Ryanair has been accused of barring passengers pursuing chargebacks against the airline during the pandemic from taking new flights this year – until they return their refunds.
A MoneySavingExpert (MSE) investigation has found that holidaymakers who have sought a refund from their credit card issuer have faced last-minute demands of up to £600 if they want to board a Ryanair plane .
during the lockdown, Ryanair Many of its routes were flown in, even though most tourists were barred from traveling by government regulations.
airline Refused to return affected passengers unable to travel, which prompted many to successfully obtain a chargeback from their credit card company, particularly American Express.
Three of those passengers, who made new bookings with Ryanair to travel this year, have been told they can only fly Ryanair again if they refund the refunded amount. This ultimatum was given to a passenger just hours before the flight.
In at least two cases, Ryanair’s fraud department had sought refunds of between £400 and £630, MSE said. MSE said it has seen dozens of such cases on its consumer forums and social media.
Ryanair has defended its stance, claiming that it has always been a “no-refund airline” when flights go ahead and that its terms and conditions allow its status. In May last year, MSE had reported that some Ryanair employees had threatened blacklisting of passengers Those who used the chargeback to get a refund, the airline denied anything at that time.
Guy Anker, deputy editor of MSE, said: “This is absolutely outrageous behavior from Ryanair. It was essentially these passengers on a barrel shortly before their vacation, which turned the excitement into stress and anxiety. They had to book a vacation. Giving and telling them this news only at the last minute shows no respect for fellow human beings.”
Affected passengers said Ryanair had offered to refund money for this year’s flights if they didn’t pay a chargeback, but if they didn’t travel, they would get hundreds in accommodation, car rentals and COVID testing costs, he said. Pound suffered.
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The campaign team of MSE has now flagged the cases to the Civil Aviation Authority.
A Ryanair spokesperson said: “Ryanair flights that operate as scheduled are non-refundable – this is clearly outlined in the Ryanair terms and conditions agreed to by the customer at the time of booking. They state that if you use our We may refuse to carry you if you pay any money in respect of the previous flight by reason of refusing, rejecting or recharging the payment against you.
Last week The Competition and Markets Authority dropped its investigation whether in British Airways And Ryanair broke the law by failing to offer refunds to customers who couldn’t legally take their flights because of restrictions. It said at that time that the airlines should have given them their money back.