Wizz Air paid dad £4,500 for canceling his family holiday after bailiffs were sent to Luton airport

A father revealed how he got Wizz Air to pay him £4,500 for canceling his family holiday to Portugal after months of chasing a refund by sending bailiffs to Luton Airport.

Russell Quirk, a property expert from Brentwood, Essex, said the cancellations forced him to buy new flights for the following day.

He said, “My message is, where big companies thwart you, if you persevere you can get what you owe.”

After months of waiting for Wizz Air to refund the money, Mr Quirk went to court before sending bailiffs to the airport.

Wizz Air apologized for the cancellation and paid Mr Quirk his money, saying the airline ‘failed to meet our own aspirations and our customers’ expectations’.

He revealed how he got Wizz Air to pay him £4,500 for canceling his family holiday to Portugal after months of chasing a refund by bailiffs sending them to Luton Airport

Wizz Air apologized for the cancellation and paid Mr Quirk his money, saying the airline ‘failed to meet our own aspirations and our customers’ expectations’

Mr Quirk originally booked the flights from Luton Airport to Faro in January last year for a family holiday in May with his three daughters and wife.

On the morning of their flight, he received a message from Wizz Air that the flight had been cancelled.

“There was no explanation, no alternative offered and no apology,” he told the BBC.

“I had to wake up my three daughters and tell them we weren’t going on vacation – they were very upset.”

With the hotel, transfers and airport lounge already paid for, Mr Quirk had to book another flight for the next day, leaving him £4,500 out of pocket when adding up the lost money on other expenses.

After returning to the UK from his holiday, Mr Quirk said he was trying to get compensation from Wizz Air.

But it took nearly two months for the cost of his original flights to be reimbursed along with other legal fees.

He said Wizz Air repeatedly ignored his claims for the extra £4,500 he spent as ‘consequential damages’.

The budget airline then ‘disregarded’ the judgment handed down against them after Mr Quirk took the case to District Court, so bailiffs were sent to the Wizz Air counter at Luton Airport.

The airline can hand over the money or its equivalent in goods, for example in the form of chairs, tables or computers. Wizz Air eventually paid Mr. Quirk the money.

After returning to the UK from his holiday, Mr Quirk said he was trying to get compensation from Wizz Air

Mr Quirk originally booked the flights from Luton Airport to Faro in January last year for a family holiday in May with his three daughters and wife (pictured)

The low cost airline then ‘disregarded’ the judgment handed down against them after Mr Quirk took the case to District Court, so bailiffs were sent to the Wizz Air counter at Luton Airport

The property expert said it cost about £180 to take his case to court and £60 to send the bailiffs.

He added: “More and more companies think they can treat customers like dirt and I am determined to eradicate that.”

A spokesman for Wizz Air said that due to unprecedented disruptions in Europe and the UK in summer 2022, “we have failed to deliver on our own ambitions.”

They added: ‘When something went wrong, we didn’t react quickly enough to manage the high volume of customer claims resulting from this disruption.

“We’re sorry and we’re working to make sure our customers’ experience with Wizz is better this year.”

The airline assured that it has paid all district court verdicts against the company since December and continues to settle claims.