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I’m hearing that the dispute resolvers are very busy, is it better just to go to MCOL?
I’m hearing that the dispute resolvers are very busy, is it better just to go to MCOL?
MCOL isn’t exactly quick either although it may improve now that paper decisions are the default as find a slot for oral hearings is very difficult. CEDR and MCOL are very different processes and for so many situations I read here and come across generally, only one of the two routes makes sense. MCOL is generally more likely to give the ‘right’ answer although that actually that may not suit everyone. MCOL has the benefit of concentrating and airline’s mind more than CEDR/AviationADR but on the other hand I see a lot of rather marginal cases or ones with a binary outcome (eg weather related ones) where the airline holds all the cards and of course in these cases you are at risk of losing your issue fee and hearing fee – if there are two of you claiming £520 compensation each, that’s £203 of fees and BA may make a fuss about putting on one claim (two claims for £520 would be £155 each).
CEDR/AviationADR is a much more informal process, so it’s much easier to make a claim but can give unexpected outcomes in both directions and BA is quite good at pulling the wool over their eyes with bad arguments which would be very unusual at MCOL. The MCOL process requires you to comply with the Civil Procedure Rules (there’s very little leeway given to litigants in person) and to set out your case in a more legalistic/structured manner. Some airlines with throw up all sorts of procedural hurdles which then require careful management which is very different to CEDR.
In either case, one ideally wants to make the decision very easy for the arbitrator or judge by putting together a simple, concise and well documented claim that they can get to grips with very quickly.
Thanks @JDB some great points.
My CEDR case (resolved end of last year) took around 5 months. It was a super simple case with no ambiguity, which BA for unknown reasons didn’t respond to through normal channels. Within the CEDR process, BA simply always responded as slowly as possible and CEDR extended their normal deadlines several times. I don’t think MCOL would have been any quicker though.
QQ With Aviation ADR, what happens if the airline does not submit their defence on time as laid down by Aviation ADR and does not ask for an EoT?
Sorry to hijack, I’ve recently finally had an outcome of my Aviation ADR case against Wizz Air for a cancelled flight in October 2022. I think they also missed the deadline, but they were granted an extension.
In the end, they sided with Wizz, and decided that no compensation due under extraordinary circumstances. However, something is bugging me, and this thread jogged my memory.
My return flight was cancelled whilst at the airport, and I had to buy replacement flights on Easyjet for 2 days later. Wizz reimbursed me for the extra nights hotel, and taxis, etc, but for some reason, they deducted the cost of the inbound flight in their reimbursement.
I paid something like £300 for the Easyjet flight, but they only paid £180; they deducted the amount I had originally paid for the inbound flight, but they never refunded it. So essentially I paid £240 for flights that should have cost me £120.
So am I missing something for why they would deduct that amount? I put that in my case but it seems to have been ignored.
I’m not going to pursue it even if I should have got it back, but just want to know if I’m right to feel aggrieved?
@aq.1988 – I don’t quite understand your numbers, but in these situations it’s much cleaner to take a refund and claim for the difference in cost of the replacement flights to avoid getting short changed which it appears you might have been.
Thanks @JDB, yes, I feel like they have made an assumption that they refunded me when they cancelled the flight, but they didn’t.
When Wizz didn’t refund, I thought they would simply reimburse in full for the replacement. At least I know now.
Thanks @JDB, yes, I feel like they have made an assumption that they refunded me when they cancelled the flight, but they didn’t.
When Wizz didn’t refund, I thought they would simply reimburse in full for the replacement. At least I know now.
It’s perhaps worth looking at the precise terms of the AviationADR decision to see whether Wizz has complied in full or erroneously deducted a refund not issued which is something you could raise with AviationADR or you could potentially complain to Wizz that they haven’t fully recompensed you, threaten to report them to the CAA for shortchanging you. It depends whether you have the energy/willingness/time to pursue the matter.
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