TV display did not work on my long-haul flight so I could not watch movies. Can I get compensation? client lawyer DEAN DUNHAM replies
I took a long-haul flight to the Caribbean, which lasted about nine hours.
I was looking forward to catching up on some films, but my in-flight entertainment screen did not work.
I asked to swap seats, but the flight attendant said the economy section of the flight was fully booked.
This made the journey extremely boring. Can I get any money back?
Name and address supplied.
The usual aviation law, known as UK261 (EU261 in Europe) will not assist with this problem, so in the first instance you need to turn to the airline’s terms and
conditions (usually referred to as terms of carriage). You need to ascertain what the airline says about in-flight entertainment and if it excludes any liability if it does not work.
Long-haul misery: A reader was left without a working entertainment system on a 12 hour flight after being denied the courtesy of an upgrade
Many airlines say something along the lines of the in-flight entertainment is a free additional add-on that therefore does not form part of the contract.
By including this exclusion, the airline can escape liability if, as you have experienced, the entertainment system fails.
However, I now turn to the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA), as this could engage here if the UK law applies to the flight.
In this respect, under the CRA, if you were led to believe that your ticket price included the expectation of a functioning entertainment system, because the advertising led you to reach this conclusion, you could have solid grounds for a complaint.
The airline is likely to dismiss this complaint, but if you paid via a credit card your card provider may be more sympathetic if you make a section 75 claim.
If you do take this route, you will be saying that the airline was in breach of contract for failing to provide the in-flight entertainment as this was part of the ticket price.
Your remedy would therefore be a reasonable deduction in the ticket price, although I would suggest that this would be no more than 10 per cent.
Mattress firm won’t honour 14-day trial offer
I recently purchased a mattress from a reputable company, which was advertised as having a 14-day period to try the mattress at home.
It turned out to be uncomfortable so I asked to return it for a refund.
I was told I couldn’t return it as the mattress packaging had been removed, which breached health and safety.
How was I supposed to try the mattress while it was still inside the packaging?
L.L., Herts
Generally speaking, if the company has advertised you can try the mattress for 14 days and return it if it transpires that you do not like it, this will become a term of the contract between you.
The effect of this is that the company would have to honour the return, otherwise it would be in breach of contract.
However, before concluding the company is in breach of contract, you need to make sure you read its terms and conditions very carefully, especially the part that deals with the 14-day trial period.
In most of the terms I have seen in relation to a trial period for a mattress, there is a stipulation that the consumer must only use the mattress with a ‘topper’ or some other form of protection for the mattress.
If this is what the terms say here, or if they say something similar, you will need to prove that you adhered to these rules.
If you did, you’re in good shape and the company will have to honour the trial promise, but if you did not, the company will be right and will not have to accept the return.
In most cases when goods are purchased online you can rely on a law known as the Consumer Contracts Regulations
2013, which gives you the legal right to a 14-day cooling-off period for online or distance purchases.
During this time, you can cancel for any reason and get a full refund. However, goods that have a hygiene element are generally exempt and my view is that a mattress will fall within this.
