BA Cancelled Flight – How far back can I claim via small claims court?
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Hoping someone may be able to advise me on my situation.
I booked x2 BA Business Class tickets to Paphos Cyprus back in July 2021. Tickets were in Club Europe and paid for with Avios using my Amex 2 for 1 voucher – Companion e-voucher (Reward Flight Saver). I paid £100 + 41,500 Avios.
Flight was scheduled to depart 9th July.
11 days before the flight (28 June) I was informed that the flight had been cancelled. I was informed I was booked onto the next available flight on 10th July. 23 and a half hours later than the original booked flight.
Due to the fact I had a villa and car hire booked and did not want to risk losing the booking by arriving late. I requested an earlier flight. The closest and only earlier flight to Paphos was on 7th July. I opted to rebook onto this flight. Thus arriving two days earlier than I had planned previously.
As a result of having to arrive early due to the cancellation – I incurred costs for a hotel for two nights and for taxis.
I appealed to BA claiming for compensation under EU261 and for the expenses (hotel and taxis) that I had to pay for as a result of being forced to change flights and arrive two days earlier than previously planned.
BA came back to me on 29th July with a final refusal to my claim citing operational reasons for the cancellation.
Due to life events and being focused on other things, I have never got round to making the CEDR claim.
I went online to the CEDR site today to see if I can still claim and it seems their rule is 12 months from the date of BA rejection. That was now over three years ago.
My question is can I still take my claim to the small claims court? Or would I be wasting my time.
Any advice would be truly appreciated.
Happy New Year and thank you in advance.
@BA001 – in theory you have up to six years to claim at MCOL. In practice (although it’s not technically a requirement) you will need to explain why you have left the issue for over three years and I would expect BA to throw up quite a few arguments to have the case dismissed/struck out.
@BA001 – in theory you have up to six years to claim at MCOL. In practice (although it’s not technically a requirement) you will need to explain why you have left the issue for over three years and I would expect BA to throw up quite a few arguments to have the case dismissed/struck out.
@JDB thank you for your swift response. For the sake of £25 I think I will give it a shot.It is the reasonable thing to do is to write to BA legal before making the MCOL claim.
But make it clear you are claiming for two things
1 – compensation for the cancelled flight
2 – reimbursement for the expenses
@BA001 – the MCOL fees are more than £25 to issue the claim however small. Plus potential hearing fees.
In these circumstances why not look at the law firms that take these on on no win no fees basis. Depending on the amount involved and how you value your time it is probably owrth considering.
I did for a SAS flight that SAS had refused. After 2 years i gave it to one of firms and in 3 months they got me 75% of the amount. It was win in my book as i could not do anything else
@wiseoldman – thanks for the advice. If you don’t mind sharing, which company did you use?
I’ve used Bott & Co a few years ago. They were fine.
@BA001 – in theory you have up to six years to claim at MCOL. In practice (although it’s not technically a requirement) you will need to explain why you have left the issue for over three years and I would expect BA to throw up quite a few arguments to have the case dismissed/struck out.
@JDB thank you for your swift response. For the sake of £25 I think I will give it a shot.The MCOL fees are more than £25…
@JDB Thank you for keeping me honest. For some reason I thought it was £25. You are absolutely correct and the fee is likely to be £80.
TBH if you can set out a clear and concise argument – which you appear to have done on the whole – there really is no need to use a claims handling firm.
But again go back to BA Legal before engaging anyone else or lodging a claim with MCOL.
TBH if you can set out a clear and concise argument – which you appear to have done on the whole – there really is no need to use a claims handling firm.
But again go back to BA Legal before engaging anyone else or lodging a claim with MCOL.
@BA Flyer IHG Stayer – your advice is appreciated.
Forgive me as I know nothing about the process. What benefit do you see from contacting BA legal first on the basis they have already given me their final rejection? Is there a specific team I should contact to do this?
Firstly it’s the reasonable thing to do and courts expect people to act reasonably by e.g. giving BA a further chance to review the case before actually invoking MCOL. And especially as it’s been some years since your original contact with them.
It also gives a fresh pair of eyes on your case
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