Any success claiming for phonecalls from airlines?

A question about : Any success claiming for phonecalls from airlines?

Hi

Just wondering if anyone had managed to get a refund on their phonecalls whilst stuck in the volcano chaos.

I was in a group fo 4 stuck in New York for 5 nights and all calls for the group were made from my phone (parents and brother in my group).

Last week finally got a 2nd cheque from Virgin to cover the accommodation and food costs. I had to dispute it originally as they miscalculated all the food bills despite having all of the receipts!

I ended up with a phone bill of approx Ј300 whilst stranded mainly attempted calls to the Virgin helpline which it was impossible to get through to and calls to my sister in the UK who was trying to sort things out here. We were desperate as we had a special needs passenger with us and we were running out of essential supplies.

Anyway - i made the claim on behalf of the group and they have only refunded me 1 persons daily allowance of Ј15 communication costs per day, possibly as mine was the only phone used and so only one phone bill suppplied to them. I have tried to dispute this and argue that each person in the group is entitled to 2 calls per day costs, and i had marked 8 calls per day on the phone bill which i requested a refund for. However having received the 2nd response from Virgin, they have ignored anything related to the phone bill claim dispute

So i am debating whether i can face another email to challenge this with another couple of months wait for a response, and possibly a 'no', or whether i give up and finally pay the cheques in to the bank and forget it.

Any one had any similar experience?

I am grateful we got the rest of the costs and appreciate we are very lucky compared to some. As far as Virgin go it seems it is definitely worth challenging your first offer if it doesn't quite add up!

Many thanks

Best answers:

• Thanks Cityboy
  Yes under the ‘regs’ it says 2 phonecalls per passenger per day, yet they have only refunded 1 passenger allowance, when I am claiming on behalf of a group of 4 passengers (with a bill with 8 calls a day shown).
  When I spoke to someone at Virgin they said that if claiming on behalf of a group, the group were only allowed the communication entitlement of one passenger!
  Surely this is not fair and not in line with the regs.
  Maybe if we had all used individual phones and submitted 4 different phonebills then they may have refunded it.
  I might try another phone call to them before I give up.
  Many thanks
• Sorry - i see now, i'd misunderstood this.
  That may be why they would not budge then!
  Thanks for your advice, giving up is less frustrating now!
• I still havent received any refund! Cant see me getting it now
• Ј15 would buy you a $20 calling card from a pharmacy good for 800 international calling minutes if you buy the correct sort of card - worth knowing for the future! You can use those cards from hotel phones without paying the hotel as they are a 1-800 number.