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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Who gets to keep the compensation?

211 replies

Memba · 04/11/2023 15:13

This may well be hypothetical as airline hasn't agreed to anything yet but in the event that they do, who gets the money?

Situation as follows... DH and I took DC1 (18) and DC2 (15) overseas for a week for half term. Each DC brought a friend (same ages).

Both friends parents paid for their flights at approx £250 each. We paid for accommodation, car hire and activities/food/drink. They were effectively our guests.

Return flight was delayed by over 24hrs at fault of airline. I have checked and we are entitled to 600euros compensation per passenger. I have submitted claim on behalf all passengers.

In the event that the airline pays out, who gets the compensation?

Each passenger gets 600 Euros meaning friends parents make a profit on the holiday? Or we refund value of flight and keep the rest as contribution towards the cost of the trip.

FWIW DH and I are both financially disadvantaged by delay (self-employed) so actually lost income. The teenagers had no loss of earnings but got a free bonus night in a star hotel!

So, my AIBU is, in the event that airline cough up, do keep the majority of the compensation?

YANBU - refund flights to parent of each teen and keep the rest
YABU - give each set of parents the full €600

Or some other split?

OP posts:
Kedece2410 · 04/11/2023 15:34

BrianWankum · 04/11/2023 15:28

YANBU

Bit crazy for the other parents to profit if it didn’t financially disadvantage their kids.

But its OK for the OP to profit. Her family will be receiving €2400 in compensation. The delay didn't cost them anything close to that

How is compensation paid out in cases like this though. Won't it be paid individually to each applicant. I cant imagine the OP will just get €3600 paid to her to potentially distribute or not.

Mumof2teens79 · 04/11/2023 15:36

friendsfiend · 04/11/2023 15:26

Of course it goes back to the people who paid for the flights. Any losses suffered by you in terms of earnings would have been suffered if they weren't there.
Any claim for stuff you paid for, you keep but nothing else.

This ^^

UsingChangeofName · 04/11/2023 15:37

W0tnow · 04/11/2023 15:20

I’d offer the cost of the flight to the other parents, and keep the rest. I suspect most people would.

This.

I find it hard to believe people would do more than this.

I'm also surprised that the airline would refund more than the cost of the tickets in the first place....... considerably more than the cost, on top of paying for the hotel.

Quite frankly, I wouldn't think much of the parents of the friends if they accepted more than what they paid, when you treated them to the whole holiday except for the flights.

Dox9 · 04/11/2023 15:41

2x 600 euro compensation relates to flights which you did not pay for. You will have expenses back separately. Why in the world would you think you can keep the extra 1200?

pootlefump · 04/11/2023 15:41

I don't think it's that conclusive actually you've got mixed responses on here. I'd refund the £250 but keep the rest!

CharlotteRose90 · 04/11/2023 15:46

I can’t believe the people saying keep the rest. Absolutely selfish. That money isn’t yours and you know it. You didn’t pay for the extra night hotel stay the airline did and you have a separate claim for food and drink you paid for. If you get a refund then the whole £600 goes to the passenger that was travelling you cannot keep it.

CharlotteRose90 · 04/11/2023 15:47

Dox9 · 04/11/2023 15:41

2x 600 euro compensation relates to flights which you did not pay for. You will have expenses back separately. Why in the world would you think you can keep the extra 1200?

Exactly she’s being greedy and thinks she can get away with it. Absolutely disgusting

MissIndecisive2023 · 04/11/2023 15:50

Kedece2410 · 04/11/2023 15:34

But its OK for the OP to profit. Her family will be receiving €2400 in compensation. The delay didn't cost them anything close to that

How is compensation paid out in cases like this though. Won't it be paid individually to each applicant. I cant imagine the OP will just get €3600 paid to her to potentially distribute or not.

Show quote history

In my experience of having claimed, she will. I claimed on behalf of my family of 4 (one of whom has a different surname so the airline wouldn’t have known his relationship to me/us). They paid a lump sum to me, as I was the one to claim. I could have pocketed the lot and there was no way the airline would know otherwise.

BitofaStramash · 04/11/2023 15:51

When you claim you are asked if you have permission to claim on behalf of all the passengers.

Think about the implications of saying yes to that and pocketing all the money.

You give the money to the people who paid for the flights.

Densol57 · 04/11/2023 15:52

No good deed goes unpunished on Mumsnet !
How dare you profit from compensation despite spending a lot of money on the kids 🤣
Id just give them back their airfare so they are costs neutral and put the balance towards all you spent.

SleepingStandingUp · 04/11/2023 15:52

Memba · 04/11/2023 15:24

Yes, they know we are applying for refund for flights - we didn't know about entitlement to compensation initially.

The expenses (food/drink) etc are a separate claim - all paid for by us and therefore we will keep this element of the claim.

Show quote history

Then they get the €600. Ok so they weren't bothered by the delay, but they're still entitled to the compensation. You don't want the family to profit from the holiday but you want to profit from them.

You're getting €2400 back minus flights which you'd have paid for anyway. You're claiming for the costs of food and drink.
Did one days delay really cost your businesses over €2400?

BitofaStramash · 04/11/2023 15:54

I'm also surprised that the airline would refund more than the cost of the tickets in the first place....... considerably more than the cost, on top of paying for the hotel

Legally they must compensate you at fixed rates unless the delay was out of their control e.g air traffic control strikes

SleepingStandingUp · 04/11/2023 15:54

UsingChangeofName · 04/11/2023 15:37

This.

I find it hard to believe people would do more than this.

I'm also surprised that the airline would refund more than the cost of the tickets in the first place....... considerably more than the cost, on top of paying for the hotel.

Quite frankly, I wouldn't think much of the parents of the friends if they accepted more than what they paid, when you treated them to the whole holiday except for the flights.

Show quote history

The parents will see it as free money from the airline for the delay, not as money that OP thinks should be here because they took them away on holiday.

Primproperpenny · 04/11/2023 15:58

It’s for the passenger themselves and not you! Would never have occurred to me to do anything but give it to them!

LumpyPumpkin · 04/11/2023 16:00

Each passenger should get their compensation. It's as simple as that. You shouldn't have claimed for them if you weren't going to pass on their compensation.

itsgettingweird · 04/11/2023 16:01

If I was the parent of the child taken the most I'd take is the cost of flight.

I wouldn't dream of asking for more - I wouldn't accept more and I wouldn't even ask about compensation or expect it.

My compensation would have been an extra 24 hours peace and quiet Grin

Mumof2teens79 · 04/11/2023 16:04

If the airline paid for the hotel and food etc
And there is also a refund in the ticket price
Then any additional compensation for inconvenience/delay/ not being back on time belongs to the individual who was delayed. You get yours, your children should get theirs, your kids friends get theirs.

justwantobeamum · 04/11/2023 16:07

I think you have to offer them the £600 but they are cheeky fuckers if they take more than the cost of the flights after you gave their sprogs a free holiday probably costing you more than £600 in food and activities for their child!

zurala · 04/11/2023 16:08

SleepingStandingUp · 04/11/2023 15:52

Then they get the €600. Ok so they weren't bothered by the delay, but they're still entitled to the compensation. You don't want the family to profit from the holiday but you want to profit from them.

You're getting €2400 back minus flights which you'd have paid for anyway. You're claiming for the costs of food and drink.
Did one days delay really cost your businesses over €2400?

Show quote history

This. You can't possibly have lost £2,400 in earnings in 24 hours, and even if you had the compensation is per passenger and therefore you need to pay it to the teenagers (not their parents!).

catsanddogsandrabbits · 04/11/2023 16:09

I'd give them the airfare and keep the rest. You had to entertain the kids for the extra night, you had to organize it all and liaise with the airline on the ground you had to keep the parents informed, you had to put the work in to claim it back. There was no inconvenience to the parents or the kids.

So their kids get a free holiday, no hassle and they get a teen-free week AND a payout??? How is that fair?

caringcarer · 04/11/2023 16:09

You chose to pay for food and accommodation for your DC friends. The compensation is for travel and their parents paid so you should of course give €600 to each passenger as the airline intended. Each passenger was inconvenienced. You and your DH get €600 each compensation. Each DC gets €600 compensation. You can choose to keep your own DC compensation but not their friends as that would be theft.

NovemberName · 04/11/2023 16:11

God god!This is one of those nuts mumsnet threads!!!

OP this actually happened to us. My kid went away with another family, only paid for the flight. Meals, accommodation, car parking etc etc all paid by the other family. I offered but said they were going anyway.

my kid has amazing time, flight was delayed coming back. Parent gave me flight money back.

I was delighted. Absolutely delighted! She didn't offer more than flight money!

Why the fuck would she!!!??? Would you want to be stuck overnight with 2 tired teenagers??

And I didn't ask , you know why? I'm not a Cheeky Fucker.

Hey thanks for taking my kid away for a week all expenses paid but can I also make a profit out of it!!

OP just give the flight money back.

BarqsHasBite · 04/11/2023 16:11

MexterDorgan · 04/11/2023 15:32

Morally/legally it's theirs to keep. If I were the parents though I'd only accept the flight cost back from you and tell you to keep the rest, personally.

100% this. I think you should tell the other parents about the claim and that if successful you’ll transfer 2x£600 to them/their kids. But I think it would be sh1tty of the other parents to accept anything over the 2x£250 they paid for the flights. You were very generous in treating their kids as much as you did, they should now mirror/repay that generosity.

WowStart · 04/11/2023 16:13

Are you sure you are getting 600 euros each? I’m intrigued where you were flying that was 3500km away for £250

Ohdearwhatnow4 · 04/11/2023 16:13

What about you give the £250 back and the £350 you split so they get another £175 but so do you.