ryanair said they dont do refunds - online check-in problem

mystic_bertie

the other night i booked a last minute flight for the following day from prestwick to bournemouth for a total of £70, i was unaware of the online check in thing but i selected it during my order process, i got my flight confirmation email and i printed the confirmation off the webpage.

I assumed i would get what i needed to print off from the email, i was puzzled and did not see anything else i needed to print, nothing was obvious so i wrongly assumed everything was ok with the online check in, however all i can say was i was not directed to anything else to print off and i never saw anything obvious that needed printing off and i am quite internet savvy.

the next day i went to go thru security at the airport 30 mins before take off and i was told i should have a barcoded boarding pass that i should have printed off so i was told to go to the ryanair ticket desk for help, basically they told me i have missed my flight and they cant put me on the flight as check in desk was closed, i argued with the evil witch but i gave up soon realising it was a waste of time. I was offered no helkp or alternative flight.

i went home and called the ryan air £1 a minute help line where i was told they dont do refunds and i was given a fax for head office to pursue a refund. i got told balh blah its all in the terms and conditions and did i read them.

anyway i am raging i missed my flight, i dont see how the ryanair woman could not go in a print off a boarding pass the way i would/ should have done. it was basically tough luck.

i then booked a flight later that day from glasgow with easyjet, the online booking was straightforward and the online check in was obvious and easy and i was taken there as part of the order process. ie the way it should be

so what chance have i got of getting a refund, i know they are going to lay all the blame on me and go on about the terms and conditions, however i think there set up is a shambles and goodness knows how many people have done the same, im not stupid when it come sto online stuff but i feel stupid the way this has happened.

hope someone can advise on my next best move.

Edinburghlass_2

Before you confirm your flight you are obliged to tick the box that says you have read the T&C's. In that you should have read about online check-in, the link to manage your booking is also in the email confirmation that you received.

Important! I have read and accept Ryanair's [URL="javascript:infoWin('terms',0,0,'EN')"]Terms and Conditions[/URL], [URL="javascript:infoWin('usage',0,0,'EN')"]Website Terms of Use[/URL], [URL="javascript:infoWin('pid',0,0,'EN')"]photo ID policy[/URL] and the above Important Information and I will advise all other passengers travelling as part of this reservation of these conditions.
(Please check box to continue.)

Engadine

Don't reckon that you have much of a chance getting a refund from Ryanair, they don't do refunds. As you didn't actually take the flight then you can ask for a refund of the tax however to process your refund for the tax they will charge an admin fee that is normally as much as they tax.

They will claim that it is your fault as you didn't read the website and they are covered by their terms and conditions that you accepted at the time of booking.

The check in desks close around 40 minutes prior to departure and Ryanair will not budge if someone is late and check in has closed. For you to receive a boarding card at the airport you have to pay the airport check in charge, which you hadn't as you had selected online checkin. As you were there well after the time that the check in desk closed there really wasn't any chance of them issuing you a boarding card.

Your booking confirmation also mentions managing your booking online which includes online checkin.

The_Casual_Tailor

It's your !!!! up I'm afraid, you'll get nowt from them.

robt_2

I'm sorry but it is totally your fault for not being able to follow instructions - I don't see why they should cough up for that!

ynot2005

it was all down to lack of time, 30 mins is too late in the day for anything to be done.

your confirmation number was all you needed and a £4 airport check in fee to be paid and you could have checked in as normal if you had more than 40 mins to do that.

even at the sacred home of ryanair stansted airport, where hopefully a statue of michael o leary will be erected for us to worship, no-one will print a boarding pass off for you

you were just too late, ryanair would have shown you the check in desk to check in if you had enough time.

leave it at that, you are wasting time and money trying to pursue this.

i dont like the website either, it dosent always work properly, online check-in plays up sometimes, the my credit card number dosent work in an earlier thread was probably another glitch in the system

meester

lesson is next time fly on a decent airline. We flew on these flights before and were familiar with the standard of service and so when we arrived 5 minutes after check-in closed for a BA we were panicking that they wouldn't let us on. It was no problem 'Don't worry sir', they said.

So much better.

There's an easy ten-step process that you should follow before booking a Ryanair flight, let me share my tips:

1. See if there's a full service alternative that costs say £50 more. If there is take it. It is worth it.
2. If there isn't, find a different budget airline. Any will do, just not Ryanair.
3. Failing that double check that Ryanair are actually going where they claim, rather than somewhere 100 km away.
4. Empty the contents of your wallet and find a Visa Electron card. Haven't got one? No, nor have I. Prepare to be shafted as a consequence.
5. Tell your kids you're going to have them put up for adoption. While this might make them upset it will lessen the shock when they are forced to sit at the opposite end of the aircraft having found that your rugby tackling skills essential for boarding a Ryanair flight are not as well developed as some of the other more hardened Ryanair users.
6. If you have a wedding planned before flying cancel it, because the name change fee will exceed the cost of your wedding.
7. Remember to bring large quantities of money with you to the airport. You will be requred to hand it over in return for such services as 'getting on the flight', 'bringing your luggage', and other marvels of modern travel.
8. Do not attempt to pull the beard off any members of Ryanair staff, Jeremy Beadle is nowhere to be found, Ryanair staff are paid to be rude to you, it is not a practical joke.
9. If possible avoid 'flying while disabled'. Ryanair hate disabled people and regard them as an inconvenience getting in the way of making an extra 2p in profit.
10. On your return flight take care to weigh your bags before leaving, even if you have brought back the same amount of stuff that you flew out with, staff will take great pride in charging you a small fortune for one bag weighing over the limit even if your family members have much less.

meester

ynot2005 wrote: »

even at the sacred home of ryanair stansted airport, where hopefully a statue of michael o leary will be erected for us to worship

you need to get a grip mate.

seriously.

(this guy has previous for being abusive to ryanair victims: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=978375)

Saint_Chris

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

don't you just love the anti-ryanair people

just think if there was no ryanair, and no 1p flights, to be paid with electron cards,

the other flight companies, would have a ball charging what they wanted for flights, because there would be no competition.

1. See if there's a full service alternative that costs say £50 more. If there is take it. It is worth it.

Yes right, 4 people travelling sure i'm gonna pay an extra £200 quid not to fly ryanair, today people are moaning cause bread has gone up by 10p a loaf

2. If there isn't, find a different budget airline. Any will do, just not Ryanair

well there isn't that many about nowadays that can compare to ryanairs prices

3. Failing that double check that Ryanair are actually going where they claim, rather than somewhere 100 km away

If you've done your research 1st you'd know the distance from the airport to your destination.

4. Empty the contents of your wallet and find a Visa Electron card. Haven't got one? No, nor have I. Prepare to be shafted as a consequence

Oh and no other travel company charges for using visa, even easyjet do

5. Tell your kids you're going to have them put up for adoption. While this might make them upset it will lessen the shock when they are forced to sit at the opposite end of the aircraft having found that your rugby tackling skills essential for boarding a Ryanair flight are not as well developed as some of the other more hardened Ryanair users.

I've never once seen this on a flight, just get to the front of the que and your fine

6. If you have a wedding planned before flying cancel it, because the name change fee will exceed the cost of your wedding.

Why do you need to change the name on your flight ticket, just book it in your maiden name, so it matches your passport

7. Remember to bring large quantities of money with you to the airport. You will be requred to hand it over in return for such services as 'getting on the flight', 'bringing your luggage', and other marvels of modern travel.

It's 2008 and if you want to take it you pay for it, if you dont' then you dont pay for it, no different to other airlines that charge you for extra kilos, and for you to put bags in the hold, enabling travellers to just use hand luggage.

8. Do not attempt to pull the beard off any members of Ryanair staff, Jeremy Beadle is nowhere to be found, Ryanair staff are paid to be rude to you, it is not a practical joke.

Why should people want to be rude in there job, maybe it is because all they get is negative comments from people, ryanair flight attendants are no different from any other people

9. If possible avoid 'flying while disabled'. Ryanair hate disabled people and regard them as an inconvenience getting in the way of making an extra 2p in profit

I have taken my friend many a time on a ryanair flight, and she is in a wheelchair, we have never had any problem, we board the flight last, and are always seated together somewhere in between rows 2 and 6, as these seats are left for us, we exit the flight last, we have no contact with ryanair staff,we are always in the hands of the ground staff, at whichever airport we are at. .i tell the airline that i don't need wheelchair assistance round the airport, i'm quite able to push my friend in her chair around the airport, but that i will need help to board the plane, just before checkin i go to the front of the que, and ask the check in staff to call for assistance, if it isn't there, then ground staff from the airport help us onto the plane, the same happens when we get to our desination, we wait on the plane for ground staff to come and get us...................so how can this be ryanairs fault

10. On your return flight take care to weigh your bags before leaving, even if you have brought back the same amount of stuff that you flew out with, staff will take great pride in charging you a small fortune for one bag weighing over the limit even if your family members have much less

I have no comment on this post because it has never happened to me, plus before i go to check infor my ryanair flight, i nip to the conveyor belt next to our check in and weigh my luggage there, usually followed by otheres, who they panic because they are overweight, and proceed to move stuff around suitcases..

Pollycat

I agree with ynot2005 about your timings.

the next day i went to go thru security at the airport 30 mins before take off

The FAQ section of Ryanair's website states that you should be at the boarding gate AT LEAST 30 MINUTES BEFORE TAKE OFF - not trying to get through security.

At my local airport even before 6am in the morning there's a queue to get through security, so I think you were prabably tight on time to make the flight even if you'd got your barcode boarding pass.

I was offered no helkp or alternative flight

What type of help were you expecting to be offered?

RyanAir's website also states that if you miss a flight, you will be required to purchase a new ticket at the applicable fare.

And it also states that any passenger failing to present their printed Online Boarding pass at airport security and the departure gate will be charged a boarding card reissue fee. This facility is only available if the check-in desk is still open for your flight. Airport Check-in desks close strictly 40 minutes prior to scheduled departure.

I can't honestly remember what it says about printing your boarding pass when you get through to that stage of booking, but on our first flight with RyanAir we were aware that just the confirmation of booking was not a boarding pass, so I guess it must have told us that at some stage.

So really I think you just allowed yourself insufficent time to sort out any problems and I don't think you stand a cat in hell's chance of getting a refund.
All that will happen is that you'll end up with an expensive phone call to recover taxes paid which as Engadine says will be eroded by the admin fee.

I think your best bet is to put this down to a £70 mistake on your part.

ynot2005

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