Expenses as a result of flight cancellation. who is responsible – airline, insurance, credit card?

eurika

Please forgive if I am starting a new thread with the question which has been answered already but reading all the existing threads, they all seem to concern mainly flight compensation itself but not the associated expenses.. Here is my travel story..
Me and my friend travelled to New York in April this year for a few days with Primera Air from London. The return flight has been cancelled due to technical reasons. We had to contact customer service which booked us on another flight from a different airport with a different airline. We had arrived to the UK a day later at 2am in the morning. The train ticket was over £200 for me and my friend to get from London to our home towns. The only option at this time of the day was to take a taxi which cost us £254. Plus we didn’t use our prepaid return train tickets and lost a pay for one working day.
The airline accepted the claim for some snacks/drinks at the airport while waiting for the flight, transfer taxi from hotel to a different airport in US but refused to accept claim for roaming calls from our mobile phones to contact customer service to book the return flight and all expenses which have been attained outside the US including unused train tickets etc.
The insurance company Coverwise.co.uk paid us £20 each for 12 hour flight delay under the section G and refused to accept claim for any other incurred expenses.
The insurance premium, taxi and train tickets have been purchased with credit card. We contacted Lloyds bank but they refused to consider the claim under section 75 and advised to contact airline and insurance company.
My questions are.. Who is responsible for expenses incurred as a result of flight delay/cancellation such as return journey to home address, lost day at work etc. What are the statutory rights of travellers in these circumstances and what are the statutory rules for insurance companies to compensate customers? On which basis expenses should be shared between all concerned parties (airline, insurance, bank)?
I understand that compensation for delayed/cancelled flight is for inconvenience and not to cover all incurred expenses.. The question is .. Is there anybody responsible for these expenses apart from the poor travellers themselves?
Any thoughts and advice will be much appreciated..

Alan_Bowen

On the basis that the delay was caused by a technical fault, and Primera seems to have had a lot of those, you are both entitled to 600 Euros compensation from the airline, indeed I cannot think of any transatlantic flights which are expected to arrive at that time of the day, so I presume the alternative flight was also delayed?

From your story, the insurance company has paid out all that it is due to pay as £20 per 12 hours is fairly standard and the only issue is trying to get the 1200 Euros, which I am sure is far more than the tickets cost, from Primera. Sadly they have a reputation of ignoring claims, so although I am loathed to suggest making a claim through a third party, this might be the time to use Bott and Co. You will lose 25% of the claim but you should still be quids in at the end of the day

JPears

Like Alan said. Alas most travel insurance policies often fall far short of what people expect them to cover. Cheap policies = cheap cover/minimal benefits as I have learnt over the years.

eurika

Thank you Alan for your reply. The alternative flight from JFK landed at 1am at Gatwick on schedule. Primera Air was ignoring our letters with demand for compensation. Then we have contacted CAA which made a decision in our favor. We have contacted Primera again, attached letter from CAA and warned about possible court action which we were prepared to take if they will ignore this letter. It worked and in a few days we have received compensation and expenses which Primera accepted to pay at the beginning..Nonetheless, the question of expenses is unclear. I think the insurance company was misleading stating in the summary of the terms that the maximum amount for delayed/cancelled flight is £2000 including £200 for a taxi to get home if there is no alternative public transport.. I was under impression that would be the case and didn't receive the whole terms and conditions until I've paid for insurance.

Alan_Bowen

It is impossible to comment on the terms of your insurance policy as only you have seen it but compensation for 'delayed departure' normally covers the situation where you miss the outbound flight due to a breakdown in public transport. I certainly haven't come across a policy that offers £2000 to get you home at the end of a holiday and if you already have the 1200 Euros you have done very well already.

You mention you hadn't seen the policy before you bought it, if it was online it should have been available to read but in any event, you have 14 days to change your mind after purchase if it doesn't meet your requirements