MSE News: Ryanair forces ALL customers to pay booking charge

jfdi66

NFH wrote: »

. A company is bound by the laws of the jurisdictions in which it operates as well as the jurisdiction in which it is incorporated.

Wasn't it you who wrote that Ryanair were using a loophole in the law? And if it is a loophole they are perfectly entitled to use it until the law is changed - whatever their motive or your opinion of them so doing..

eldaniel

jfdi66 wrote: »

Oh come off it, Ryanair need to take x million euros a year to operate so you can visit your home country (O'Leary didn't make you live abroad, did he?) and if they take six quid a pop from 95% of people flying with them, then that saving can be spread across 100% of the passengers leading to reduced prices for the 95%. Think about it for a minute, why should the vast majority of the passengers subsidise the few who have one particular credit card? At least with everyone paying the six quid, we are all equal - isn't that the equality mantra that the UK establishment preaches?

And as I've said before, if you don't like it, fly with someone else - but you won't because you do not have the courage of your professed convictions and cannot afford to fly with other airlines. Am I right or are you wrong?

Of course you wrong, because I can easily afford to fly with someone else and that is thanks to my moneysaving skills. But I always go for better deal. Also is not Ryanair fault this time, but O"F"T. Just because 95% of people are too lazy or not bothered to apply for a fee free card, why is it fair? Another thing is that i wrote that I go home quite often, but many of my English colleagues are as annoyed as me as they also go abroad, not necessarily to visit their family, so that argument of yours was completely irrelevant. Basically as someone wrote before, let the OFT ban BOGOF offers because there are people who are not bothered and pay the full price. So yeah, there is a matter of choice for this 95% of people you wrote. Why OFT won't make them to charge reasonable amount for debit card payment? That is the question you should ask.

SaveTheEuro

zagfles wrote: »

Ryanair can still offer a discount for using their pre-paid card, they don't have to change their fares at all, they just need to display them differently. eg £18 with a £6 discount for RA pre-paid card, instead of £12 with a £6 admin fee for those without the RA card. Exactly the same fares as before. No laws would be broken. So why don't they? Come on, why not?

Because Ryanair have given an undertaking not to surcharge debit card users. What you suggest would result in debit card users paying £6 more than some other customers.

zagfles

SaveTheEuro wrote: »

Because Ryanair have given an undertaking not to surcharge debit card users. What you suggest would result in debit card users paying £6 more than some other customers.

They wouldn't be surcharging debit card users. They would be giving a discount to users of their own card, there's nothing at all to stop them doing that. As long as the headline price is what debit card customers pay, it's perfectly within the rules. The rules are designed to stop misleading display of prices, not to change pricing.

Stores do this sort of thing all the time, Tesco offer extra clubcard points when their credit card is used in store, M&S give you money off at their store when you use their card. Or they could do it via the card rather than the retail sale, like Amex who have a promotion on at the moment where you get £5 off at certain retailers.

Ryanair don't need to change their bottom line prices. Period. Anyone who wants to whinge about the pricing change should whinge at Ryanair.

SaveTheEuro

zagfles wrote: »

Ryanair don't need to change their bottom line prices. Period. Anyone who wants to whinge about the pricing change should whinge at Ryanair.

Ryanair's undertakings:

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/consumer-enforcement/surcharges/Ryanair-undertakings.pdf

zagfles

SaveTheEuro wrote: »

Ryanair's undertakings:

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/consumer-enforcement/surcharges/Ryanair-undertakings.pdf

Yes. Which is exactly what I've been saying - the headline price must be what debit card holders pay. There is nothing in that undertaking at all to stop Ryanair giving a discount to RA pre-paid card holders, just like many other retailers do with their own cards.

This isn't about pricing, it's about the way prices are displayed. Just like Tesco and M&S will display the price payable by debit card, and then offer a discount for using their card. Or like Amex, offer a discount via the card terms. Ryanair are perfectly free to do the same. Ask them why they don't, if you don't like the pricing change.

jfdi66

eldaniel wrote: »

. Why OFT won't make them to charge reasonable amount for debit card payment? That is the question you should ask.

Because maybe OFT have rather more serious issues to monitor than this sort of footling argument. The OFT are concerned with fair market competion, and this is exactly where Ryanair beat all the others out of sight, no matter how they display their prices.

If Ryanair charged fifty pence for a credit card charge they'd have to charge £5-50 more for their flight, or on-line check in, or something.

Can't you people grasp that it is the bottom line that counts, and that figure is what Ryanair need to charge to provide you with cheap flights home.

O'Leary for the new year's honours list!

callum9999

zagfles wrote: »

But it's completely different in this case. In the case of insurance, companies have to offer the same premium to men and women.

Ryanair can still offer a discount for using their pre-paid card, they don't have to change their fares at all, they just need to display them differently. eg £18 with a £6 discount for RA pre-paid card, instead of £12 with a £6 admin fee for those without the RA card. Exactly the same fares as before. No laws would be broken. So why don't they? Come on, why not?

So if you want to whinge "boo hoo it's not fair why do I have to pay £6 more now", then whinge at Ryanair because it's their decision to change the pricing, nobody else's!!

One day this point may sink in with the whingers, but I'm not holding my breath!

The OFT have previously said any company that does that will be deemed to not be "following the spirit of the law" and so would be targeted over it. Which makes sense, as adding £6 on then giving a £6 discount to some is no different to adding £0 on and charging some an extra £6.

Though of course, there would be nothing stopping Ryanair doing it in the meantime.

solna1891

Ok, i have read all the posts on this matter and this is where i stand.I fly to Stockholm approx 6-7 times per year,from my local airport Stansted. Ryan-air,as far as i know are the only air-line who provide this service.I have a Ryan air cash passport to avoid the £12 return fee,so saving myself at least £72 per year.This concession has now been lost,so obviously i am a financial loser.Why cant Ryan-air display their fees differently as suggested by a previous blogger zagfles and still give discount to their cash passport holders? I personally will be cancelling my Ryan cash passport by withdrawing all monies from an atm,they charge otherwise,and paying future flights with a credit card with a yearly cash back.Will still use Ryan-air though as other options will be more time consuming and costly.

zagfles

callum9999 wrote: »

The OFT have previously said any company that does that will be deemed to not be "following the spirit of the law" and so would be targeted over it.

Really? URL please. I can't believe there's any truth in this, if there were loads of major retailers would be in trouble. Retailers can offer discounts for almost whatever reason they want, and they do. The OFT are fine with that.

They just can't (in general) charge more than the price label without good excuse.