By Christopher Elliott | Travel Troubleshooter
Q: My wife and I were scheduled to fly from Heathrow to Chicago O’Hare on American Airlines a few months ago. The flight was delayed by 14 hours.
While we waited for the flight, American Airlines provided a hotel room and meals, as well as a pamphlet explaining our right to collect $652 per person for the delay.
When we returned home, we contacted American Airlines customer service, and it again confirmed we would receive compensation. After not hearing anything, we contacted the airline again, and a representative claimed to have issued checks. We never received them. The airline has stopped responding to our inquiries. Can you help? — Joseph Muskovich, Schaumburg, Ill.
A: That’s some delay you had. American Airlines did the right thing by providing you with food and overnight accommodations. But you should have also received your legal compensation.
American Airlines is obligated to pay you under EC Regulation 261/2004, a European Union law that protects air passengers’ rights. Under this regulation, passengers are entitled to compensation for delays of three hours or more, depending on the distance of the flight. Your flight was from the U.K., where the rules are similar to those in the rest of Europe.
Fortunately, you received a promise in writing from American Airlines. (By the way, you did a great job with keeping a paper trail that shows you were owed the money.) When you contacted American Airlines, an agent confirmed your request and said you would receive compensation. Then you followed up and the agent said the checks were issued, but you never received them. The airline then stopped responding to your requests.
What’s going on? Unfortunately, the European consumer regulations have no provision for requiring a timely payout of compensation. So American Airlines could have theoretically waited as long as it wanted to before sending you the checks. I know — that’s a big loophole, and it’s the reason God made consumer advocates.
How do you speed things up? Calling can be helpful, but sending a brief, polite email to one of the American Airlines executive contacts might have done the trick. I list all of them on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org.
I contacted American Airlines on your behalf. The airline investigated your case and found that it had made a mistake. The checks were issued, but they were never delivered. American Airlines canceled the old checks and reissued new ones. You received the money a few weeks later.
Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him on his site.
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