs (i.e. taxi) in taking you from Luton to Stansted.

The ATUC indicates you're entitled to the following benefits. Hopefully someone can advise better on how to take on Ryanair in this case - in theory if they're not paying compensation they could be hit with a £5000 fine per passenger. Do you have a timescale for the reply from the spanish authority?

dmg24

Since this happened (2 months ago) I have written 5 letters to Ryanair, the first 2 denied my claim for Compensation AND/OR Reimbursement and they have ignored the last three letters.

Why did they deny the claim for compensation?

lexie188

The AUTC said it would be approx 3 months before i heard anything from Spain- so mid November at the latest i hope.

The first e-mail i received was an automated response saying that the cancellation was outside of ryanairs control- which contradicts what airport staff told me, and the second (a little more personalised) states the flight was cancelled due to an unexpected safety/tech problem which was outside their control.

Theire responses made no reference to my claim for reimbursement- it deals purely with compensation.

I even quoted the regualtion in all my letters and this has not been acknowledged, neither have my rights stated under the regulation! I guess they just deny/ignore claims on the basis that people will give up. - there doesn't appear to be a contact telephone number either which prolongs matters immensely.

lijaloo

Was this flight FR3845 on 21st May. If so I was also booked on that cancelled flight. I have now lodged a claim through the Irish small claims court.

budgetflyer

Yes that is your route. Small claims court.If you have a valid claim , they should pay out-its EU LAW. They will get a heavy fine otherwise !
As previously mentioned, why did they deny your claim ?
If they had a valid reason to cancel the flight, then they can avoid the compensation bit but they still need to assist you per part 3 of http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=306&pagetype=90&pageid=4408.( as posted by crabman)

TBeckett100

sadly you get what you pay for however much against the rules

Alfie_E

It’s unfortunate that legal action is the only thing Ryanair understand. A particularly graphic example is that most companies would accept that:

Disabled Passengers + Extremely Shoddy Treatment = Very Bad PR

A normal company would be bending over backwards to mitigate the damage, but Ryanair is not a normal company. Their attitude is to remain unmoved, unless faced with legal action. See Wheelchair users' rights upheld and Lovells wins payout for visually impaired Ryanair passengers.

I’m not saying Ryanair’s behaviour is incorrect. It has impeccable business logic. If you’re number one, still growing and the customers keep coming back for more, no matter how you treat them, you don’t have to care one iota what the public think of you.

jassy_ny

next time change flight comany

lijaloo

Ryanair's first letter said the flight was cancelled for reasons outside their control.

EU 262/2004 Article 5 paragraph 3 states

"An operating air carrier shall not be obliged to pay
compensation in accordance with Article 7, if it can prove that
the cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances
which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable
measures had been taken."

So I asked for details of the circumstances which led to the cancellation, why they were extraordinary, why couldn't they be avoided, what steps were taken to avoid the extraordinary circumstances. I didn't get an answer just the offer to consider repayment of receipted expenses.

Ryanair have missed the point, at no time was I given information about the cancellation or my rights. They failed in their duty of care leaving all the passengers with no option but to spend an uncomfortable night at Reus airport. In any case the burden of proof is with them.

I should add that I have flown this route with Ryanair at least every six weeks for the last two years and this is the first and only time I have had cause to complain.

They now say (in their response to my claim to the small claims court) that it was due to unforeseen flight safety shortcomings. I did manage to get home the next day on the same plane which had suffered unforeseen safety shortcomings and had sat on the tarmac at Reus airport all night.

alanrowell

Alfie_E wrote: »

It’s unfortunate that legal action is the only thing Ryanair understand.

And generally not even then - Ryanair operate on the principle that if you ignore the problem it will go away.