#WestJet #CanadianTransportAgency #flightdelay #compensation
Hey everyone,
I recently had a situation with WestJet where they offered me $1000 to withdraw my complaint with the Canadian Transport Agency regarding a flight delay that caused me to miss a connecting flight. They’re asking me to withdraw my complaint first before receiving the money, which makes me a bit hesitant.
🤔 Has anyone else been in a similar situation with an airline offering compensation in exchange for withdrawing a complaint? What did you do?
Here are a few things to consider and possible solutions:
– Check the terms and conditions of the offer carefully before making a decision
– Reach out to the Canadian Transport Agency for guidance on the situation
– Consider seeking legal advice if you feel unsure about the process
I’d appreciate any insights or experiences you all can share! 🛫💰
Make sure though that the email is legit coming from Westjet. Lots of phishing scam these days.
I would leave the claim open out of spite for screwing me over and wasting my time, but that’s me
Post your inquiry in the “Air Passenger Rights (Canada)” FB group. Gabor Lukacs leads the group and is well versed with your rights under the APPR.
[Link](https://airpassengerrights.ca/en/contact) to his website.
If it was me I would not withdraw the complaint, even if it means I only get $400 back.
I’d take the $1000 and move on. You’re not guaranteed the $400, and they may reduce it later.
Take the 1k and enjoy.
> I am happy with the money they are offering, but I don’t want to withdraw my complaint until I actually have the money
Then accept their offer, withdraw the complaint and take your 1k.
You’re not holding the cards on this idea that they’re going to pay you first. And if you think they’ve got some sort of shenanigans where you’re going to withdraw the complaint and they won’t pay you the 1k, that’s not what they’re doing. nobody at westjet gives a crap about your thousand bucks. They do care about the volume of complaints.
It is up to you if you want to take the money and run. That’s what I’d do personally, given $1000 > $400. The reasons why they’d do that, other than being short-staffed and not wanting to respond to your claim over the four days that have been allocated to the company, includes the possibility that they’ve assessed your claim to be valid but don’t want it to become “precedent” that would work against them in the future.
If you’re certain that this was a communication sent by Westjet and it’s not someone else cosplaying/scamming you, then they won’t back out of the compensation deal unless you don’t withdraw your claim within the next four days- if they do and you don’t receive the money in a timely manner, you can go to small claims and the media.
You want a Release of Claims/Mutual Release and Settlement Agreement from WestJet. It should clearly outline the deal, you get $1000 by a certain date in exchange you will withdraw the complaint.
You can do this safely. If they fail to payout you can take it all to small claims court and get paid for failure to pay a settlement. So even if the regulatory complaint can’t be restarted, a breach of contract can be.
If they don’t send it, couldn’t you just open another complaint, a BBB complaint, or take it to the media? I know that would take more time but seems worth the risk-reward (minimal risk IMO).
I would take it.
You can call the CTA if you want to get their (non-binding opinion) [1-888-222-2592](https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/contact-us)
There technically isn’t a timeframe where you need to submit your CTA complaint by (just the original APPR claim needs to go to the airline within a year), so you should theoretically be able to submit another complaint if you don’t get paid. That being said, I’m sure some negative press by the CBC will do the trick too, if a “glitch” occurs.
They dont want you telling mommy and daddy what they did.
WS must be spending spending a lot of man power (and $$$) on resolving unacceptable high volumes of complaints and getting stern looks from CTA. They are trying to remove records of complaints where they know for sure they are in the wrong with CTA.
It’s literally a bribe with a time limit on it (4 days to revoke the complaint).
Are you into taking bribes?
I would take the payout. I wouldn’t worry about asking for a name and contact information as another poster has suggested (the agents don’t have direct phone numbers to be called at, and likely won’t give you their email as it’s their full name. Your case file and all the details are stored in their system, and you have the proof of offer in your letter.
Granted, if you really want to wait and see what CTA rules, you can, but as others have suggested you likely will get less in the end.
I don’t see where they are requiring it just requesting it?
While I appreciate that this is an open and shut case where you will likely get less from the ruling, getting the official ruling appears to be what Westjet is trying to avoid. Having this as a record against them would likely have downstream effects on the ability to force changes which is why they are offering the premium of shut up Money.
I think there is something to be considered that if they want this case to go away so bad maybe it is worth pursuing?
Given you past experience with them, you should wait until you get the money in your account and then withdraw it
They had 2 years and could have sent $1000 to your account at any time. It’s not your fault that they did not allow enough processing time.
Email them and tell them to proceed with the payout. Also, if the email didn’t contain contact info, ask for a name, phone number (direct line), and email address of the person looking after your case / payment.
I agree with your philosophy to wait until the cash hits your account, but might be willing to grant them some leeway if you are speaking to an authorized person (not the general customer service line) who can confirm that the refund is being processed.
Edit: I feel like if you withdraw your complaint and they don’t send you the money, you may not have recourse. Maybe speak to the CTA to ask whether a withdrawn claim can be reinstated.
Basically they are offering you $600 extra so that they don’t have to admit wrongdoing, and their bad behaviour doesn’t go “on record”.
You could also counter offer and ask for $1200 due to the loss of “interest” for having to wait two years.
In Canada, a contract includes an offer, acceptance, and consideration. Assuming any agreement has all 3 of these, you could always take them to small claims court if a contract exists and they don’t honour it. Subject to statutes of limitation.
It’s either $1000 or probably $400 once it’s reviewed and a data point on WestJet they’re trying to avoid. I’d that the $1000 and move on.