Joe O'Donoghue, easyJet flight U2 7447
Who: Joseph (Joe) O'Donoghue, from London
Flight: U2 7447, from London Southend Airport to Ibiza on 18 August 2012 with easyJet.
“I was flying alone from London. Some close friends from Australia had organised a week in Ibiza to celebrate their marriage with those in Europe who could not make the wedding. It had also been a tough year with work, so I was very much looking forward to the break! I arrived at the airport on time, with plenty of time to spare. But upon checking in, I was told that I had missed my flight. When I said that was impossible because it was only 3.15pm, and the flight was at 5pm, the booking counter told me that the flight had been changed to 4pm and said I must have received a notification from easyJet about the time change. I hadn’t received anything. I was then told that I wouldn’t be able to get on another flight to Ibiza until the next day (24 hours later), and that I would have to pay for the difference between my fare and the new fare. In addition, I would have to go to Gatwick because that’s where the flight was departing from.”
“Over the next 24 hours (obviously insanely angry!) I tried to get in touch with easyJet numerous times but was told I would need to wait a few weeks until it was investigated. I of course also had to get a train back into London with all luggage and basically wait for my flight the following night. This all led me to miss a celebratory dinner in Ibiza. When I followed up with easyJet later on, I had to try around 4 or 5 times before hearing anything back. On one phone call with them, I was told that they would pay for my transfer fee (the additional charge for the new flight), if I essentially went away with no further investigation. Of course, I refused and told them I wanted them to resolve the issue. They eventually got in touch again and admitted that they had never sent me a notification of the flight change, and also admitted that it was a technical error on their side which caused the problem. They then said they were happy to pay for any 'additional' flight charges I had to pay on top of my original cost, and also the train fares to the Gatwick. I told them I wanted them to pay for the entire first flight that I had missed and for the transfer fees and train tickets. They refused. Obviously angry that I would not be reimbursed for a flight that I had paid full price for and missed due to easyJet's error, I sent a letter to the board of directors, explaining to them how for the sake of approximately £100.00, they have lost a loyal customer and generated a whole lot of bad word of mouth. I was sent a response by an executive support lady telling me that even though easyJet were sorry for my experience, they had essentially stuck to their 'contract' with me, and therefore legally didn't have to pay for my flight..”
“Naturally, I was extremely disappointed and frustrated that easyJet was getting away with treating a customer this way. But I then came across an article about Flight-Delayed.co.uk and found out that passengers can claim compensation for the time they lose as a result of a delay. This wasn’t made clear to me by the airline at all. Once the guys got involved the whole process was really easy and straightforward. The airline responded to the request for compensation within 24 hours, and they paid me the full €250.00. What I think of Flight-Delayed.co.uk? Excellent! I’d say ‘keep up the good work!’ The rates are fair and I think it makes sense to make an additional contribution a voluntary option for those customers that are satisfied with the service. I personally was happy to oblige.”
No comments:
Post a Comment