Flight Delay Dispute for Compensation - Grey Area?

[Vauban]

Hi King,

 

Thanks for the response - do you know which address I should contact the CAA on, or which phone number to ring to contact them?

 

Also, what is an LBA?

 

LBA is letter before action - the formal letter you write before commencing a legal claim. A court claim will take some time to progress - and will cost you some money in the initial outlay (which you get back if you win). So it's worth exhausting quicker options first.

 

If you contact the CAA, they will tell you that BA is signed up to an Alternative Dispute Resolution scheme - for BA it is CEDR. So worth going through them first. Details here: https://www.caa.co.uk/passengers/resolving-travel-problems/how-the-caa-can-help/alternative-dispute-resolution/

 

I agree by the way with your logic: BA cannot start attributing parts of the delay to different causes, with temporal proportions. Either the delay is caused by extraordinary circumstances or it is not. If the delay is compounded by other factors - as it usually is - that's just tough for BA. A real shame that BA treat their customers with such contempt - but almost all the airlines seem to resist these dealing with these payments properly, unfortunately.

[Vauban]

My understanding is that CEDR have a good record of dealing with these claims fairly, and much more quickly than a court process. I also understand that when this BA argument has been put before them - that only part of the delay was caused by non-extraordinary circumstances - then CEDR have generally rejected this defence and found in favour of the passenger. Perhaps King has more specific information that I am not aware of though?

 

Of course you could write a LBA to BA, but you should only do that if you intend to follow through with the threat. And given that there is a cheaper and quicker alternative to try first, I’m not sure why you would rush to court. In the unlikely event that CEDR doesn’t give you satisfaction, you would still be at liberty to start a legal action.

[Vauban]

https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/court-fees

 

Not much and fully recoverable from other side.

Mind you, even with the best sealed case in the wo rtld there's always a chance of losing, but on small claim they can't make you pay their costs, so your risk would be minimal.

Don't be afraid, this will never go to court, they'll pay up as soon as they understand that you mean business.

 

Unless you are on benefits, it will cost you about £150 for a claim worth between £500 and a Grand (claim fee plus hearing fee). As King says, the other side pays for this if you win. If you don’t win, you’re £150 down.

 

I am not a professional in this field, but I have a lot of experience of helping people in your situation. I also won my own case against an airline - which went all the way to the hearing.

 

If you pursue this in the courts, there is definitely a chance (not a infinitesimal one either) that you get a District Judge not familiar with EU Regulation 261/04 or the binding case law, and that you get the wrong result.

 

In my experience - and this is where a I think King is wrong - airlines do not simply “give up” when you send a LBA. They wait until you file a court claim, and pay the hearing fee. Then they usually - but not always - settle.

 

But as well as carrying some risk, this process also takes ages. Probably six months, or more depending on court pressures in your part of the world. So I really would not recommend this course of action, when there is a pretty good arbitration alternative offered which - as I understand it - has a reasonably good record of dealing with claims fairly, at minimal cost to you, and much more quickly.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide to do next. I don’t think the airline’s case has any legal merit.