ro2124

I have been in dispute with Iberia for a while after being refused boarding in Columbia, which cost me a lot of money. Well they refused boarding because of this damn Brexit. I had a British passport and lived in Germany and they said you need a residence permit. Unfortunately I did not have that, because I was stuck in Colombia during Covid quarantine for over a year, so couldn't apply with all my papers being in Germany . However, according to the German government website, I would be allowed entry as long as I had some proof I lived there, like rent agreement. And in fact I did have that. I showed it to the staff on the Iberia check-in counter in Bogota, but they just simply refused to accept it. I have heard many people have had these kinds of problems during Covid, with some these airport staff who don't know their own bloody rules and are extremely obstinate and won't listen to reason. So couldn't catch the flight, had to stay in Columbia a bit longer and tried again a few weeks later, this time I had even more proof, including a mail from the German Border police, that I am entitled to enter Germany. And would you believe it, I got stuck with the same idiot from last time, who refused me boarding again!! He said No you cant fly, I said look, here's a letter from the German Border police saying I can fly, what the hell is the matter with you? Well, I wasn't about to miss a second flight, because of this idiot, so I kicked up hell and eventually they let me on the flight. One shouldn't have to go through all this crap, if these people don't know their own rules. It was all very stressful, sometimes I got the impression, they just do it because they can... or trying to screw you over, to pay for more flights. Anyway since returning been trying to get my money back for the first time when they should have let me on, as I had sufficient documents with the rent contract. I asked them several times why did you refuse me ,if I had the right papers But they just give you excuses like "wWe are just following the rules", well they were obviously not! So been trying to do it through the credit card company, but it's taking a damn long time. Well, apparently you can also go through a complaint with the Civil Aviation Authority. So my question is, although based in London do they cover all of Europe or just UK?

Actually have another dispute, so this would be useful to know. I've been trying to get my money back from another company. My original flight was cancelled, when Covid kicked in and they offered some compensation, but I have since found out they do everything to avoid paying and after the initial mail, they just ignore people and if you call them, the phone just rings and rings and nobody ever answers. Many people have been waiting sometimes for over two years and still haven't got their money back, it seems the only way is to get lawyers involved, then they pay up. Well having done some research this company is famous for screwing people and simply ignoring contact. The company in question is the Lastminute franchise, in my case Lastminute.de. So apart from legal action, if Civil Aviation Authority does cover Europe, this might be the way to go. Looking at the hundreds of cases of victims of "Lastminute" they have no intention of paying any money back and never answer, hoping I guess, people will just go away and forget about it. In fact one poster on FlyerTalk said just that- "All airlines in general will deny claims initially. That's how they get 90%+ to give up" ...Yep sounds about right! So any advice on these matters, would be welcome.

TPJ

What was the reason of denial? As you quote Brexit, I guess you had a one way ticket and non-EU nationals need a RT ticket to be able to travel to DE. Right?

Then the easiest workaround was to quickly purchase a refundable FRA-LON ticket for the following week and refund it once you once you reach DE.

Have you checked Timatic? If it does not mention the rent agreement workaround you might be out of luck as most airlines follow whatever Timatic says.

craigthemif

The OP´s post is unreadable.

As near as I can tell, the OP wanted to travel to Germany at a time when only German residents could enter the country due to COVID restrictions. The airline denied boarding, probably for good reason. It has nothing to do with screwing passengers to get more money, but to avoid being fined by the arrival country for allowing ineligible passengers on board.

As mentioned, a potential solution could have been to quickly buy a one-way refundable ticket from either Madrid or Germany to London. Although perhaps at the time that would have involved a hotel quarantine package. But it does seem like the OP was in no particular hurry to get to Germany, rent contract or not...

In any event, the only way for this thread to be helpful would be for the OP to try again, this time avoiding the stream-of-consciousness rant and sticking to the facts.

London Dude

Correct, only EU citizens and permanent residents in Germany were allowed to enter the vcountry during the COVID lockdown periods. My guess is that the OP never applied for German permanent residence before the 1 Jan 2021 deadline, when freedom of movement across the EU ended for UK citizens. For one thing, there's a reason why we have national ID cards in the EU/EEA, and needless to say, a rental agreement doesn't prove squat, just ask the British-South-African couple living outside Lisbon who were detained in Frankfurt airport the other day.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics...rexit-id-cards

ro2124

@ craigthemif .....Unreadable is it? Maybe you should learn to read then, instead of insulting comments like I was "ranting". I made it quite clear, I was unable to get the residence papers, because I was stuck in Columbia for over a year with all the airport's closed. When they opened again I tried to get out and that was refused by Iberia because of Brexit rules. But like I said according to German government website it was allowed to enter with rent contract, if one was unable to get residence permit due to Covid delays. Even the German Embassy in Bogota confirmed, I should have been allowed to enter, so there you go!

>But it does seem like the OP was in no particular hurry to get to >Germany, rent contract or not...

Well, perhaps you are a magician then, who can leave a country when all the airports there were closed for over a year!

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@londonDude Yes of course I should have applied for a residence permit. Had I been able to go to Germany on my original return ticket before new Brexit rules kicked in, of course I would have applied, but like I said all the airports were suddenly closed because of Covid and therefore I couldn't get back to apply for the permit. The German government was aware of this problem , which is why they said a written rent contract would be sufficient to enter once flights resumed.

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@tjp

>What was the reason of denial? As you quote Brexit, I guess you >had a one way ticket and non-EU nationals need a RT ticket to be >able to travel to DE. Right?

Wrong actually , I had a return ticket, but as all flights were suddenly cancelled in Colombia was stuffed.

corporate-wage-slave

The tone in this thread is skating very close to the limits of what we allow, if not going slightly over. I need to suggest that we focus on the traveller's issues rather getting at one another please. Further contributions will have to be more respectful or they'll get edited down to something more boring.

cws/mod

ro2124

OK, point taken :-) Guess just got bit annoyed being accused of ranting, while trying to explain the matter in greater detail...maybe should have cut the post shorter.