Cedr Flight
Lorrine Hatala
Independent alternative dispute resolution for consumers when they experience problems with companies. CEDR works in most sectors including flights (aviation), telecommunication (CISAS) and water & sewerage (WATRS).
CEDR specialises in the resolution of disputes and deadlocked negotiations across different sectors including employment and workplace, banking and finance, construction and engineering and clinical negligence.
Once you submit your claim a case reference will be made available. Whilst you would not be able to edit your application, you can add any further supporting documents before the case is progressed to the airline or airport. Please note that a number of the timelines outlined in the Scheme Rules have had to be temporarily extended. Rest assured that your case will still be completed within 90 days of receipt of the complete case file. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Two years ago we ran a detailed article on how to take British Airways to CEDR complaints arbitration. CEDR is an independent dispute resolution body that adjudicates disputes between passengers and subscribing airlines, and is meant to help both sides avoid a court case.
Of course, flying from Philadelphia would mean dropping my rental vehicle off at a different location, and rental car companies are notorious for ratcheting up costs for unexpected eventualities. I assumed, however, that British Airways would be liable under EU261 law and the Montreal Convention.
I was successfully re-booked and headed off towards Philadelphia, where my flight was leaving a few hours earlier than my original! It was a little chaotic but I was glad to be sitting on an aircraft taking me home. I ended up paying almost twice as much as my original reservation to drop my car off in Philadelphia instead.
Once home, I started filing the relevant paper work regarding my cancellation. I was entitled to compensation thanks to EU261, since the cancellation was fewer than 14 days in advance. I also submitted my rental car receipts, asking British Airways to cover the difference in cost between my original reservation and the actual costs incurred.
Now, in the law this is a little ambiguous since it refers only to the destination rather than departing airport. However, it is based on a principle that if a carrier re-routes you, they need to ensure that you are not out of pocket for the costs of getting to an alternative departure airport or from an alternative arrival airport.
Though simple, it is a slow process. Once you have submitted your statement the defendant is given several weeks to submit theirs, after which you are allowed to add any additional comments. The dispute then joins the queue of disputes awaiting an adjudicator (this takes several weeks) before, finally, a decision is made.
It is, potentially, too simple. The adjudicator is unable to communicate directly with either claimant or defendant, and is therefore unable to ask for additional evidence to clarify any positions. There is also no way to appeal the adjudicators decision within the CEDR framework.
This is a problem when your case is as complex as mine. The problem was that the original vehicle I rented did not have functioning headlights, which meant I had to swap the car free of charge mid-way through my renting period. The car I dropped off was not the same as the one I originally picked up and it was not possible to easily tell from the final confusing receipt I was given what the additional drop-off fee was.
The adjudicator believed that the additional charge showing on my receipt was related to replacing the car mid-rental, instead of being due to the change of drop-off location. This assumption could have been easily corrected had they been able to contact me to clarify the situation.
This was frustrating because the adjudicator had theoretically ruled in my favour but stated that as I had not suffered any extra drop-off fees I had no right to any claim on BA. I went back to Hertz and ended up getting two written statements that unambiguously stated I was being charged a higher rate due to the drop off location. There is no right of appeal with CEDR so the only option I had available was to go to the Small Claims Court.
Whilst the CEDR is a simple process, going to the small claims court is an entirely different world, and slightly terrifying at that given it is an official legal process. I may not even have proceeded had I not had a family friend who specialises in aviation law and deals with airline disruption all the time. He insisted that I had a case, and so I pushed on.
I did a quick bit of research on how the small claims court works. Despite a lot of legal jargon it is quite simple to file a claim, since it can all be done online. The online form asks for a statement, a timeline of the events, the evidence you wish to file and where you would like the hearing to take place. You also have to pay a fee upfront, which varies depending on how much you are claiming. I would have to pay 25 to file the case and another 25 if it got to hearing. You can see the fee brackets on the gov.uk website here.
I was given a final deadline in April to file my final documents and evidence. Whilst I re-wrote and re-formatted my statements to comply with the court requirements, I got in touch with the legal team at British Airways asking if they did not want to settle the claim and save everyone a lot of trouble. I did not hear back.
Two days before the deadline to submit my documents and pay the court hearing fee, the British Airways liaison got in touch, asking to settle the case. They agreed to pay the full amount of my claim as well as the fees I had already paid to the Small Claims Court. After nine months of paperwork and fighting my corner I finally had my 282 back, plus the court fees I had paid.
That is absolutely the wrong approach. At the first sign of trouble you make your own arrangements, because if not you can be stuck for days at peak periods. Ever been in a queue of 300 people with just one person at the front handling rebookings?
I agree with the implication that the current laws would benefit from a re-wording to enable claims to be made for costs personally incurred as a result of travel disruption even if arriving at the booked destination on time, which are currently excluded and rely upon the goodwill and agreement of the airline to be paid.
Presumably Rhys got EUR300 compo. So he gave up EUR300 to save a day of hanging around. He could have chosen to stay in Baltimore, wait a day for the Chicago re-route flights, get EUR600 compo, a free night in a flash hotel and as much food and drink (not booze) as he wanted plus the cost of a couple of calls or other comms (eg hotel internet fee). But he preferred to drive to Philadelphia & get home a day early.
What he did wrong, as a student or recent ex student without an income, was not collecting EUR600 instead of EUR300, avoiding the car ride to Philadelphia, lording it up in a hotel plus the local restaurant of his choice (& paying for the booze out of his own pocket).
We will collate information from you and the company and then the adjudicator will consider the documentation and make a decision. If the adjudicator requires any additional information CEDR will contact you by telephone, email or post. All documentation provided by the passenger and the airline is shared with both parties.
We aim to complete our work on any case within 90 days of receipt of the full case file, but in most cases the process can be completed in as little as 45 days from receipt of a complete case file. Please note that due to covid, some of the timelines outlined in the Scheme Rules have been extended.
ADR can be a swifter and cheaper alternative to court action to getting your claim resolved. However, if you choose ADR and are not happy with the outcome, then you may decide to pursue your claim through the courts afterwards. If so, you can only do so if you have not left it too long to bring your court claim. Any claim has a limitation period (or time period) after which a claim cannot be brought before the court.
As regards discrimination under the UK Equality Act this is dealt with by the County Court (in England and Wales) and the Sheriff Court in Scotland. County and Sheriff court deadlines for discrimination cases are six months less one day from the date of the incident you are complaining about. Information about how to bring a civil claim in the County Court (England and Wales) can be found on His Majesty's Court Service, and for Sheriff court claims in Scotland from the Scottish Court website.
There is also the possibility of seeking legal advice as regards compensation under SI No. 2833 / 2014 The Civil Aviation (Access to Air Travel for Disabled Persons and Persons with Reduced Mobility) Regulations 2014. The timeframe for taking such a case is also, within 6 months from the date of the incident.
The timeframe for taking a case to court under EU directive 261/2004 is 6 years from the date of the incident The time limit for bringing a breach of contract claim is 6 years from the date of the breach.