A dad has told how he finally secured a refund for the shambolic Teesside Airshow – but only after he took the organisers to court.
Ian Bosher was caught up in the traffic chaos which ensued around Teesside Airport on June 11 for the airshow’s hotly anticipated return.
The Richmond dad, who spent nearly an hour and a half queueing to get into the event before deciding to turn around, tried to claim a refund from organisers SkyLive Air through their official process.
Read more: Family's desperate bid to get mum home after she fell ill on holiday in Turkey
But when the company refused to give him a refund for his tickets he took them to court and has finally managed to get his money back.
Ian, 50, a Road Safety Trainer, told The Northern Echo: “I wasn’t that bothered about the money but I just had to do it out of principle.
“Me, my wife and our son spent nearly an hour and a half in the queue on the A67 and only got half the way to the entrance before we decided to abort and turn around.
“I tried getting a refund from SkyLive by sending off my tickets but never got any money back. When I eventually managed to get in touch with them they told me I’d missed their deadline and they tried to get out of giving me any money back.
“There must be hundreds or thousands of people who were in the same situation who’ve just given up, but I wanted to show that you can get your money back.”
Ian made a claim through the online money claims court and secured a County Court Judgement (CCJ) against SkyLive after they failed respond to the claim.
To get more stories direct to your email basket go here
SkyLive was ordered to pay £77.88 to Mr Bosher, £42.88 which he was owed for his tickets and £35 in costs.
He added: “It’s really simple to do online and only costs £35 but you can win that back.
“The CCJ came through last month then I got a cheque from SkyLive a couple of weeks ago.”
To get a refund disappointed punters were asked to send their tickets back to organisers SkyLive by July 4, paying extra for postage and for a stamped return envelope which they were asked to include.
The Northern Echo previously reported how a County Durham woman was told by SkyLive she wouldn’t be issued a refund because she was a day late sending off her tickets on July 5.
A damning report into the airshow highlighted a ‘number of shortcomings’ in the planning which caused the event to descend into chaos with huge queues of traffic.
It said it was ‘incredibly disappointing’ that the airshow was ‘overshadowed’ by ‘serious traffic issues’ and said it was ‘very unlikely’ Teesside Airport would host the event again.
Read next:
- I spoke to striking Durham lecturers manning the picket line - here's what they said
- Shop worker's robbery trauma ended in him stealing £10,000 in lottery tickets
- County Durham family share 'miracle' story of 12-week premature baby
If you want to read more great stories, why not subscribe to your Northern Echo for as little as £1.25 a week. Click here
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel