[FDOS_UK]

[quote quote=835583]If option 2 was offered as transfer to MAN but you pay your own taxi to LBA, and that was the option that was accepted, it seems to me that the OP gave away any right to claim for a taxi fare at that point.
[/quote]

esselle FYI (and any other interested parties) EC261 obligations cannot be limited or waived, the airline should advise the passenger of their rights and the regulation expressly states

If, nevertheless, such a derogation or restrictive clause is applied in respect of a passenger, or if the passenger is not correctly informed of his rights and for that reason has accepted compensation which is inferior to that provided for in this Regulation, the passenger shall still be entitled to take the necessary proceedings before the competent courts or bodies in order to obtain additional compensation.

[quote quote=835578]The OP said he reached home 2 hours late – that was the basis for my comment on EC 621.
Either way, best wishes Daniel
[/quote]

Apologies, Alan, I missed that post.

[DanielRawson]

Thank you all so much for your contributions.

For clarity I arrived at Manchester 1 hour later than I would have done at Leeds and then had an hours taxi ride home, whereas Leeds/Bradford is 10 minutes from home.

There was no mention of EC261 as for sure I would have stayed at the Sofitel if I could have claimed it. What I don’t understand is why would BA not rather pay for the taxi than the cost of a hotel room? In fact my wife was booked on a separate ticket so it could have been 2 rooms.

On the basis that BA have not attempted to give me the best advice I will got ahead and claim and see where it takes me. If I manage to obtain the compensation then it will have been a rather expensive exercise from BA as if they paid the taxi this post would never have even appeared!

Daniel

[canucklad]

Maybe my simplistic approach to most things means I’m missing something other than the bleedin obvious here…….

They were willing to put you up in the Sofitel overnight at a cost to themselves.
Yet they’re not willing to pay for a taxi ride, forgoing the cost of the hotel ?

Bonkers logic, and probably bonkers arithmetically too!!

[capetonianm]

Most of you have said most of what I would have said.

In summary : EU261 compensation does not apply as the arrival at the final destination was <3 hours delayed.

However unless the passenger agreed or was tricked into agreeing to accept MAN as the final destination, then BA should as the minimum gesture of goodwill, pay for the taxi. I suspect that a stiffly worded letter will do the trick.

[FDOS_UK]

[quote quote=835665]Most of you have said most of what I would have said.
In summary : EU261 compensation does not apply as the arrival at the final destination was <3 hours delayed.
However unless the passenger agreed or was tricked into agreeing to accept MAN as the final destination, then BA should as the minimum gesture of goodwill, pay for the taxi. I suspect that a stiffly worded letter will do the trick.
[/quote]

I wish people would stop repeating this untruth.

If the company fails to inform the passenger of their rights and offers an inferior solution, the passenger can still claim their full rights.

The regulation clearly states that the airline must provide transport from the alternative airport to the original one.

[FDOS_UK]

[quote quote=835635]Thank you all so much for your contributions.
For clarity I arrived at Manchester 1 hour later than I would have done at Leeds and then had an hours taxi ride home, whereas Leeds/Bradford is 10 minutes from home.
There was no mention of EC261 as for sure I would have stayed at the Sofitel if I could have claimed it. What I don’t understand is why would BA not rather pay for the taxi than the cost of a hotel room? In fact my wife was booked on a separate ticket so it could have been 2 rooms.
On the basis that BA have not attempted to give me the best advice I will got ahead and claim and see where it takes me. If I manage to obtain the compensation then it will have been a rather expensive exercise from BA as if they paid the taxi this post would never have even appeared!
Daniel
[/quote]

Doesn’t make sense, does it (even allowing for the very competitive rate BA will have at at the Sofitel). They would have also had to provide for 3x sets of dinner and 3x sets of breakfast.

Good luck with getting the reimbursement.

[DanielRawson]

Evening,

I thought I would update you on this whilst also seeking advice.

I wrote a couple of weeks ago to BA and have received a phone call this evening.

I’ve been told that since I accepted their offer of a flight to Manchester there will be no compensation and no refund for the taxi. I mentioned how my options were given at 38000ft whilst woken up during a sleep and at no point were the benefits of remaining in London overnight mentioned. I was told to quickly decide what I wanted as they had to send a message to the ground staff. I said on that basis they should compensate me as per EU261 buy was told no and neither would they refund the taxi. I’ve now gone from a BA lover to a BA hater! They did offer me 9000avios for the faulty IFE but I didn’t accept.

Anyone any further ideas or do I just accept that I’ve lost this and move on? Is it worth speaking to those vile claims people and seeing if they want the case and accept they get some money for doing the hard work? They didn’t wish to put their decision in writing but I insisted they did. When I receive it I will gladly post it if it willl be of use.

Daniel

[capetonianm]

I’ve been told that since I accepted their offer of a flight to Manchester there will be no compensation and no refund for the taxi. I mentioned how my options were given at 38000ft whilst woken up during a sleep a

…… As I said in 835665. As I have worked for airlines, I know how they operate. I’m not condoning it, just pointing it out.

[FDOS_UK]

[quote quote=837825]Evening,
I thought I would update you on this whilst also seeking advice.
I wrote a couple of weeks ago to BA and have received a phone call this evening.
I’ve been told that since I accepted their offer of a flight to Manchester there will be no compensation and no refund for the taxi. I mentioned how my options were given at 38000ft whilst woken up during a sleep and at no point were the benefits of remaining in London overnight mentioned. I was told to quickly decide what I wanted as they had to send a message to the ground staff. I said on that basis they should compensate me as per EU261 buy was told no and neither would they refund the taxi. I’ve now gone from a BA lover to a BA hater! They did offer me 9000avios for the faulty IFE but I didn’t accept.
Anyone any further ideas or do I just accept that I’ve lost this and move on? Is it worth speaking to those vile claims people and seeing if they want the case and accept they get some money for doing the hard work? They didn’t wish to put their decision in writing but I insisted they did. When I receive it I will gladly post it if it willl be of use.
Daniel
[/quote]

Hi Daniel, sorry to hear your frustration is ongoing.

I am not a lawyer, so treat my comments as if they carry no weight and do your own research.

1 – You are not due EC261 compensation, as you accepted a re-route arriving less than 2 hours later than scheduled, so using a no-fee, no-win lawyer is unlikely to be an option. Apart form the taxi fare, I cannot see any damages you suffered that would suggest a claim for breach of contract.

2 – Re the taxi fare, EC261 8.3 is clear “3. When, in the case where a town, city or region is served by several airports, an operating air carrier offers a passenger a flight to an airport alternative to that for which the booking was made, the operating air carrier shall bear the cost of transferring the passenger from that alternative airport either to that for which the booking was made, or to another close-by destination agreed with the passenger.”

3 – You were not informed of your rights, as required by EC261, so BA is in a weak position re the taxi fare – had they proactively offered you rail/bus vouchers and then you decided to take a taxi, they could claim that this was you choice, but they didn’t, did they? So prima facie, it seems to me that you are in the stronger position.

It therefore seems to me that you have some options

a – decide that a taxi fare is not, at the end of the day, worth wasting your time and effort pursuing

b – ask a for a ‘deadlock’ letter from BA, which they must provide, stating that not paying is their final decision and then open a case with CEDR, the alternative dispute resolution arbitrators – your risk in doing this is limited to £25 (if they find against you) – you might find this link helpful

How to take British Airways to CEDR arbitration

c – send British Airways a ‘letter before action’, stating that they failed to inform you of your EC261 rights or to provide a transfer from Manchester to Leeds and that you require them to pay the cost of the taxi fare or you will instigate recovery action via MoneyClaim Online – state the amount involved and the court fees, plus any other expenses or disbursements that are allowed (you will need to do some research on the MCOL website to learn about this) – then give them 14 days to respond – if they still say no or do not answer, issue the MCOL claim (it takes about 30 minutes to set up an account and enter the claim details).

The choice is yours, only you know how much this is bugging you and and whether action is worthwhile – but bear in mind it will cost BA quite a bit to respond to either of options b and c, so although you won’t get rich, there is a ‘for the greater good’ aspect in that if everyone made (reasonable) claims, it might motivate BA to advise of EC261 rights.

The Article in EC261 that covers informing passengers of their rights is Article 14, which I reproduce below

Article 14
Obligation to inform passengers of their rights

1. The operating air carrier shall ensure that at check-in a clearly legible notice containing the following text is displayed in a manner clearly visible to passengers: “If you are denied boarding or if your flight is cancelled or delayed for at least two hours, ask at the check-in counter or boarding gate for the text stating your rights, particularly with regard to compensation and assistance”.
2. An operating air carrier denying boarding or cancelling a flight shall provide each passenger affected with a written notice setting out the rules for compensation and assistance in line with this Regulation. It shall also provide each passenger affected by a delay of at least two hours with an equivalent notice. The contact details of the national designated body referred to in Article 16 shall also be given to the passenger in written form

Finally, it is always good to be aware of EC261 and it is not a difficult document to read

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32004R0261:en:HTML

Good luck.

[DanielRawson]

Captonium, thank you for your point

FDOS_UK, many thanks for such a detailed reply. It’s very generous of you to take so much time and trouble to write such an explanation. I’m going to read in depth and will report on my progress.

Daniel

[travelworld2]

I sued BA under EU 261 in respect of a cancelled flight using Money Claim on line. They appointed a major international law firm to act- the claim was EUR600-which didn’t intimidate me as I am a partner in a (different) major international law firm. 10 days before trial they settled by paying everything I claimed plus costs.

I strongly suspect that their modus operandi is to refuse to pay claims which they think are arguable and see what happens, only paying out if a court case is inevitable. I would imagine that most claimants just give up and it’s cheaper for BA simply to pay out those like me who are never going to- although they should have realised that well before the trial date since it was plain I was a litigation lawyer.

Good luck to the OP!

[Author]

Posts