Ryanair dismisses threat of legal action from claims firm
Ryanair is being threatened with legal action by a compensation claims firm, which has accused the airline of ‘defamation, harassment and unlawful interference’.
FairPlane claims Ryanair has been writing to the claims company’s customers making untrue statements about it.
Daniel Morris, solicitor and director of FairPlane, said: "We were engaged last year with Ryanair’s lawyers on this issue and threatened to bring proceedings at that time. They appear to have taken no notice.
"We are committed to providing affordable access to justice in these low value claims for our clients but can only do so if we operate efficiently and in a cost effective manner. Ryanair’s conduct appears to be aimed at disrupting the service we provide to our clients and discouraging them from being properly advised so as to be able to receive the maximum amount of compensation due to them."
He said the firm’s figures show it is forced to issue proceedings against Ryanair on 45% of claims, of which 94% are successful.
"But the figure is not completely accurate and our success rate may be higher because Ryanair deliberately cause confusion by sending money directly to our clients," it said.
Debenhams Ottaway, representing FairPlane, has sent a letter before action to Ryanair outlining the allegations and demanding an apology and damages.
But Ryanair dismissed the claims as untrue.
"Ryanair complies fully with all EU261 legislation and deals with each claim on a case by case basis. Many of these ‘claims chaser’ firms are ripping off consumers by charging up to 50% of their compensation.
"We urge all customers with valid EU261 compensation claims to submit their claims directly to Ryanair. Customers with valid claims who claim directly from Ryanair will receive 100% of their EU261 compensation entitlement without the deduction of these excessive ‘claims chaser’ fees."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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