Man sends bailiffs to airport to claim compensation

A Briton who was due to fly to Portugal with Wizz Air last January sent bailiffs to Luton Airport in London to claim his compensation. His flight was canceled for no reason and months later the man has still not received any compensation.

Russell Quirk is reportedly flying to the Portuguese city of Faro in the south of the country with his wife and three daughters. But on the morning of departure, the family suddenly received a message that the flight had been cancelled. “No explanation was given, no alternative was offered and no apology was offered.” And so Quirk had no choice but to book another flight at the last minute for £4,500, he says BBC News.

“Shocking” treatment for the airline

Quirk calls the airline’s treatment of customers “shocking”. “I had to wake up my daughters and tell them we weren’t going on vacation anymore. They were very disappointed,” he says. But since the rest of the trip had already been paid for, he decided to book another flight the same day.

Once back from vacation, Quirk tried to recover the extra costs he had to incur from Wizz Air, but he could not rely on cooperation. According to Quirk, it took almost two months before he was reimbursed for his original flight, but Wizz Air would not reimburse the additional costs incurred. So he decided to take the case to court. He ruled in his favor, but Wizz Air ignored the ruling, Quirk says.

Bailiffs at the airport

To get his money back, Quirk sent bailiffs to the airport. “Their option was to hand over the money or the bailiffs would take it in the form of chairs, tables, computers or maybe a plane,” he jokes.

Quirk hopes his action will send a message. “More and more companies think they can treat their customers like crap and I’m determined to stand up to that. So my message is that if you persevere, you’ll get what you’re entitled to.

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