Claim for denied checkin due to desk’s inability to charge WizzAir fees

[ashirus]

I neglected to checkin online with wizzair within 3 hours and arrived in airport effectively * 90 minutes before flight due to son being ill (but I have no documentation for that).

Checkin at airport wanted to charge me for for my family of 6 (about £240 or whatever) but none of debit and credit cards went through through at the desk (managed by QAS). They tried about 5 different cards, including 2 which I borrowed from a vague acquaintance in the queue **! They had no ability to accept cash and Wizzair on the phone (belatedly) said they can’t take payment for airport checkin themselves, it has to be done at the airport. In the end it was less than an hour before the flight and they simply closed the flight.

My travel insurance is covered by Nationwide Flexplus UKI insurance (not Aviva yet for various reasons) see this PDF https://www.nationwide.co.uk/-/assets/nationwidecouk/documents/current-accounts/insurances/flexplus/p3349-flexplus-worldwide-family-travel-insurance-policy.pdf?rev=00c81f0ff3bf43f19d84ac72e0232839

I doubt there’s a duty of care from Wizzair themselves under UK261/EU261 for this but if anyone thinks otherwise please tell me!!

The new flights and extra accommodation are obviously expensive.

What are my chances of being covered by insurance and/or wizzair (or QAS??) on the basis of the issues with gate processing extra fees? I don’t have time/ability to get documentation to prove son’s illness so prefer not to pursue that angle.

I’m happy to fight all the way to small claims court if need be but hope someone here assesses this claim as more straightforward.

thanks
Ash
* actually more but there was extra pre-security
** who kindly agreed I’d pay him back by bank transfer

[Blair Waldorf Salad]

Can you add some details on when this happened, when you booked alternative flights (if booked yet) route, etc.?

[NorthernLass]

Surely the most reliable source is going to be your travel insurer – have you tried calling them?

As mentioned above, some more details would be helpful, including where you were flying from and to.

[memesweeper]

If you are thinking of mounting any sort of claim from Wizz or an insurer get confirmation from card cos that they did not decline any transactions, and keep the evidence.

[HampshireHog]

Surely a wind up?