Compensation for delayed flights Discussion Area
Comments
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If an airline agrees to pay under the rules for EU on flight delays, can you still claim separately on travel insurance?0
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Thank you. Travel insurance are stating that we need a letter from airline with the exact details of the fault of the aircraft. They have already provided confirmation of the delay. Do I really need to try to source this as well?0
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you would not be claiming EU261 from you travel insurance, you would be claiming as per your policy. What does your policy say about delays? it is not unusual for it to be something like £20 for each 12 hour delay so I don't know what the aircraft fault has to do with it but it depends on your policy wordingThank you. Travel insurance are stating that we need a letter from airline with the exact details of the fault of the aircraft. They have already provided confirmation of the delay. Do I really need to try to source this as well?0 -
I have this ongoing dispute with an airline. They agreed to pay the compensation under EU 261/2004 and paid in GBP, but they used an exchange rate that I couldn't phantom from where they picked that exchange rate up.
After querying this I received a reply from the airline that they used the exchange rate (EUR to GBP) that was relevant on the day the delay happened. After looking that up it worked out a discrepancy of 350+ GBP (on a group of 7). I wrote to them and they didn't respond.
I decided to take the matter to MCOL. Obviously they didn't respond. After the statutory 28 days I asked for Judgment by Default which I got.
That's when the airline woke up and got a firm of solicitors on the case. They want to agree to a settlement with the exchange rate being the rate of when the claim in court was made. That's obviously about 200 GBP less. The firm of solicitors refer to a case Blake v EasyJet whereby the judge's view was that the exchange rate for converting the Euros into GBP should be established on the date of the issue of the court proceedings by the relevant passenger
My question to the forum is if that is correct?
My opinion is that in my case there is no dispute which date to use as the date for exchange, only which rate was relevant on that date. This firm of solicitors are just trying to scare me that I should agree to a lower figure. They get paid and they have to show something for it. Although, should the airline have settled what I asked for to begin with it would have cost them much less.
Awaiting some learned advice.0 -
symphony63 wrote: »I have this ongoing dispute with an airline. They agreed to pay the compensation under EU 261/2004 and paid in GBP, but they used an exchange rate that I couldn't phantom from where they picked that exchange rate up.
After querying this I received a reply from the airline that they used the exchange rate (EUR to GBP) that was relevant on the day the delay happened. After looking that up it worked out a discrepancy of 350+ GBP (on a group of 7). I wrote to them and they didn't respond.
I decided to take the matter to MCOL. Obviously they didn't respond. After the statutory 28 days I asked for Judgment by Default which I got.
That's when the airline woke up and got a firm of solicitors on the case. They want to agree to a settlement with the exchange rate being the rate of when the claim in court was made. That's obviously about 200 GBP less. The firm of solicitors refer to a case Blake v EasyJet whereby the judge's view was that the exchange rate for converting the Euros into GBP should be established on the date of the issue of the court proceedings by the relevant passenger
My question to the forum is if that is correct?
My opinion is that in my case there is no dispute which date to use as the date for exchange, only which rate was relevant on that date. This firm of solicitors are just trying to scare me that I should agree to a lower figure. They get paid and they have to show something for it. Although, should the airline have settled what I asked for to begin with it would have cost them much less.
Awaiting some learned advice.
I can't offer you learned advice. But I can say that it will be a challenge for the airline to get a setaside (which they have to do first, and which will cost them £255). They can only do this if they can show a reasonable reason why they didn't respond to the court claim first time round, and that they have a credible defence:
http://www.aboutsmallclaims.co.uk/set-aside-default-court-judgment.html
On the latter point, I understand that the Blake judgement is "persuasive" and likely to hold up. See here:
https://www.flightdelays.co.uk/blog/2015/1284/court-rules-easyjet-to-pay-uk-passengers-in-gbp
But why didn't the airline respond to your initial claim? Did you send the papers to the correct address? If so, they might struggle to persuade a judge to allow it - so I would hold firm. It's already costing them more than if they had responded properly first time.0 -
I haven't seen a true copy of the Blake v EasyJet judgement besides what you referred to, from flightdelays.co.uk. I am not sure that they quote the judgement correctly.
I found the following quote online
Litigation started not as a dispute regarding 261/2004, as the airline accepted liability as of the breach date, the dispute was about what the exchange rate was on the breach date. The airline sent cheques claiming that these represent the EUR conversion rates in GBP on the breach date, which was wrong.Regulation says nothing about conversion from euros.
In Blake v Easyjet Airlines Company Limited (March 2015, Liverpool County Court, District Judge Henthorn):
“Where there are proceedings the sum crystallises on commencement because CPR provides that damages claimed in £ sterling for damages or compensation expressed in a foreign currency must use the conversion rate on the date proceedings are commenced. This must apply to compensation for a breach of Article 7 of the Regulation. This is consistent with the authorities which make it clear that the breach date does not have to be the date for the conversion rate in tort. On balance I think it is better to use the conversion rate when proceedings are commenced for litigated cases and the date of payment for claims settled before litigation and in neither case to use the breach date.”
Is there anyway where I can get a copy of the judgement?0 -
Policy states you may need official letter for proof of and cause of delay....0
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Proof of and cause of delay...0
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