It has been my experience that all airlines, in fact all organisations, will reply negatively to a first request for compensation, attempting to obfuscate the facts and confuse the consumer. At this point 82.6% of complaints (like most statistics, that was made that up on the spot!) will disappear into thin air.
The second request will be met with a derisory offer, and the third will produce a more or less satisfactory response.
What I'm really looking for here is an expert who can tell me if, in this case, I am correct in expecting compensation. I am concerned that Mrs. TV may have destroyed the case by accepting the alternative offered, even thoguh that resulted in him getting there 14 hours late.