Wizz Air gets a visit from the bailiffs.

readytotaxi · Sat Mar 18, 2023 5:24 pm

A passenger sent bailiffs to Luton Airport to confront Wizz Air over £4,500 owed to him after his family's flights were cancelled at the last minute.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-b ... s-64999557

A spokesperson for Wizz Air said "When things went wrong, we did not react quickly enough to manage the high volume of customer claims that resulted from this disruption. We are sorry about this and we are working to ensure that our customers' experience with Wizz is better this year."

We will have to wait and see. :scratchchin:

aidoair · Sat Mar 18, 2023 5:53 pm

They really are the lowest of the low airlines out there. They are really treating their pax like an utter inconvenieve, especially in the UK. How they are continualing to get away with this is beyond me. The CAA really need to step in and give them an ultimatum.

davidjohnson6 · Sat Mar 18, 2023 6:00 pm

But Wizz can sometimes be very very cheap.
As a comparison, think Ryanair about 15 years ago, when everyone knew Ryanair might abandon you on your way home and tell you to catch a bus for 24 hours or get the next flight 4 days later... but we still booked Ryanair because they were so much cheaper than many of their competitors

A60Stock · Sat Mar 18, 2023 6:50 pm

Pardon me being a bit classist - but if this guy really is a "property expert," why on earth is he booking with Wizz Air? Even Ryanair or EasyJet are a cut above...

P.S. I fully expect to get rinsed for this comment!

davidjohnson6 · Sat Mar 18, 2023 7:47 pm

Why does being a property expert forbid flying with Wizzair ? Mrs Johnson has been a lawyer specialising in residential and commercial property for 20+ years... yet she is happy to save the money (and spend it on a nice lunch out when we reach our destination !) and fly with Wizz if the flight times are suitable. And yes, Luton is our nearest airport.

I know what you mean about Wizz v Easyjet... but if you're going to get on an airplane, fall asleep immediately and then wake up 3 hours later when the wheels hit the runway close to a Mediterranean beach... then it's difficult to see what you're getting from spending extra with other airlines

eta unknown · Sat Mar 18, 2023 8:41 pm

I agree with the complainant- this is the only way you'll get your money back. Having an airplane impounded will get the airline's attention.

A60Stock · Sat Mar 18, 2023 9:00 pm

davidjohnson6 wrote:
Why does being a property expert forbid flying with Wizzair ? Mrs Johnson has been a lawyer specialising in residential and commercial property for 20+ years... yet she is happy to save the money (and spend it on a nice lunch out when we reach our destination !) and fly with Wizz if the flight times are suitable. And yes, Luton is our nearest airport.

I know what you mean about Wizz v Easyjet... but if you're going to get on an airplane, fall asleep immediately and then wake up 3 hours later when the wheels hit the runway close to a Mediterranean beach... then it's difficult to see what you're getting from spending extra with other airlines

I was being cheeky - I’ve flown Wizz and am an accountant by profession. If the pricing is right, I will go out of my way to go to LTN (LHR is my nearest) and take Wizz - they do the job, and I’ve developed a system for not handing them a penny extra than I have to. I have to agree with you, I was going to grumble about the leg room, but I think the legroom on offer with Wizz is on a par with BA’s A321neo on a recent trip to EDI - my knees are welded to seat in front on both, so why pay extra for little difference?

I actually applaud this guy, certainly has caused them some embarrassment and he successfully forced the issue. I wonder if there are any other cases out there like this that could in theory end the same way?

seansasLCY · Sat Mar 18, 2023 9:39 pm

davidjohnson6 wrote:
But Wizz can sometimes be very very cheap.
As a comparison, think Ryanair about 15 years ago, when everyone knew Ryanair might abandon you on your way home and tell you to catch a bus for 24 hours or get the next flight 4 days later... but we still booked Ryanair because they were so much cheaper than many of their competitors

The difference is that now there are laws that mean Wizz has no choice but to provide assistance and compensation.

Dreambaby · Sat Mar 18, 2023 9:41 pm

We had a flight cancelled last July and are still awaiting compensation . Numerous calls and emails got us no where until we got the CAA involved . Today we received a snail stating they have transferred the funds in to our accounts …… however this will take 30-49 days to appear !! Really??? They also stated that next tine we need support call the call centre ! We did several times and every time they said the money was transferred on different dates!

Dreambaby · Sat Mar 18, 2023 9:42 pm

Dreambaby wrote:
We had a flight cancelled last July and are still awaiting compensation . Numerous calls and emails got us no where until we got the CAA involved . Today we received an email stating they have transferred the funds in to our accounts …… however this will take 30-49 days to appear !! Really??? They also stated that next tine we need support call the call centre ! We did several times and every time they said the money was transferred on different dates!

davidjohnson6 · Sat Mar 18, 2023 9:45 pm

seansasLCY wrote:
davidjohnson6 wrote:
But Wizz can sometimes be very very cheap.
As a comparison, think Ryanair about 15 years ago, when everyone knew Ryanair might abandon you on your way home and tell you to catch a bus for 24 hours or get the next flight 4 days later... but we still booked Ryanair because they were so much cheaper than many of their competitors

The difference is that now there are laws that mean Wizz has no choice but to provide assistance and compensation.

EU261 dates from 2004. 15 years ago, EU261 was in place, but Ryanair took a very different view about what was required for compliance with the law compared to most of its passengers... pretty much like Wizz today !
I'm not saying that Wizz should get away with this... and I think the UK CAA needs to arrest a few Wizz aircraft at random just to show Wizz that it needs to behave itself.... but many passengers will still take a chance, buy a cheap tickets, and hope they won't be the one who gets shafted

chonetsao · Sat Mar 18, 2023 10:19 pm

Dreambaby wrote:
however this will take 30-49 days to appear !! Really???

This is insane. I don't think I want to fly with them. I am happy with my limited experience on Ryanair. I hope your fund appears quicker than the date range!!

PhilipBass · Sat Mar 18, 2023 10:58 pm

Occassional visit from Baliff is a cost of doing business for less ethical businesses.
18 months later I am now waiting for a Judge to sign decree(a formality at this stage as the respondent offered no defence) so that I can get a Baliff to collect my rental deposit from a Car Hire company. They have had many opportunities to refund and for 99% of Customers, the Customer will drop it and the business holds on to deposits.

MON · Sat Mar 18, 2023 11:08 pm

I'm at the stage of taking Wizzair UK to the small claims court because they totally ignore all contact with them as regards my two different sets of canceled flights. At this stage I basically consider they have stolen my money.

gatibosgru · Sat Mar 18, 2023 11:15 pm

Good for him, more of this kind of energy.

PhilipBass · Sat Mar 18, 2023 11:34 pm

The European Small Claims Court Procedure is a nightmare. The process allows scofflaws like Hire Companies to ignore Customers Complaints.
You need to be bloody-minded to see it through to the end.
The only way to hurt these companies is not to use their services and bad word of mouth against these companies.

eta unknown · Sun Mar 19, 2023 6:50 pm

A60Stock wrote:
I actually applaud this guy, certainly has caused them some embarrassment and he successfully forced the issue. I wonder if there are any other cases out there like this that could in theory end the same way?

There are quite a few cases involving ex pilots in salary disputes... Royal Brunei had a 767 impounded at LHR for a few hours before they finally got around to paying the pilot's final stipend. Air Zaire frequently had their DC-10 impounded at BRU when they consistently stiffed their Belgian contracted pilots.

chonetsao · Sun Mar 19, 2023 7:37 pm

PhilipBass wrote:
The only way to hurt these companies is not to use their services and bad word of mouth against these companies.

For some companies (well, the one currently is better than Wizz but had plenty bad mouth moments in the past), the bad word of mouth is free publicity!

So the best way is to stop business with them and tell good things about its rival every time (so don't give them free publicity but give its rivals good publicity and move people to its rivals.)

cpd · Sun Mar 19, 2023 8:00 pm

eta unknown wrote:
I agree with the complainant- this is the only way you'll get your money back. Having an airplane impounded will get the airline's attention.

Yes, this is the way with airlines. The heavy handed approach is the only way. Otherwise they will behave in the “we are bigger than you, what can you do” manner.

330lover · Mon Mar 20, 2023 8:47 am

I have been travelling with them multiple times between CRL and BUD, never had any issue. One time big schedule change, was solved smoothly. Crews always friendly.
Travelled Ryanair twice and they we're... Well, I want to be polite, so I won't say what I'm thinking... Avoiding them as the plague...

kurtverbose · Mon Mar 20, 2023 10:12 am

Same category as Ryanair.....I'd rather walk.

gabo787 · Mon Mar 20, 2023 10:15 am

Funny how we all complain about Ryanair, Wizz, EasyJet or any other low cost airline. At the end of the day the vast majority of us is still going to choose the cheapest tariff we can get.....
Still is nice to vent our frustrations though

scbriml · Mon Mar 20, 2023 10:59 am

gabo787 wrote:
Funny how we all complain about Ryanair, Wizz, EasyJet or any other low cost airline. At the end of the day the vast majority of us is still going to choose the cheapest tariff we can get.....
Still is nice to vent our frustrations though

How can you argue when, for example, I can fly Ryanair for a day's spotting at Toulouse for £16 each way?

Personally, I've never had any issues with Ryanair and we've used them quite a bit. They did cancel my trip to Toulouse week before last, but that was due to French ATC being on strike. I got my refund very quickly.

MalevA346 · Mon Mar 20, 2023 11:15 am

gabo787 wrote:
Funny how we all complain about Ryanair, Wizz, EasyJet or any other low cost airline. At the end of the day the vast majority of us is still going to choose the cheapest tariff we can get.....
Still is nice to vent our frustrations though

This post is a simple projection of Your ego. Why on earth do people here on a.net love to repeat it???
Passengers choose according to their needs and their budget. Now, that "everyone can fly", many people look for the cheapest fare, but trust me, if there is a minor difference, people will decide based on other factors, not just price. For someone this "minor "difference " is 5€, for others it is 50€ or 500€. Can we just go on from here?

bennett123 · Mon Mar 20, 2023 11:21 am

MalevA346 wrote:
gabo787 wrote:
Funny how we all complain about Ryanair, Wizz, EasyJet or any other low cost airline. At the end of the day the vast majority of us is still going to choose the cheapest tariff we can get.....
Still is nice to vent our frustrations though

This post is a simple projection of Your ego. Why on earth do people here on a.net love to repeat it???
Passengers choose according to their needs and their budget. Now, that "everyone can fly", many people look for the cheapest fare, but trust me, if there is a minor difference, people will decide based on other factors, not just price. For someone this "minor "difference " is 5€, for others it is 50€ or 500€. Can we just go on from here?

I would say that what is a 'minor difference' in cost will largely be down to your wealth and the overall cost of the trip.

So for most people €5 is no big deal, but €50 is probably a big deal.

Clearly other factors, such as flight times and connections are also important.

kurtverbose · Thu Mar 23, 2023 10:10 am

gabo787 wrote:
Funny how we all complain about Ryanair, Wizz, EasyJet or any other low cost airline. At the end of the day the vast majority of us is still going to choose the cheapest tariff we can get.....
Still is nice to vent our frustrations though

Not had problems with EasyJet. I would still fly with them. There is enough data on Ryanair (I don't want to have to call the police when locked in a cabin) and Wizz (see above) to know to avoid them.

I also don't like being quoted a price that bears no relation to what you actually pay. Ryanair are notorious for this.

I'm not against low budget airlines, just ones that are abusing their customers.

I normally use Swiss, who are quite price competitive and pretty good, and when I have discussed this with my friends they have a similar attitude. They don't book tickets based just on price.

FluidFlow · Thu Mar 23, 2023 10:28 am

Dreambaby wrote:
We had a flight cancelled last July and are still awaiting compensation . Numerous calls and emails got us no where until we got the CAA involved . Today we received a snail stating they have transferred the funds in to our accounts …… however this will take 30-49 days to appear !! Really??? They also stated that next tine we need support call the call centre ! We did several times and every time they said the money was transferred on different dates!

What kind of transfer was this? I had many reimbursements from many airlines/ferry companies/car rental companies/etc. and they all came through reimbursing back on the original form of payment which was a credit card. In that case the 30-49 days is a measure by Wizz to keep you from contacting them all the time because it actually depens on the cc company how they handle such reimbursement and when they will be added to your statement/account. I have no clue why but its not like a normal bank transfer so it takes some time to process. Probably to clear some fraud security measures. It might be there the next day but it can also take ages. I had it from 4- over 30 days. The latest one was a compensation by brittany ferries. They told me on January 10 that i get a compensation on my cc but it could take up to 60 days to show on my statement. Now somewhere in Feb it was on my statement (in the App) but it was redated back to the 16. of January. So the money came in pretty fast but it took almost another month to show up.

oldannyboy · Thu Mar 23, 2023 11:08 am

Unfortunately it's not just a question of cost when booking a flight, but also available flights from your nearest airport, as well as timings and frequencies. As an example, for some of my routine trips to a number of destinations I *must* resort to FR, Wizz or U2 unless I'm in the mood for a schlepp to a much further airport, or a notoriously impractical stop-over somewhere like Vienna or (god forbid) Paris from a smaller local airport, which also means a long back-track up north for me when flying to say, Malta, Spain, Budapest or Romania.
Ryanair have assembled an amazing array of destinations that are flown frequently (3x or 4x W), with decent reliability, often with aggressive pricing and good availability even at short notice, which is what I often need, especially for business trips.
The [often] lower cost is an added bonus - it helps because it means I can go back easily with no issues after a week or two, rather than 3 months, if I need to.
Do I love flying FR? No, but they often get the job done with no drama. Most times they are bang on time, and through the years I've had very few cancellations (for good reasons), followed by almost instant refunds. U2 is [very] marginally more civilised. Wizz I find more irritation, but again, they often have very friendly crews.
You will find that the onboard experience varies mostly depending on the crowd of pax on board, and NOT on the crew. Flying on a Friday night to Ibiza often means it will be a hellish flight, while a mid-morning flight to Frankfurt will be as pleasant as the next LH flight.
Passengers -and by that I mean the typical/stereotypical noisy, rowdy, drinking-prone "chavvy" types- are the biggest issue associated with flying ULCC for me, whether it's FR, Wizz or U2. You never know what might end up happening onboard, or just how loud the people sitting behind you are going to be.
Mind you, I've had 'bad flights' flying QR and KL (in J too!), so there you go!
Crews are generally ok, but the 'hit & miss' syndrome affects all airlines, and not just the ULCCs - and please don't start me on BA.
Seating offers exactly the same level of comfort (or lack thereof) of your average BA A320/21 these days so no need to resort to the usual uninformed comment that they "cram in sooo many more seats than the others"....

eurotrader85 · Thu Mar 23, 2023 11:13 am

A60Stock wrote:
davidjohnson6 wrote:
Why does being a property expert forbid flying with Wizzair ? Mrs Johnson has been a lawyer specialising in residential and commercial property for 20+ years... yet she is happy to save the money (and spend it on a nice lunch out when we reach our destination !) and fly with Wizz if the flight times are suitable. And yes, Luton is our nearest airport.

I know what you mean about Wizz v Easyjet... but if you're going to get on an airplane, fall asleep immediately and then wake up 3 hours later when the wheels hit the runway close to a Mediterranean beach... then it's difficult to see what you're getting from spending extra with other airlines

I was being cheeky - I’ve flown Wizz and am an accountant by profession. If the pricing is right, I will go out of my way to go to LTN (LHR is my nearest) and take Wizz - they do the job, and I’ve developed a system for not handing them a penny extra than I have to. I have to agree with you, I was going to grumble about the leg room, but I think the legroom on offer with Wizz is on a par with BA’s A321neo on a recent trip to EDI - my knees are welded to seat in front on both, so why pay extra for little difference?

I actually applaud this guy, certainly has caused them some embarrassment and he successfully forced the issue. I wonder if there are any other cases out there like this that could in theory end the same way?

The leg room on BA verses W6 is 2 Inches. That's quite substantial.

Wizz! has made a business of trying to be even cheaper and crapper then Ryanair, throwing in more rows of seats than anyone else on comparable aircraft, treating passengers like crap, overselling seats and even whole aircraft it can't offer. Sure, the fares are cheaper, and for some people that's fine. Give them a box to carry and they'd fly DHL. They know what they paid for. Pure Crap. But there are basics that have to be offered to protect the consumer to protect them and create basic standards for the industry, and when Wizz comes out and says "fell short of our own aspirations and our customers' expectations" it's nothing but BS. Wizz's only expectation was the consumer would give up and they could rub their hands. Fair play to Mr Quirk for doing what he did. It's high tide that the CAA steps in and demands change at the airline to protect consumers, even if that does force fares up £1 or whatever.

beachroad · Fri Mar 24, 2023 8:44 pm

I did the same to Singapore Airlines about 20 years ago, although not to the airport, to their offices.

MalevA346 · Sat Mar 25, 2023 2:32 am

eurotrader85 wrote:
A60Stock wrote:
davidjohnson6 wrote:
Why does being a property expert forbid flying with Wizzair ? Mrs Johnson has been a lawyer specialising in residential and commercial property for 20+ years... yet she is happy to save the money (and spend it on a nice lunch out when we reach our destination !) and fly with Wizz if the flight times are suitable. And yes, Luton is our nearest airport.

I know what you mean about Wizz v Easyjet... but if you're going to get on an airplane, fall asleep immediately and then wake up 3 hours later when the wheels hit the runway close to a Mediterranean beach... then it's difficult to see what you're getting from spending extra with other airlines

I was being cheeky - I’ve flown Wizz and am an accountant by profession. If the pricing is right, I will go out of my way to go to LTN (LHR is my nearest) and take Wizz - they do the job, and I’ve developed a system for not handing them a penny extra than I have to. I have to agree with you, I was going to grumble about the leg room, but I think the legroom on offer with Wizz is on a par with BA’s A321neo on a recent trip to EDI - my knees are welded to seat in front on both, so why pay extra for little difference?

I actually applaud this guy, certainly has caused them some embarrassment and he successfully forced the issue. I wonder if there are any other cases out there like this that could in theory end the same way?

The leg room on BA verses W6 is 2 Inches. That's quite substantial.

Wizz! has made a business of trying to be even cheaper and crapper then Ryanair, throwing in more rows of seats than anyone else on comparable aircraft, treating passengers like crap, overselling seats and even whole aircraft it can't offer. Sure, the fares are cheaper, and for some people that's fine. Give them a box to carry and they'd fly DHL. They know what they paid for. Pure Crap. But there are basics that have to be offered to protect the consumer to protect them and create basic standards for the industry, and when Wizz comes out and says "fell short of our own aspirations and our customers' expectations" it's nothing but BS. Wizz's only expectation was the consumer would give up and they could rub their hands. Fair play to Mr Quirk for doing what he did. It's high tide that the CAA steps in and demands change at the airline to protect consumers, even if that does force fares up £1 or whatever.

You are 100% right. Imagine that very soon You can fly 12-14 hours with Wizz with 1 stop at Abu Dhabi from Europe to South East Asia. I hope some magic happens and God - for example - steps in between.

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