Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Ryanair ONLY

Oasis1

Update:


I've been speaking to their Live Chat team and the following has happened:
-> They've booked me onto another flight without asking me if it was suitable and are now refusing to cancel it
-> They won't book me onto a flight that is suitable because they have a policy that it must be within 7 days of the cancelled flight. I have asked them to show me where the policy is on their website, where it was in the T&Cs I agreed to when I booked and how it complies with EU Regulation 261/2004 (which states I can choose re-routing at a later date at my convenience, subject to seat availability). They have yet to answer these questions and just refer me to a complaints link.


Update 2:


After I continued pressing for the above, they finally send a big paragraph saying:


"In case if a refund or re-route with our airline is not an option for you, you can book a ticket with one of the following suppliers for example and the price of the ticket will be reimbursed for you:

- Easyjet
- Jet2
- Vueling
- City Jet
- Aer Lingus
- Norwegeian
- Eurowings

You can book with other airlines also of course ,but please note that only reasonable expenses will be refunded"


I then asked what the process for reimbursement was and they said:

"Please keep the receipts of your additional meal, travel and accommodation expenses and send copies to the Customer Services Department by attaching them to the following form: https://eu261compensationclaims.ryanair.com/ for reimbursement. They will review your claim and answer you via e-mail.

If you do not have receipts with which you wish to apply for reimbursement, then you can fill a form on the following link, which is for eu261 Compensations: https://eu261claims.ryanair.com

Our customer service department will check the reason for the delay and they will inform you via email, whether you are entitled for a compensation."

I wanted to get further reassurance but then the webpage refreshed and I was kicked out of the chat.


My concern is that if I pay for a flight with another provider, they will still say that the original delay was due to exceptional circumstance and not pay up. Also they didn't confirm they had followed my request to cancel the flight they booked me on without my permission.


Am now queuing up again (1 hour wait) to make sure this is done...

Tyzap

Oasis1 wrote: »

Update:


I've been speaking to their Live Chat team and the following has happened:
-> They've booked me onto another flight without asking me if it was suitable and are now refusing to cancel it
-> They won't book me onto a flight that is suitable because they have a policy that it must be within 7 days of the cancelled flight. I have asked them to show me where the policy is on their website, where it was in the T&Cs I agreed to when I booked and how it complies with EU Regulation 261/2004 (which states I can choose re-routing at a later date at my convenience, subject to seat availability). They have yet to answer these questions and just refer me to a complaints link.

Hi Oasis1,

This is all extremely messy and an awful situation for many passenger.

The CAA should be issuing a public statement informing passengers what to do but they seem to hiding away in their ivory tower as usual when things go badly wrong.

Have a read of this, lots of relevant info...

https://www.bottonline.co.uk/flight-delay-compensation

Good luck, you really do need it.

Update.

"My concern is that if I pay for a flight with another provider, they will still say that the original delay was due to exceptional circumstance and not pay up. Also they didn't confirm they had followed my request to cancel the flight they booked me on without my permission."

It doesn't matter if it was an EC or not, if they offer you an unreasonable replacement flight, say 24 -48 hours or even later, you can book your own flights and then claim back from FR, IF you can find better flights. It's so busy right now that that could be difficult. Remember that they almost alway deny anything that you have been told by their staff if you cannot prove/record it, verbal promises are worthless in this situation.

Good luck.

Oasis1

Tyzap wrote: »

Hi Oasis1,

This is all extremely messy and an awful situation for many passenger.

The CAA should be issuing a public statement informing passengers what to do but they seem to hiding away in their ivory tower as usual when things go badly wrong.

Have a read of this, lots of relevant info...

https://www.bottonline.co.uk/flight-delay-compensation

Good luck, you really do need it.

Thanks Tyzap! Reading through yours and others posts on this thread gives me some hope though...


I clicked through and looked into my flight but it says:
Sorry, it looks like you can't claim

If you booked your flight after 26th July 2016 then you agreed to a term in Ryanair's General Conditions of Carriage which says,
"Passengers must submit claims directly to Ryanair and allow Ryanair 28 days or such time as prescribed by applicable law (whichever is the lesser) to respond directly to them before engaging third parties to claim on their behalf."


So I need to go through Ryainair's route first, right? Should I get going with this?

Oasis1

Tyzap wrote: »

"My concern is that if I pay for a flight with another provider, they will still say that the original delay was due to exceptional circumstance and not pay up. Also they didn't confirm they had followed my request to cancel the flight they booked me on without my permission."

It doesn't matter if it was an EC or not, if they offer you an unreasonable replacement flight, say 24 -48 hours or even later, you can book your own flights and then claim back from FR, IF you can find better flights. It's so busy right now that that could be difficult. Remember that they almost alway deny anything that you have been told by their staff if you cannot prove/record it, verbal promises are worthless in this situation.

Good luck.

What is FR?



I have copied and pasted most of the chat transcript and have some photos of my laptop screen where they said what I quote above. Hopefully that may count for something...

Tyzap

Oasis1 wrote: »

Thanks Tyzap! Reading through yours and others posts on this thread gives me some hope though...


I clicked through and looked into my flight but it says:
Sorry, it looks like you can't claim

If you booked your flight after 26th July 2016 then you agreed to a term in Ryanair's General Conditions of Carriage which says,
"Passengers must submit claims directly to Ryanair and allow Ryanair 28 days or such time as prescribed by applicable law (whichever is the lesser) to respond directly to them before engaging third parties to claim on their behalf."


So I need to go through Ryainair's route first, right? Should I get going with this?

Yes you need to go through their website first, it is only fair I suppose.

I would not rush into anything just yet, sort your holiday/flight out, let the dust settle and look into your claim at a later date, there is no reason to hurry right now.

Good luck.

JPears

Welcome.
First step is download Vaubans superb guide.
2 elements.
Re-routing -Ryanair are responsible for the costs of getting you to your destination, including other airlines or modes of transport if they are unable unwilling etc to do so. They are highly unlikely to book you on another airline. You'll have to do it yourself, stand the cost and have the hassle of reclaiming it.
2. Compensation depends of the reason for the cancellation.
Good luck

Oasis1

Thanks everyone for advice. Here goes nothing... I've booked an alternative flight with Eurowings next month and submitted my claim!

SW-Flatshare

I've been affected by this week-end's Ryanair problems at Standsted airport. My flight was supposed to go to Leipzig !!!8211;!the next Ryanair flight to Leipzig would have been on Tuesday, so I didn't even try to get a replacement flight. (I have to be in Leipzig on Monday).
Cheapest option was Eurostar + train for tomorrow. !!!8364;390 in total.
Couldn't get through to their Live Chat team, because of 1h waiting time, and then they closed at 6pm.

So I haven't contacted Ryanair about a refund yet, because I first want to do my homework:
If I ask for a refund, is there a risk that they'll also cancel the return leg of my trip ? (It's under the same booking number !!!8211; and I've heard rumours from friends that this might happen)

I also noticed that Ryanair was the ONLY airline who cancelled flights from Stansted today. How likely is it that they'll get away with blaming the cancelled Saturday flights on the weather (which obviously makes a huge difference when it comes to compensation).
Is there some independent body (CAA?) who decides if this was weather-related or not?

What's my best action plan? Contact Ryanair and ask for a refund, then do the compensation later? Will they have to reimburse me the !!!8364;390 Eurostar/train ticket? (This was by far the cheapest option !!!8211; all flights to the Leipzig area including Berlin were above !!!8364;450).

Thank you for your help/advice!!

JPears

Personally I would say don't go for the refund, its a small thing but doesn't allow them to wash their dirty theiving hands of you. Just ask for the difference from your rail tickets. This is something RA are obliged by law to do. There is no get out clause for them. But you will probably have a fight on your hands. Which we relish so come back for help if required.

Compensation element is a tricky one.
Perhaps, let the dust settle and do some research when you get back. First stop would be to check with online companies such as Botts or EU claim to see if you have a valid compensation claim.
If they say no, then more than likely there is no claim. If they say yes, that is no surety at all but a successful claim may be possible.
You then have to decide if you go DIY or hand to one of said claims companies, for a 30% fee...

Tyzap

Hi SW-Flatshare,

Ryanair make virtually no effort at all to fulfil their flying program when things go wrong or there is a strike in the offing. That is contrary to what the regulations say they should do and the CAA should be doing something about this.

You will definitely need to contact the airline if you intend using the return flight but not the outbound. Under normal circumstances you would be prevented from boarding the return if you did not fly on the first leg.

You should be able to claim your additional costs from the airline as you have been able to find a way of getting there days in advance of what they offered. Not so sure if that would be the case if it was later than they had offered tho.

Please download and read Vaubans guide, details below here.

Good luck.