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How to fight back if your holiday travel turned into a disaster: Train delayed? Flight cancelled? Ferries on strike? Our guide to getting your money back

By Alisha Rouse For The Daily Mail

Published: 17:11 EST, 6 September 2016 | Updated: 03:55 EST, 7 September 2016




Nothing can make up for the memory of a rotten holiday.

But while you can't control the fact that it may have rained every day, or found yourself consigned to bed after a dodgy meal, you can get your money back if your airline, train firm or ferry company let you down.

So if your summer break was ruined by delays, strikes or cancellations — or if the holiday you booked wasn't as advertised — now is the time to fight back. Long wait: This week, as many as 75,000 British Airways passengers were hit by delays after a computer glitch made check-in desks grind to a halt at airports across the world

Hours waiting at the airport

Sadly, because of Britain's congested airports, delays are common.

And yesterday a protest on the Tarmac at London's City Airport caused around 100 planes to arrive or leave late.

Airline watchdog the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) recently reported that 7 per cent of all easyJet flights at Gatwick — around 1,680 out of 24,598 — arrived more than 60 minutes late between January and March this year.

In addition, 5 per cent left more than an hour late. So the chances are you may have been hit by some kind of delay on your travels this summer.

However, you are protected from airline delays or cancellations.





The problem is that some companies routinely try to wriggle out of paying customers compensation by using a loophole that says they don't have to pay out if the reason for the delay was an 'extraordinary' or 'unforeseen' circumstance that was out of their control.

In reality, this often just means there was a technical problem with the plane or the flight you are taking, or even the one before yours which caused it to arrive late.

So where do you stand?

Under European Commission Regulation 261/2004, you are entitled to up to €600 (£502) in compensation if your flight arrives at its destination more than three hours late.

The only exception to this rule is if the delay is caused by so-called extraordinary circumstances such as bad weather, strike action or the kind of protest seen at City Airport yesterday.

A technical fault does not count as extraordinary — that's been the case ever since a Supreme Court ruling in 2014. Most airlines will allow you to file a claim on their website.

Or you can call the firm's customer service number and ask how to make a claim.

You will need all your flight details, booking confirmation details and boarding passes.

The key is to mention the EC Regulation and the Supreme Court case that involved Jet2. Use this phrase: 'In light of the Supreme Court's decision in Jet2 v Huzar, I am seeking compensation under EC Regulation 261/2004 for my disrupted flight.'

If the airline rejects your claim, you can take your complaint to an independent dispute service — there are three for airlines.

The Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution will look at complaints if you travelled with firms including British Airways, easyJet, Thomson and Thomas Cook. Call 020 7536 6099. There is no fee if you win, but if you lose you'll have to pay a £25 administration charge.

The Retail Ombudsman covers firms including Ryanair and Turkish Airlines. There is no fee. Call 020 3540 8063.

If you flew with Swiss, Lufthansa or Germanwings, go to German website Soep.

You can complain at soep-online.de/request-form-flight.html

If your airline has not signed up to an ombudsman service, you can ask the CAA to investigate your case for free. Call 01293 567171 or email email@example.com Know your rights: If the last train of the night is cancelled, or you miss it because your connecting train was delayed, the train company has an obligation to get you home

Your train was held up

Under section 43 of the National Rail's Conditions of Carriage, the train company must 'either arrange to get you to that destination, or provide overnight accommodation for you'.

That's good for future reference, but don't despair if it has happened to you already.

It may be that you didn't know the rules, or that when you arrived at the station there were no staff around to help you.

You can still claim a refund, though. To get one, you'll need to file an expenses claim on a form usually found on the rail company's website. Or you can pick one up at a ticket office. Attach copies of any receipts and include a brief description of why you are claiming.

On the form, remind the company it is obliged to assist you in the event of a cancellation as outlined in National Rail's Conditions of Carriage section 43.

There is no law setting out when you are entitled to compensation if your train is delayed. Train companies are private firms and each decides how long you must be delayed before it will pay out.

National Rail — which oversees all train lines — says customers must be able to claim compensation if they arrive more than an hour late.

But it also says that Grand Central, Great Western Railway and South West Trains are the only companies that stick to this 60-minute rule.

If you are travelling with any other train company, such as Virgin or Great Northern, you can claim compensation if you are delayed over 30 minutes.

To claim, you need to submit a form online or in the post. Most firms do this through a Delay Repay compensation scheme.

Keep hold of all your receipts and make a note of the time you arrived at your destination.

If you don't have it any more — as most likely it was gobbled by a machine at a ticket barrier — you should be able to use your receipt or credit card statement.

Ferry firm hit by union walkout

Ferries can be hit by strike action and bad weather, too.

There is no rule that says ferry companies must give you a refund if you can't catch a ship due to a strike, but firms are starting to wise up to what customers want.

A spokesman for Brittany Ferries, one of the biggest carriers between England and France, says it will first make every effort to re-route you to your destination by sending your ferry to a different port.

But if you are not happy with its suggested route, it will offer you a full refund of your ticket price. Call 01752 648 000 or email customer. email@example.com

It says most big ferry companies now have the same policy, but there is no guarantee.

The likelihood is that if you didn't want to wait for the next ferry to run, you could lose the money you've paid for your ticket.

If the delay is not down to strike action, you may be entitled to compensation under Article 19 of EC Regulation 1177/2010.

The reason for the delay must have been within the firm's control, so includes staff shortages or a routine technical fault. The minimum payout is 25 per cent of your ticket price.

To be eligible, your delay must be at least one hour if your journey is up to four hours long, two hours if it's between four hours and eight hours, three hours between eight and 24 hours and six hours if it's over 24 hours.

If the delay is double these times, you will get 50 per cent of your ticket price. The firm must pay you in cash, not vouchers, if you request it.

You didn't get your booked seat Some airlines are refusing to refund the cost of a reserved seat because their terms and conditions state they can never guarantee you'll get the seat you choose

Money Mail receives a steady stream of complaints from readers who have paid extra to reserve a specific seat on a plane and then been made to sit somewhere different. This is usually because they've tried to reserve the seats with extra leg-room.

In some instances, airlines are refusing to refund the cost because their terms and conditions state they can never guarantee you'll get the seat you choose.

One company claims this is because you may be travelling in a different plane to the one shown in the seating map you use to choose your seat from when booking online.

However, James Daley, managing director of consumer rights group Fairer Finance, says: 'Under consumer law, companies cannot get away with charging you for something they then don't deliver.'

Make a formal complaint to the airline and demand a full refund of your seat reservation fee.

Say the fee you paid for that particular seat was a separate charge on top of the ticket price.

Add that you were not just requesting a seat in the same way anyone travelling on a plane can do when they check in.

This principal also applies to train journeys. If you've booked a particular seat and cannot sit there, complain to the company.

Say that under section 41 of National Rail's Rights of Carriage you are owed a partial refund as your seat reservation wasn't honoured.

There's no rule setting out how much you will get back as private rail firms can decide this for themselves.

You'll need proof of your ticket reservation. If you can, take a picture of the seat number you ended up sitting in on your phone. Thousands of British holidaymakers travel to France on Eurostar every summer — and sadly delays, when they happen, can be long

Your Eurostar trip was spoilt

However, Eurostar has a very good reputation for paying compensation.

You'll need to have been delayed by at least an hour to get anything. For delays between 60 minutes and 119 minutes, you can claim a refund for 25 per cent of the price of your single ticket.

For a delay of more than two hours, you can get a 50 per cent refund.

However, if you're willing to accept a voucher for a future trip, Eurostar will give you more if your delay was over three hours — up to 75 per cent of the ticket price.

These payouts are protected under Article 17 of EC Regulation 1371/2007. If you ask, you'll often be directed to a section of the Eurostar website called 'Disruption Compensation' to claim a voucher.

Don't be put off, you are allowed to claim cash. You'll find the page to claim in cash at prr.eurostar.com

There are no restrictions on when you can claim.

You are entitled to compensation even if the reason for the delay — such as bad weather, strike action or disruption due to the recent migrant crisis — is out of Eurostar's control.

For further information, call 03432 186 186 or email email@example.com A missed ferry as a result of a traffic jam could be a valid reason for a travel insurance claim

. . . And if you got stuck in a jam

If you're stuck in traffic and miss your flight or ferry, you may be able to claim on travel insurance.

Insurers typically expect you to factor in extra time for delays when planning your route to the airport or ferry terminal.

However, if something extraordinary happens that causes severe delays — such as the collapsed pedestrian bridge on the M20 last month — the Association of British Insurers says the firm should honour your claim.

Check the small print of your travel policy to ensure it covers you for missed departures.

 


How to fight back if your holiday travel turned into a disaster








