If you are stuck in such a situation, here is what to do.

Ms. Anika Joshi and her partner, Mr. Sameer Verma, recently returned from a holiday in the Republic of Costania, which they had booked through a company called ‘Horizon Escapes Ltd’. Unfortunately, their return journey was delayed by a full 24 hours, causing significant disruption. Upon their return to the UK, Mr. Verma promptly filled out an online compensation form provided by Horizon Escapes Ltd. The company processed the claim and paid Ms. Joshi £400 in compensation, which she accepted. However, Ms. Joshi later realised that the claim did not include the 8 hours of work she missed due to the delay, amounting to a loss of approximately £150. Mr. Verma explained that he had not seen a specific option on the form to claim for lost wages and had overlooked it. Ms. Joshi is now questioning whether she can make a subsequent claim for her lost earnings, or if the matter is now closed.

Advice in such cases

When you accept a payment from a company as compensation, it is often on the basis of a “full and final settlement.” This legally means you agree that the payment concludes the matter entirely, and you forfeit your right to make any further claims related to that specific incident. The first step is to meticulously review the terms of the settlement you accepted. If the correspondence or the acceptance form contained this phrase, pursuing an additional amount is extremely difficult. However, you can still write to the company, explain the oversight politely, and request the additional amount as a gesture of goodwill, but they are likely not legally obligated to pay more.

• Review the Settlement Agreement: The most critical document is the acceptance or settlement agreement. Its wording will determine your legal standing.
• Calculate All Losses First: Before accepting any offer, always compile a complete list of all your financial losses, including out-of-pocket expenses and consequential losses like lost income.
• Communicate Formally: If you believe an item was genuinely overlooked, communicate this to the company in writing (email or letter), providing clear evidence of the additional loss.
• Consult with Lawyer: The very basic and important step to start is talk to Lawyer / advocate. You should not hesitate in paying his consultation fee i.e. might be in range of 100 GBP to 400 GBP depends case to case. He is helping you in this situation of come out. He is expert in the domain and can help you explain the procedure which you might have never explored.

Applicable Sections of Law

This situation is governed by UK consumer and contract law, not criminal law.

• The Consumer Rights Act 2015: This Act implies a term into your contract with the travel provider that the service must be performed with reasonable care and skill. A significant, unmanaged delay could constitute a breach of this term, entitling you to compensation for foreseeable losses.
• The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018: If your holiday was a “package,” these regulations provide robust protection. They grant consumers the right to an appropriate price reduction and compensation for any damage resulting from a lack of conformity in the travel services, which includes significant delays. Compensation under the regulations should cover both material and non-material damage.
• Common Law of Contract: The principle of “full and final settlement” is a cornerstone of contract law. When an offer is made and accepted to settle a dispute, it creates a new binding contract that extinguishes the original claim. To claim for lost wages (‘special damages’), you must prove they were a foreseeable consequence of the company’s breach of contract at the time the contract was made.

If you are the complainant

If you find yourself in Ms. Joshi’s position, having already accepted a settlement:

• Immediately locate all correspondence from Horizon Escapes Ltd, especially the settlement offer and any digital or physical form you signed or ticked. Scrutinise it for the words “full and final settlement” or similar language.
• Gather clear evidence of your lost earnings. This should be a letter from your employer confirming your rate of pay and the hours you were absent due to the delay, supported by the relevant payslip.
• Draft a formal, non-confrontational letter to the company’s customer relations or legal department. Explain that your lost earnings were inadvertently omitted from the initial claim and provide the evidence. Request that they consider this additional, documented loss.
• Do not threaten legal action in your initial letter. Frame it as an appeal to their customer service and fairness. Be prepared for their response to be based strictly on the legal agreement you have already made.

If you are the victim

If you are in the initial stages of making a claim and have not yet accepted an offer:

• Do not rush. Take time to list every single financial loss. This includes additional meals, accommodation, transport, and any lost income.
• When filling out a claim form, if there isn’t a specific field for a type of loss (like wages), use a “further information” or “additional comments” box to detail it. If no such box exists, send a separate email or letter detailing these additional costs before you accept any offer.
• Retain all receipts and documentary evidence for every item you claim.
• Read any settlement offer with extreme care. If it states it is in “full and final settlement,” understand that accepting it means you cannot ask for more money later, even if you discover further losses.

How the police behave in such cases

The police will not be involved in this type of matter. This is a civil dispute between a consumer and a company regarding a contract for services. It is not a criminal offence. Contacting the police would be inappropriate and they would direct you to pursue a civil remedy.

FAQs people normally have

• Can I reopen a settled claim if I realise I lost more money?
  Generally, no. If you have accepted an offer as a “full and final settlement,” you have entered a binding agreement that prevents further claims arising from the same event. An exception is extremely rare and would require proving you were misled, for example.
• Why weren’t my lost wages included automatically?
  Lost wages are considered ‘special’ or ‘consequential’ damages. They are not an automatic entitlement. The claimant must specifically state and prove this loss, and it must have been a foreseeable result of the company’s breach. Companies do not automatically include it.
• Is it worth going to court for a small amount like £150?
  While you could use the Small Claims Track of the County Court, the legal costs and time involved often make it impractical for such a small sum, especially given the low chance of success after a settlement has already been accepted. The filing fee itself might be a significant portion of the amount claimed.

What evidence is required?

• The settlement agreement or correspondence confirming your acceptance of the £400.
• Proof of your lost earnings: A formal letter from your employer detailing your contracted hours, hourly wage, and confirming your absence and loss of pay for the specific date. A corresponding payslip showing the deduction is also essential.
• The original holiday booking confirmation and itinerary.
• All correspondence between you, your partner, and Horizon Escapes Ltd regarding the delay and the claim.

How long will the investigation take?

This is not a formal “investigation.” If you write to the company, they should respond according to their internal complaints procedure, typically within 8 weeks as per standard industry practice. If you were to file a small claim in court, the entire process from filing the claim to a hearing could take between six to nine months, or potentially longer.

Advocate Sudhir Rao, Supreme Court of India