Originally Posted by
Soupey202
I accept that if it were automatic for everyone it would simply add to the ticket cost so perhaps what is actually needed is to penalise any airline that wrongly refuses a claim to make it difficult for the consmuer. So if you make a valid claim the amount payable doubles each time the airline fobs you off, customer services would be much more motivated to only deny claims which genuinely weren't eligible if their bosses knew that each letter or email which incorrectly denied payment would add to the total bill. I guess the one flaw with this is that it is only those in the know i.e. FT'ers that would know to pursue the claim and then what they would finally be entitled to!
Your post assumes that it is always black and white whether a claim is 'valid'. It is not. The law is a mess and many cases are borderline. Indeed sometimes the County Court gives a judgment for the airline in one claim, and a judgment against the airline in another claim in respect of the exact same flight.
If the airline believes it has an arguable case it should be entitled to argue it.
The ADR route and the courts do of course provide a process for consumers to argue theirs too.