I would like some help/advice for the situation I am in.
Back in February I was on vacation in the Dominican Republic. I live in Germany and my flight connections were Berlin-Frankfurt-Punta Cana. The flights were operated by Lufthansa. The in-bound flight went without a problem. It's the return flight that had problems.
When I arrived at the airport and got through the line to the check-in counter, I was pulled aside and told that I was re-booked to another flight, which I didnt get any e-mails about (even though I did get two e-mails about delays of the previously booked flight). The thing was that the other flight has already departed! So I was re-booked on a flight next day and the Lufthansa representative at the airport gave me a voucher which she said I could use to get 600 Euro compensation. I just needed to contact Lufthansa customer relations.
I e-mailed Lufthansa customer relations. After a month I received a response asking me about my bank details for a transfer. I provided the requested information promptly. After that I was getting feedback once a month with no progress at all. Last month I was told that my request was transferred to another department. Last week I received an e-mail from yet another Lufthansa representative, who said:
There are no grounds for compensation against Lufthansa for such delays, as a voucher was provided in this instance. We therefore hope for your understanding that we cannot meet your request for compensation.
I thought that the voucher IS the grounds for compensation and in accordance with EU laws I am entitled to 600EU. Is this a terminology issue - compensation, reimbursement or whatever they want to call what I am entitled to according to the laws? Or are they trying to discourage me from contacting them again and thus forfeiting my claims to the compensation?
What should I do? Apparently, there are many websites which fight the airlines on your behalf, but I view that as a last resort measure. Is there a way to contact somebody who oversees Customer Relations, like their manager of sorts? Because frankly the quality of their service and getting responses a month later is just not acceptable.
Thank you.
Update: Thank you all for your input. To address some questions asked:
- I just double-checked my bank account statements - there were no money coming in other than my salary.
- I was handed a hard copy of the voucher by a Lufthansa representative at the airport. Later, I received a pdf file of it by e-mail. I never signed anything. Moreover, that representative told us that we could use that voucher to actually get money from Lufthansa, not just apply it to the next purchase.
- I am adding an edited copy of the voucher here. As you can see, I was denied boarding due to the original flight being overbooked. which completely on them.
Update2: I think I should include the whole message which I received last from LH. Basically, they don't go into any detail and deny compensation simply based on the fact that I received this very non-specific voucher. Here is the message below:
We apologize that your flight did not operate as scheduled.
We understand your frustration with this occurrence, as we are aware of how stressful every change to your journey can be. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this caused you. Even with all of the effort we make to always maintain the flight schedule and avoid errors: We unfortunately cannot fully rule out certain occasions.
As safety in air traffic is always a top priority for Lufthansa, such situations cannot be always be avoided. As an airline, we will do our utmost to get you to your destination as fast as possible in spite of the circumstances.
There are no grounds for compensation against Lufthansa for such delays, as a voucher was provided in this instance. We therefore hope for your understanding that we cannot meet your request for compensation.
with the signed agreement of the passenger,
in travel vouchers and/or other services." Did you sign a waiver?