Ryanair emailed saying they won't refund tax for unused flight

christopher_h

Hi,

On Xmas eve I was supposed to fly to spain with my 70 yr old mum to visit my sister but she woke up feeling really unwell and we decided not to go.

I read on the MSE forums that Ryanair will refund tax for an unused flight so I called their customer services and they gave me an address in Dublin to write to for the refund. (I thought it was deliberately inconvenient for an internet based company, to insist on snail mail) !!

Today, this rather disappointing response arrived (by email strangely enough) - any thoughts anyone pls ?

Without Prejudice.

Dear Sir,

Following your recent request for a refund of the taxes paid on your unused Ryanair booking confirmation number U84FDA

Applications for tax refunds are subject to an administration charge per passenger. Please note that all other fees and charges, such as the passenger service charge, aviation insurance and credit & debit card handling fees are non refundable as per our General Conditions of Carriage.

Unfortunately, no refund is due in this instance as the administration charge exceeds the tax refund amount.

Yours sincerely,


Ryanair Customer Services

Optimist

That is in their terms and conditions. You could try complaining to the OFT but otherwise taking it to the small claims court would seem to be your only other option.

The_Lambton_Worm

christopher_h wrote:

Hi,

On Xmas eve I was supposed to fly to spain with my 70 yr old mum to visit my sister but she woke up feeling really unwell and we decided not to go.

I read on the MSE forums that Ryanair will refund tax for an unused flight so I called their customer services and they gave me an address in Dublin to write to for the refund. (I thought it was deliberately inconvenient for an internet based company, to insist on snail mail) !!

Today, this rather disappointing response arrived (by email strangely enough) - any thoughts anyone pls ?

Without Prejudice.

Dear Sir,

Following your recent request for a refund of the taxes paid on your unused Ryanair booking confirmation number U84FDA

Applications for tax refunds are subject to an administration charge per passenger. Please note that all other fees and charges, such as the passenger service charge, aviation insurance and credit & debit card handling fees are non refundable as per our General Conditions of Carriage.

Unfortunately, no refund is due in this instance as the administration charge exceeds the tax refund amount.

Yours sincerely,


Ryanair Customer Services

There's your answer there.

Sam_Bee

christopher_h wrote:

Without Prejudice.

If I saw that, it would be like a red rag to a bull. Definition:

The basic meaning is 'without loss of any rights'. It is a term used when two parties are in dispute, and one makes a settlement offer to the other. It puts 'without prejudice' on its offer to make it clear that the settlement offer should not be construed as a waiver of rights. Importantly, communication marked 'without prejudice' cannot be used in evidence in court proceedings if the attempts at settlement fail and the dispute comes to court.

Personally, I would send a written request asking them to justify their charges. Then proceed to a Small Claims Court.

roses

I don't think you will have any luck taking them to court as tax refund is not a legal requirement. I had same problem with Mytravel. I didn't take a flight & could have got a £80 tax refund for me & my partner but they told me to !!!!!! off & they kept the money themselves as airlines only pay tax if people actually fly once they have confirmed check in

budgetflyer

Depends how you look at it. They may have saved you £15 by advising you of no refund. Admin charge is £20 pp.So to send you a fiver will cost you £20.;)

budgetflyer

Altarf wrote:

For £10 (£5 APD per person)?

If you are on the rock and roll, you'd propably get £500K legal aid to fight it, and another 2 million for your human rights being infringed.

Sam_Bee

roses wrote:

I don't think you will have any luck taking them to court as tax refund is not a legal requirement. I had same problem with Mytravel. I didn't take a flight & could have got a £80 tax refund for me & my partner but they told me to !!!!!! off & they kept the money themselves as airlines only pay tax if people actually fly once they have confirmed check in

Tax refund is a legal requirement as they collect it from you on the governements behalf. They have no legal right to keep it if you then don't fly; thus horrendous and unjust administration charges.

D4WNO

Check their T & C's, you wont get it back

roses

Sam_Bee wrote:

Tax refund is a legal requirement as they collect it from you on the governements behalf. They have no legal right to keep it if you then don't fly; thus horrendous and unjust administration charges.

I think you will find that they can keep it if they like. It is a recommendation by the office of fair trading, not a legal requirement.

If you have some facts which state it is legal then please post a link here as I would love to get my £80 back

christopher_h

Hey guys - thanks for all your thoughts

The feeling I'm getting from some of you is that the 'Admin Charges are stated in their T&C - but does it actually specify £40. ?

Thru Martin's advice, many people have contested "illegal" bank charges which he says are not "in proportion" so I wonder if the same rule could be applied to Ryanair - it would be good if someone could take them on and we set a precedent for everyone in the future.

Has anyone actually succeeded in being refunded their unused flight tax from Ryanair ?

Chris