Air Travel Claim

GoldenOriole36

Regrettably, in September 2025 I signed up to a no-win/no-fee claim through ATC. I ended up receiving compensation directly through Ryanair, to the tune of £216. ATC have now demanded payment of £110 from me, citing that the agreed fees in relation to my claim remain outstanding. It is worth pointing out that, in their email, ATC state that Ryanair have paid me £220 in compensation, when the correct sum paid out was £216.

In my defence, I did request they close the claim in October 2025. They replied that this was outside of their 14 day cancellation window and said I would need to pay a cancellation fee (I didn't pay this). In August 2026 they emailed me requesting copies of my boarding pass in order to finalise the claim. Given that they were still chasing evidence in August 2026, I wonder how much substantive work they have actually done on the claim, and how reasonable their demand for payment is. Their terms and conditions state that, if signing up to their service, you agree not to seek compensation directly from the airline, which of course I have done. I am considering emailing them to ask for evidence of work undertaken, and copies of communication between the airline and ATC regarding my claim. Should I accept the fault is my own and pay up, or do I have a case worth fighting?

Ayr_Rage

As you have double dipped with your claim and gone against the contract you agreed with ATC I can see why they are coming for their payment.

What was the initial claim and what were ATC going to charge you?

You had the option to pay a cancellation fee but stupidly continued with two claims.

saajan_12

Regrettably, in September 2025 I signed up to a no-win/no-fee claim through ATC. I ended up receiving compensation directly through Ryanair, to the tune of £220. ATC have now demanded payment of £110 from me, citing that the agreed fees in relation to my claim remain outstanding.

In my defence, I did request they close the claim in October 2025. They replied that this was outside of their 14 day cancellation window and said I would need to pay a cancellation fee (I didn't pay this). In August 2026 they emailed me requesting copies of my boarding pass in order to finalise the claim. Given that they were still chasing evidence in August 2026, I wonder how much substantive work they have actually done on the claim, and how reasonable their demand for payment is. Their terms and conditions state that, if signing up to their service, you agree not to seek compensation directly from the airline, which of course I have done. I am considering emailing them to ask for evidence of work undertaken, and copies of communication between the airline and ATC regarding my claim. Should I accept the fault is my own and pay up, or do I have a case worth fighting?

You don't have a right to only pay for the work completed and cancel the rest. If you essentially breach the contract, then they can claim their lost profit, which in this case is most of their fee since the work they saved doing is minimal.

Asking for proof is therefore not going to change anything, and they'll have a claim on you regardless. If you ignore, they may give up, or they may file a money claim online, adding on filing fees which will also be on you. Up to you if you want to take the chance.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6684542/air-travel-claim

What does their contract say about what you owe if you get awarded compensation?

You have breached the contract and therefore they are entitled to damages. On the basis you have been paid out by the airline then in principle the damages should be the amount you were due to give them if they had been the ones to recover the monies less whatever work they didnt have to do as a consequence of you claiming directly but it sounds like almost all their work was done anyway.