Hi everbybody,
I am a new member of this forum, a recent victim of Myair bankruptcy and I strongly believe I am trapped in their fraudulent plan . The matter is on 13 Jul 09 I booked on-line 4 tickets for my relatives to flight from Barcelona to Venice on 31 Jul 09. They sent me a confirmation, charged my visa card (about 500 Euro). On that day, as we showed up in the Barcelona Airport for the booked flight (on our way from Mallorca to Italy), we learnt that the company has gone bankrupt and does not operate anymore. Just imagine how shocked and terrified we have been. We were kind of running out of money to buy new tickets with other airlines (they are extremely expensive at the last minute), let alone the fact that we had to find an accommodation to stay overnight on that night. One member in the group is my grandma and she is over 70. She has almost collapsed with the news. Luckily, with the help of my friends and a great deal of luck, we now managed to get out of Barca, but this costed us more than a thousand euros extra that we borrowed from our friends in Barca.
I am writing this now to ask for your kind advice whether we can consider this act of Myair a fraud, a cheating act? They charged my card, they sent me a confirmation ticket, yet they had sent us not a single line of notice or did whatsoever to inform us about the disappearance of the flight (I assume they could have at least informed us duly by e-mail about their bankruptcy and hence the cancellation/removal of the booked flight). They acted with such a disgusting irresponsibility. We were not the only victims of this. A few other people were in the same situation and they claimed this is a fraudulent act. The airport authority advised us to inform the police and sue Myair to court, which I think is very fair, but I don't know how I can do this.
Actually, there are 3 things I would like to do now regarding this shameless act of Myair: 1/ Get the 500 Euro that I paid them for the Barca-Venice tickets back; 2/ Get them answer for the consequences that we had to bear at the airport that resulted from their irresponsible act (of not having let us know their situation/cancellation); and 3/ Sue them to court for their fraudulent act.
I would appreciate very much if you could advice me whether my above wishes are realistic and how I can accomplish them. Please help me fight for justice. Thank you very much in advance.
Fraudulent act of Myair
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tolipanebas
- Posts: 2442
- Joined: 12 May 2004, 00:00
Re: Fraudulent act of Myair
I could post a 2-paged paper about your legal status, but the bottom line is this:
you've entered into a direct purchase contract with the airline itself since you've bought your ticket online, without any intermediators. That means there aren't many people to look at when things go wrong, are there?
Now, the airline is obviously not honouring its commitment (due to the bankruptcy proceedings), so you've officially become an unwanted creditor of the airline.
If you want your money back, you'll have few options but to join the probably very looooong cue of creditors who're all hoping to get some of their money back, creditors like lessors, fuel suppliers, handlers, maintenance providers who each have upaid bills for millions of euro and thousands of individuals who've lossed a few hundred euro's... Need I say such legal proceedings are time consuming and cost a lot of money, and that in the end there won't be enough money to pay everybody back (otherwise the airline wouldn't have gone bust, would it?)
Alternatively you could try to contact VISA and ask them to still block the transaction, but if the airline already charged your card the day you bought the tickets, then... well, back luck, I'd say.
One advice: Next time when you fly, don't just look at the ticket price, also look at the airline you'll be flying and think about the fact that you may be better off flying one of the legacies rather than yet another unknown airline which happens to be a few tens of euro cheaper...
you've entered into a direct purchase contract with the airline itself since you've bought your ticket online, without any intermediators. That means there aren't many people to look at when things go wrong, are there?
Now, the airline is obviously not honouring its commitment (due to the bankruptcy proceedings), so you've officially become an unwanted creditor of the airline.
If you want your money back, you'll have few options but to join the probably very looooong cue of creditors who're all hoping to get some of their money back, creditors like lessors, fuel suppliers, handlers, maintenance providers who each have upaid bills for millions of euro and thousands of individuals who've lossed a few hundred euro's... Need I say such legal proceedings are time consuming and cost a lot of money, and that in the end there won't be enough money to pay everybody back (otherwise the airline wouldn't have gone bust, would it?)
Alternatively you could try to contact VISA and ask them to still block the transaction, but if the airline already charged your card the day you bought the tickets, then... well, back luck, I'd say.
One advice: Next time when you fly, don't just look at the ticket price, also look at the airline you'll be flying and think about the fact that you may be better off flying one of the legacies rather than yet another unknown airline which happens to be a few tens of euro cheaper...
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tolipanebas
- Posts: 2442
- Joined: 12 May 2004, 00:00
Re: Fraudulent act of Myair
I see you've posted the same question twice?
Sounds like you're pretty angry and want to fight MyAir to get your money back.
One advice: try to stay calm and mentally prepare yourself to accept you've most probably lost all of the money (if VISA can't block the transaction any more).
Sounds like you're pretty angry and want to fight MyAir to get your money back.
One advice: try to stay calm and mentally prepare yourself to accept you've most probably lost all of the money (if VISA can't block the transaction any more).
Re: Fraudulent act of Myair
For most people who become a victim of bankruptcy, it is a shocking experience, giving feelings of disbelieve, anger, frustration.
But the end result is that you will have nothing back, unless VISA did not take the money from your account yet.
Bankruptcy is not a fraud , but in many cases it is caused by fraud.
Without being cynical: try to look at it with a stoïc view: nothing to do about it. And think about the happy times of your holiday, that could smoothen things up.
So, let's stay positive; Tell us which airline took you out of trouble, how the flight went, how was the airport etcetera.
But the end result is that you will have nothing back, unless VISA did not take the money from your account yet.
Bankruptcy is not a fraud , but in many cases it is caused by fraud.
Without being cynical: try to look at it with a stoïc view: nothing to do about it. And think about the happy times of your holiday, that could smoothen things up.
So, let's stay positive; Tell us which airline took you out of trouble, how the flight went, how was the airport etcetera.
Re: Fraudulent act of Myair
On the VISA issue:
"If you paid by credit card, initiate a dispute immediately. You’ll probably get all of your money back, but don’t count on it. If you’re working with a reputable card, have made the reservation recently, and contest the charges right away, you’re likely to see a full refund."
See: http://www.moneybluebook.com/always-pay ... ptcy-loss/
You can argue for "services not rendered". Check the T&Cs of your credit card. My UK Gold Visa includes travel insurance and reimbursement of airfare in cases of airlines bankruptcy.
"If you paid by credit card, initiate a dispute immediately. You’ll probably get all of your money back, but don’t count on it. If you’re working with a reputable card, have made the reservation recently, and contest the charges right away, you’re likely to see a full refund."
See: http://www.moneybluebook.com/always-pay ... ptcy-loss/
You can argue for "services not rendered". Check the T&Cs of your credit card. My UK Gold Visa includes travel insurance and reimbursement of airfare in cases of airlines bankruptcy.
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NCB
Re: Fraudulent act of Myair
You have to open a file with your credit card company and fax them all proof.
They know very well that MyAir went down, and credit card purchases are usually covered.
You bought a service that you have not received, so Visa (or actually Visa's insurer) enter the line of creditors instead of you.
As a EU directive, a cancelled flight entitles you to this:
Cancellation
Whenever your flight is cancelled, the operating airline must
give you:
• a choice of either a refund of your ticket (with a free flight back to your initial point of departure, when relevant) or alternative transport to your final destination, and
• meals and refreshments, hotel accommodation when necessary (including transfers) and communication facilities.
The airline may also have to compensate you, at the same
level as for denied boarding, unless it gives you sufficient
advance notice and offers alternative transport close to the
original time.
Compensation or refunds may be in cash, by bank transfer or cheque or, with your signed agreement, in travel vouchers, and must be paid within 7 days.
If you do not receive these rights, complain immediately tothe airline operating the flight.
You are also entitled to 250€ per passenger for the cancellation.
Get the refund from Visa, then you can file a lawsuit with your local court, preferably without paying an attorney because you won't need one. 250€/pax + hotel + lost payday + lack of the EU-enforced assistance + price difference for last minute tickets, moral damage, can easily put you on the line for 10 000€+, whether you get 100% of that 5-10 years later depends on how many creditors there are and how many assets there are. Assets are usually sold below value and the revenues divided proportionally in % to what you're owed as you're an individual.
You can sue them in Barcelona or in Venice, it does not matter, but you must mention their correct address in Italy.
Keep all your receipts, and be prepared to pay a few thousand euros to court, waste alot of time.
If you don't expect anything from it and you're bored, you can do it.
They know very well that MyAir went down, and credit card purchases are usually covered.
You bought a service that you have not received, so Visa (or actually Visa's insurer) enter the line of creditors instead of you.
As a EU directive, a cancelled flight entitles you to this:
Cancellation
Whenever your flight is cancelled, the operating airline must
give you:
• a choice of either a refund of your ticket (with a free flight back to your initial point of departure, when relevant) or alternative transport to your final destination, and
• meals and refreshments, hotel accommodation when necessary (including transfers) and communication facilities.
The airline may also have to compensate you, at the same
level as for denied boarding, unless it gives you sufficient
advance notice and offers alternative transport close to the
original time.
Compensation or refunds may be in cash, by bank transfer or cheque or, with your signed agreement, in travel vouchers, and must be paid within 7 days.
If you do not receive these rights, complain immediately tothe airline operating the flight.
You are also entitled to 250€ per passenger for the cancellation.
Get the refund from Visa, then you can file a lawsuit with your local court, preferably without paying an attorney because you won't need one. 250€/pax + hotel + lost payday + lack of the EU-enforced assistance + price difference for last minute tickets, moral damage, can easily put you on the line for 10 000€+, whether you get 100% of that 5-10 years later depends on how many creditors there are and how many assets there are. Assets are usually sold below value and the revenues divided proportionally in % to what you're owed as you're an individual.
You can sue them in Barcelona or in Venice, it does not matter, but you must mention their correct address in Italy.
Keep all your receipts, and be prepared to pay a few thousand euros to court, waste alot of time.
If you don't expect anything from it and you're bored, you can do it.
Re: Fraudulent act of Myair
Hi all,
I am also affected by this unlucky event. In June I bought a flight for the 9th August Barcelona - Bari, and a week later I'm supposed to fly Bari - Amsterdam, both with Myair. I booked Amsterdam - Barcelona with another company.
Now fortunately I was informed about the suspension of the licence of Myair only 2 days after it happened, through press releases and forums, so I could buy a new flight Barcelona - Amsterdam for not too much money. But I can forget about joining my boyfriend in the South of Italy this summer.
Anyway, I say suspension, as the airline has not been declared bankrupt just yet. The italian aviation organisation ENAC only temporary suspended their licence to fly until the airline would fix their operational issues. There's information on Myair's situation on http://www.enac-italia.it/Home/ They also provide you with a procedure to follow to demand your money back from MyAir. I suggest you to do this besides trying also via your bank. I would try as many ways as possible to get the money back and the mandatory compensation of course. The latest rumours on Myair's situation are that they are negotiating with a possible investor so they would be able to get their licence back in September. If the company doesn't go bankrupt, there would be a bigger chance for us to get our money back. However, I'm not counting on it, as who will book with this airline still after all the negative publicity this situation has brought them...
I am also affected by this unlucky event. In June I bought a flight for the 9th August Barcelona - Bari, and a week later I'm supposed to fly Bari - Amsterdam, both with Myair. I booked Amsterdam - Barcelona with another company.
Now fortunately I was informed about the suspension of the licence of Myair only 2 days after it happened, through press releases and forums, so I could buy a new flight Barcelona - Amsterdam for not too much money. But I can forget about joining my boyfriend in the South of Italy this summer.
Anyway, I say suspension, as the airline has not been declared bankrupt just yet. The italian aviation organisation ENAC only temporary suspended their licence to fly until the airline would fix their operational issues. There's information on Myair's situation on http://www.enac-italia.it/Home/ They also provide you with a procedure to follow to demand your money back from MyAir. I suggest you to do this besides trying also via your bank. I would try as many ways as possible to get the money back and the mandatory compensation of course. The latest rumours on Myair's situation are that they are negotiating with a possible investor so they would be able to get their licence back in September. If the company doesn't go bankrupt, there would be a bigger chance for us to get our money back. However, I'm not counting on it, as who will book with this airline still after all the negative publicity this situation has brought them...
Re: Fraudulent act of Myair
it is a bad news that Myair has done a fraudulent act using the persons Credit Card. To think that the information's inside the Credit Card is very important and a must be secret. My best advice is like the advice of the airport authority to sue Myair maybe you can find good lawyer there that can help you file charges against them.