TUI compensation

laws21

Hi

Any help on this subject would be much appreciated as I am not sure what are the best steps to take next.
We went on an all inclusive holiday with TUI last July to one of there holiday villages.
This was booked through our local travel agent.
The outbound flight was delayed by 18hours meaning we missed more or less a full day of our holiday. 

We were not given any notice of this so we arrived at the airport at 4am only to be turned away and told to come back later that evening, which as you can imagine went down like a lead balloon especially with my 2 excited kids.

We tried to speak to TUI when they opened some hours later to find out what happened and why, but got no sense from there phone operator whatsoever.
We almost cancelled the holiday at this point and in hindsight we probably should have, but our travel agent persuaded us to go and said they would sort everything out upon our return so we weren’t out of pocket.

We flew through the night and were extremely tired by the time we arrived. 

It took several days to get into the holiday after this and although we enjoyed the rest of our time away the tiredness and stress caused by the initial delay did cast a shadow over the holiday and for the money we paid we felt a little ripped off.
Upon our return I contacted our travel agent and also TUI through there online forms to complain about the loss of holiday and subsequent stress the flight delay had caused.
I also applied for the flight delay claim through there online forms as advised by our travel agent.
After several months we had heard nothing at all so went back to our travel agent who put it in writing we would like a reply to our online questions and our letter.

We received a cheque in the post soon after for our flight delay claim without any explanation or answers and missing a person from the compensation as TUI said we had a free child’s place for the holiday which I wasn’t even aware we had.
TUI told our travel agent the matter had now been dealt with and no further correspondence would be sent.
Nothing was mentioned about the effect of the delay or the loss of holiday time or anything.
As I wasn’t happy with this I went to ABTA and logged my complaint with them. In order to apply for compensation we had to include a figure for this so we asked to be reimbursed for the first 2 days as we had missed the first and the second was a bit of a blur as we were so tired from the delay.
TUI were given 28 days to reply and they didn’t.
When TUI did eventually reply they gave the wrong case details and answered someone else’s questions so we were still none the wiser.
Again I wrote to TUI through ABTA explaining this wasn’t our case and mentioned nothing had been answered yet again and was told we would get an answer in 28 days.
This went and passed again although we did hear from TUI shortly afterwards that basically said they did not have to deal with ABTA and didn’t have to compensate us for missing holiday time and they had sent the flight delay cheque and that’s all we were entitled to. They also stated there would be no more correspondence and this was there final stand.
ABTA have said there is nothing more they can do and the options I have left is either arbitration or small claims court.
I have heard several stories that the arbitration is a waste of money and more often than not they side with the travel firm.
I have no issues making a claim through the courts, but I am worried it might be more hassle than it’s worth especially if TUI defend the case and we end up in court hundreds of miles away.
Have I got a case in this matter and what is the best way to proceed.
Many thanks.

Alan_Bowen

How long was the flight, if you got 600 Euros each compensation, most would take the view that is more than reasonable compensation? How long was the holiday 2 days out of 7 might have more of an impact than if it was a 2 week holiday? 
Arbitration used to have a 75% success rate, I believe it is a little lower now, but the arbitrators look at what they consider to be fair rather than what the law says. It will certainly be a lot quicker than issuing legal proceedings, which if TUI defend the case, which it sounds as though they would, could take a year to get to a hearing

laws21

Thanks for your comments.
The flight was to Greece so the flight delay compensation was 1200 Euros as we only got paid out for 3 x people. 

Although this is quite a significant figure when you take into account what we actually paid for the holiday it is only a small proportion of that amount.

The holiday was only 7 days so the delay had quite a big impact on the rest of the time we spent away. I have put 2 x days compensation down on the form I filled in with ABTA as I thought this was fair, but in all honesty you could double that and it would be a truer reflection.
it sounds like the arbitration route sounds best as a first port of call. I can always do the small claims option if that fails.

bradders1983

€1200 is roughly what percentage of the holiday amount? A third of more and I think that is perfectly reasonable tbh.

laws21

Thanks for your comments.
The holiday cost us around £6000 which is approx €1000 per day. We also had to pay 7 nights hotel tax on top which although not a lot of money at €4 per day, takes the biscuit as we only stayed for 6 nights in the end after the delay!
The very least TUI could have done is sort this with the hotel before we left, but like everything else, they didn’t want to know. Once they have had your money they simply aren’t bothered and it’s so frustrating they do not reply to any of your correspondences. They are a joke.
We only asked for 2 x days money to be refunded which considering everything isn’t out the way and we haven’t heard a peep from them. Not 1 explanation, apology or anything.
I certainly will not be using them ever again, they are the worse company I’ve ever had the pleasure of dealing with.
I will see what the arbitration brings.

Alan_Bowen

Just to make one point, arbitration is a once and for all decision, you agree not to take legal action if you don't like the outcome. It is not the same as ADR for Eu261 compensation where you can try ADR first and then go to court. It is an "either or" decision. The benefit is that it will be a lot quicker than court proceedings and it is all done by post so no hearing at all. For most people that is a huge advantage, but if you think you would be good at expressing the consequences of the delay and the effect it had on your holiday, then a face to face hearing might be better

laws21

Sorry for the confusion, I didn’t realise the arbitration process was as you have stated, where if you go down this route and don’t like the outcome, you can’t go to small claims court after.
I will have to think long and hard about the next step to take so I don’t get it wrong. I really think we have a good case for compensation, but at the same time I’m also keen not to get bitten on the backside and end up shelling more money out. Is my will to make TUI pay for such shocking customer service greater than the financial gain?