Wizzair flight delay compensation due to technical fault

[epman]

Hello everyone,

On Tuesday 16th I had flight from Lviv to Luton and it was delayed 12 hours due to a crack on one of the tyre. They had to get other tyre from Kiev which arrived after 6 hours and then another 6 hours to repair. It seems like technical fault but today I sent them claim through their website and it is refused. They said:

 

Thank you for contacting Wizz Air Customer Service Department. 

We are sorry to hear about this unfortunate situation, and after thoroughly investigating your case we confirm that flight  LWO-LTN  on the 16th of July 2019 was delayed due to unexpected circumstances, which were beyond our control.

This, as per the European Regulations 261/2004 falls into the category of Extraordinary Circumstances, therefore, we regret to inform you that no compensation is due.

“(14) As under the Montreal Convention, obligations on operating air carriers should be limited or excluded in cases where an event has been caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Such circumstances may, in particular, occur in cases of political instability, meteorological conditions incompatible with the operation of the flight concerned, security risks, unexpected flight safety shortcomings and strikes that affect the operation of an operating air carrier.”

as per the European Regulations 261/2004:

“An operating air carrier shall not be obliged to pay compensation in accordance with Article 7, if it can prove that the cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken." 

Should you have any further questions, we will be delighted to answer them.

 

 

 

Any suggestions or any help?

[Vauban]

This is nonsense.  But you may need to take them to court before they settle.   Plenty of UK and European case law that technical problems like this are not "extraordinary circumstances" and the Montreal Convention is a big red herring!  Shameful behaviour.

[epman]

Thank you for your reply. I am agree with you. With this type of behaviour, yes I will go ahead with it. Do you recommend if I just go through an agency and pay 25% cost to them and let them do all the work? 

[king12345]

No, do it yourself. 

Send them a reply explaining that a defective tyre is not classed as extraordinary circumstances because if they had carried out due and diligent maintenance,  they would have avoided the situation. 

Give them 14 days to pay you compensation accordingly to the table of European Regulations 261/2004.

Once they don't pay, issue a lba and give another 14 days. At this point most likely they will pay.

Make sure you send all correspondence via recorded delivery as well as email, so they can't claim of knowing nothing about it. 

Get their uk address from companies house.

[king12345]

WIZZ AIR UK LIMITED

 

Company number 10982241

 

Registered office address

Main Terminal Building, London Luton Airport, Luton, United Kingdom, LU2 9LY

 

[epman]

Thank you so much. I think I will follow them through email so I keep all the records. I will keep you updated with the progress. 

[king12345]

Some judges don't like proceedings run via email,  that's why I suggested to follow up the email with a recorded delivery copy.

At the end of the email you could put: "this communication has also been sent via Royal mail recorded delivery (123467985457gb)" or something similar in the letter, accordingly to what you send first.

[epman]

Hi guys, 

Sorry for my late reply. Today I have received second no answer from the Wizz air. They said, 

 

Thank you for using our Resolver platform. 

Please be kindly informed that we have re-investigated your case and the information provided in our correspondence. 

With all the respect due, we have to inform you that our position on the matter remains unchanged. 

Should you have any further questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us at your earliest convenience, as we would be more than happy to assist you.

Have a lovely day ahead. 

Kind Regards, 

 

How do I proceed now. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks 

[king12345]

Start with a lba

[Vauban]

I doubt this will do it, but no harm in giving it a whirl.  You’ll probably have to initiate legal proceedings before they take you seriously.

 

If they don’t budge from a LBA, and you don’t fancy the hassle of starting a legal claim (which will take many months to come to court and for which you’ll need to pay a fee), I see Wizzair subscribe to a dispute resolution service, which should be quicker and cheaper for you.  It’s ADR Resolution in this case.  If you don’t get the result you’re after, you can still take them to court.  

Edited August 8, 2019 by Vauban