Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday’s ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below.
D.M. writes: My wife and I made a claim over a delay to our flight with BH Air on a Balkan Holidays vacation. The plane was damaged by ground crew at Burgas in Bulgaria, so our flight home was 17 hours late. Sadly, making our claim has been like running through mud. Under EU Regulation 261, we should each receive €40 (£33).
Balkan Holidays confirmed what you told me, saying that its airline partner BH Air decided it was unsafe to take off from Burgas after an accident on the tarmac damaged the aircraft’s undercarriage.
A private jet was sent to pick up a spare part, and passengers were given a meal and overnight accommodation while the aircraft was repaired.
But the blunt fact is that you were 17 hours late in arriving home, so it would not be unreasonable to expect some compensation.
People whose flights are delayed are not always entitled to compensation under EU Regulation 261
EU Regulation 261 does let airlines off the hook if delays are caused by extraordinary circumstances beyond their control, such as aircraft being damaged by a flock of birds, or struck by lightning, or grounded by extreme weather.
But I would have thought that damage by ground crew would be covered as, like flight crew, they are the airport’s and airline’s responsibility.
However, the Civil Aviation Authority has confirmed that BH Air is correct.
A spokesman told me that a problem that should have been spotted during routine maintenance would warrant compensation, but a one-off accident involving ground crew would not be the airline’s fault.
£47k bill for new build that’s yet to file plans
Ms H.V. writes: In January 2018, my son Michael paid a deposit on an off-plan new build apartment in Smithfield Square, Birmingham.
The developer, Prosperity Wealth & Developments Ltd, promised a building time of 24 months, and Michael has dutifully paid instalments every month while renting accommodation and waiting for his new apartment.
Last year, though, we discovered that there was still no planning permission for the scheme, so he put in a claim for the £47,000 he has paid so far.
But the developer wants to retain £6,599, and has asked him to sign a document agreeing to this before it releases the remaining £40,000 or so.
This is a shoddy way to treat a young man trying to buy his first home.
This week, Tony helps a young man who paid instalments for a new build flat that won’t be ready. On further investigation, the development doesn’t even have planning permission
Birmingham seems to be going through a real regeneration as far as developments are concerned, and the Smithfield site is just part of this.
You gave me a copy of Michael’s reservation form, showing that he was buying a two-bedroom apartment with an estimated completion date of January 2020.
By December last year he had paid a deposit and two years of monthly instalments, but was offered a refund of only £40,250.
The terms of the deal do not set a timetable for the development, but promotional material does indeed say the apartments should have been ready in January.
In fact, though it is aware of the scheme, Birmingham council has yet to receive a detailed planning application, so work has not begun.
I was prepared to argue this made the deal one-sided, as Prosperity Wealth could have clung on to Michael’s cash for ever, saying the agreement did not set a rigid timetable. And if no planning application was filed, Michael would never be able to reclaim anything.
But no argument was needed. I asked Prosperity Wealth’s boss Joe Billingham to look into what you said.
He and his company are experienced developers in a number of cities, and he told me: ‘Smithfield has been a longer journey than anticipated.
But we have a live pre-application with Birmingham City Council. The primary delay has been around BCC’s desire for a single application for the project – a £1.5 billion regeneration to include the residential, commercial, retail and public realm – alongside the typical public-private sector collaboration delays experienced on projects of this magnitude.’
The off-plan prices were set at a discount to the expected values of the finished flats, making them more suitable to long-term investors hoping to rent them out, rather than first-time buyers keen to move in as soon as possible.
According to Prosperity Wealth, an email to Michael in January 2018 explained there could be bumps in the road to development.
The bottom line is that Prosperity Wealth has given Michael three options. He can sit it out and wait for his flat. Or he can take back the instalments but leave the deposit, entitling him to an apartment at the discounted price when building is complete.
Or he can take back all his money, surrendering his right to the discounted price.
Michael has chosen the third option, and I have told Prosperity Wealth, so he will now be getting £46,850. A good result all round.
If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email [email protected]. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.
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