When the history of consumer rights in the UK comes to be written, there will be a special chapter on air passenger rights - so complicated and open to misinterpretation are the current laws.
Two weeks ago Jobs&Money examined how the airlines were treating customers trying to claim compensation after their flight was either cancelled or severely delayed. It was prompted partly because six months had passed since new EU regulations governing the issue had come into force, but also in response to a large mailbag from readers who said their claims were being ignored.
While we thought the article would provoke a response, we were surprised by just how forceful the response was from the airline easyJet and the European Regions Airline Association. Both contacted us to say the article was wrong, and told us at no stage is compensation payable to passengers in the event of a long delay.
We do have to correct an error in the piece. We wrongly said that that any passenger who is delayed more than five hours is entitled to a compensation payment. This is what the EU originally said when it introduced the new rules in February, although it has since retracted this.
However, we correctly reported that the EU states in its literature that any passenger who has suffered a delay of more than five hours is entitled to a refund (full or partial - it's not clear) of their ticket, plus a free flight back to your initial point of departure, if relevant.
No it's not, say both easyJet and the ERA. They say the customer is only entitled to compensation when a flight is cancelled, and when that cancellation is the fault of the airline. They also deny that heavily delayed passengers are entitled to be compensated for a delay with the return of the cost of the ticket, or given an alternative flight home.
To further confuse things, the body charged with acting on consumers' behalf in the UK, the Air Transport Users Council (AUC) says the same thing on its website - and apparently allows airlines to turn down claims on this basis.
So who is right? As you would expect we were straight onto the EU. The officials we spoke to said delayed passengers were entitled to be compensated. At our invitation, they tried to get hold of the lawyer who originally drafted the EU rules, but he is away on holiday and uncontactable.
While it is easy to understand why the airlines choosing to interpret the rules in a way that minimises the amount of compensation they must pay out, it is less clear why the AUC appears to have gone down the same route.
The body, which bills itself as "The UK's consumer watchdog for the airline industry", is currently telling passengers that they are not entitled to alternative flights and refunds, when they may well be.
There are a number of discrepancies between the AUC's advice to passengers and the EU's. The Official Journal of the EU which sets out the legislation states that those who have a return flight cancelled at the last minute should be offered a choice between a refund for that leg of the flight plus a free flight home, or re-routing with another carrier.
The AUC website paints a different picture.
When we asked the AUC to explain why it had apparently chosen to interpret the rules in this way, we met an angry response.
James Freemantle, the AUC industry affairs adviser, said: "We don't have to justify our decisions to you. We are happy with our interpretation of the regulations - who are you, you are one journalist - we've had lots of enquiries from other sections of the media and no one has asked us to justify this before."
We pored over the legislation - which is contained in article 8.1.(a) of the Official Journal of the European Union. Whichever way you look at it, it seemed clear to us that it requires an airline to fund an alternative route home and reimburse the cost of the ticket if you are left stranded in the country you have visited.
The EU's own charter of Air Passenger Rights, on the EU transport commission's website, also makes clear that where there is a delay over five hours, airlines must offer to refund your ticket and offer a free flight back to the initial point of departure.
But the AUC official said that it was not the case as the airlines no longer sell return tickets - just two singles. The AUC's chief executive Simon Evans later affirmed Mr Freemantle's approach, saying that the organisation's interpretation of the rules had been approved by the Civil Aviation Authority's lawyers.
"We do look at this periodically, I am happy that we have got our advice right as things stand at the moment. If there is a court case (and a passenger successfully took an airline to court) then we would obviously re-examine our advice," he says.
He also said he thought much of the "delay" legislation was intended to compensate those making flights that involve connecting flights, rather than those travelling home.
The essential problem - and this is the one thing that everyone agrees on - is that wording on the legislation is overly complicated and in places ambiguous. Until the matter is tested in court or reformed by the EU, passengers face a long struggle to get the recompense initially planned by the EU when it dreamt up the legislation.
An easyJet spokesman said: "In its drafting, the legislation has become incoherent, illogical and confused. It has quite a case to be one of the worst pieces of legislation to emerge from Brussels.
"This incoherence has been amplified by some inaccurate press reporting - and even the EU itself was forced to re-rewrite its initial explanatory pamphlet. In order to avoid disappointment and frustration we encourage passengers to look at the website of the Air Transport Users Council before submitting any claims."
The ERA add that it has lodged a complaint to the EU ombudsman arguing that the leaflets on passenger rights produced by the EU are misleading. The EU says it will be responding to the complaint within a matter of weeks.
By its own admission, the AUC's complaints department is overwhelmed - with a quadrupling of complaints since the new EU rules were introduced. Passengers who are brushed off when they ask for a refund as a result of a delay can take the matter to court.
If they are dissatisfied with the service they receive from the AUC, they may also email the EU's Energy and Transport directorate at: tren-aprights@ced.eu.int
What the EU says
Here's the exact wording of the Air Passenger Rights charter from the EU, available at europa.eu.int/comm/transport/air/rights/doc/2005_01_19_apr_poster_en.pdf
Long delays
Immediate assistance
If you check in on time for any flight, including charters:
· from an EU airport, or
· to an EU airport from one outside the EU, when operated by an EU airline,
and if the airline operating the flight expects a delay:
· of two hours, for flights of 1,500km or less
· of three hours or more, for flights within the EU, and for other flights between 1,500 and 3,500km,
· of four hours or more for flights of more than 3,500km outside the EU,
the airline must give you meals and refreshments, hotel accommodation when necessary (including transfers) and communication facilities.
When the delay is five hours or more, the airline must also offer to refund your ticket (with a free flight back to your initial point of departure, when relevant).
If you do not receive these rights, complain immediately to the airline operating the flight.
Later claims
When an EU airline is responsible for the delay of a flight anywhere in the world, you may claim up to 4,150SDR [£3,320] for any resulting damages. If the airline does not agree with your claim, you may go to court.
Denied boarding and cancellation
If you are denied boarding or your flight is cancelled, the airline operating your flight must offer you financial compensation and assistance. These rights apply, provided you check in on time, for any flight, including charters, in the EU.
Cancellation
Whenever your flight is cancelled, the operating airline must give you:
· a choice of either a refund of your ticket (with a free flight back to your initial point of departure, when relevant) or alternative transport to your final destination, and
· meals and refreshments, hotel accommodation when necessary (including transfers) and communication facilities.
