OPODO and Ryan Air = Stay Clear !

kevinb123

Recently booked a return flight to Dublin from Bristol with Ryan Air but did it through OPODO to save some money - Will NEVER do it again !

When I received confirmation of the booking from OPODO all they stated was that I need to take the email confirmation to the checkin desk to book in, and I don't need anything else, so going by this at 6:30 am on the day of departure I went to the check in desk as requested........ only to be told by the Ryan Air representative that it is their policy to only checkin online ! ..... and furthermore I need to go to the machine at the other end of departures to print the boarding passes and this will cost me £70 !
As I had no other option and OPODO wasn't even open at that time, I had to comply ...... once in Dublin I contacted OPODO and thay stated that they do not provide refunds and that I should have read the terms and conditions - as the conversation transpired It turned out that to actually checkin online with Ryan Air I would have needed the credit card details of OPODO which Obviously I had no way of knowing, following them providing this I was able to print my return tickets / boarding pass ...... I then promptly complained and heard nothing, not till I wrote on their facebook page did I receive any contact and then after several emails was told I should have known that there may be additional charges ............. I find this totally unacceptable not only is the process contorted in a way so you have to pay more than the advertised price, the price from Ryan Air simply to print a boarding pass of £70 is daylight robbery ............ unfortunately not being an ABTA member I'm at a loss of who to complain to ....... any suggestions?????

Lincoln_Imp

Taken from Opodo website

Ryanair online check-in
All passengers must complete online check-in and print out their boarding pass before arriving at the airport. Online check-in is available from 15 days up to 4 hours before scheduled flight departure. Passengers that do not print their boarding pass at least 4 hours before flight departure must pay a boarding pass re-issue fee at the airport check-in desk.

Not a lot you can do except for future ref ..Never book Ryanair through a 3rd party or make sure you read ALL T&C`s

Caz3121

some lessons here
If you are going to tick the box saying you have read and understood the T&Cs you can either read them first or accept if you just tick the box without reading you will be agreeing to the unknown and have no comeback on occassions like this one
Booking through 3rd parties - Ryanair do not allow 3rd parties to sell their flights so Opodo pretend they are you and go onto the Ryanair website and book a flight they often use a new email address in your name.
You do not need any credit card details to checkin online (there are 3 different options; one wants email address and booking reference, another wants email address and flight date/route and the third asks for reservation number and last 4 digits of card
You would need to check very carefully to be 100% sure you were not supplied with booking reference or email address before you would have any argument (however given the information about online checkin on their site you would have had plenty time to contact them to chase on any missing info)
If you are ever tempted to book with an agent rather than with the airline direct (never quite sure why people do this!) at least check the reviews of the company you are going to hand your money over to and read all the T&Cs
I expect if you had read any Opodo reviews you would likely not have booked with them

tamiami

NO ONE can sell a Ryanair flight cheaper than Ryanair, you will have paid a booking fee or something extra that would make the flight more expensive than booking direct on Ryanair's website, as Opodo have to make some mark up on the sale as well.

antenna

Most people dont even know they are booking thru Opodo.......they just Google Ryanair and top answer.....Opodo............and just click thru.

Opodo

Dear Kevin,

I'm sorry that all this process hasn't been clear enough and you have experienced all these inconveniences. As stated on the confirmation email and our Terms & Conditions, the check-in for Ryanair flights must be done on line by the passenger and a printout of the ticket is required in order to avoid the 70GBP fees.

We understand how annoying this situation may be and we apologize for any lack of communication.

We remain at your full disposal both on Facebook, MoneySavingExpert.com or, if you prefer a more personalized assistance, by contacting the agent that handled your case, Ezequiel.

Best regards,
James - Opodo Customer Care Team

kevinb123

Dear James,
I appreciate your response on this forum, which was far more responsive than contacting your customer services team direct....
In the confirmation email I received from you it stated nothing about Ryan Air or checking in online ...... it simply stated that this eticket was all I had to present at checkin along with id ........
and as stated to your customer service representative - even if I had been aware to check in online with this particular airline it would have been impossible because the booking was made with OPODO details including the email address and card details to allow you to go any further than the three details options ....... thus how can you not state upfront that you need to checkin at the airport via the machine and this will cost an additional £70 ......... at least that way it does not look like your trying to advertise a lower fair when really your not !
Ps this is not my first time flying or booking online and I have used OPODO in the past for other airlines ....... unfortunately it will be my last !

visidigi

Opodo wrote: »

Dear Kevin,

I'm sorry that all this process hasn't been clear enough and you have experienced all these inconveniences. As stated on the confirmation email and our Terms & Conditions, the check-in for Ryanair flights must be done on line by the passenger and a printout of the ticket is required in order to avoid the 70GBP fees.

We understand how annoying this situation may be and we apologize for any lack of communication.

We remain at your full disposal both on Facebook, MoneySavingExpert.com or, if you prefer a more personalized assistance, by contacting the agent that handled your case, Ezequiel.

Best regards,
James - Opodo Customer Care Team

kevinb123 wrote: »

Dear James,
I appreciate your response on this forum, which was far more responsive than contacting your customer services team direct....
In the confirmation email I received from you it stated nothing about Ryan Air or checking in online ...... it simply stated that this eticket was all I had to present at checkin along with id ........
and as stated to your customer service representative - even if I had been aware to check in online with this particular airline it would have been impossible because the booking was made with OPODO details including the email address and card details to allow you to go any further than the three details options ....... thus how can you not state upfront that you need to checkin at the airport via the machine and this will cost an additional £70 ......... at least that way it does not look like your trying to advertise a lower fair when really your not !
Ps this is not my first time flying or booking online and I have used OPODO in the past for other airlines ....... unfortunately it will be my last !

Whilst you may appreciate Opodo's response, they are not doing so through an officially ratified account which is what is required here at MSE.

So be careful how much faith you put in 'James' when it fact they could well be my uncle Bob.

kevinb123

visidigi wrote: »

Whilst you may appreciate Opodo's response, they are not doing so through an officially ratified account which is what is required here at MSE.

So be careful how much faith you put in 'James' when it fact they could well be my uncle Bob.

Thanks Visidigi, James knew the persons name which dealt with the complaint so I assume legit !

kevinb123

Caz3121 wrote: »

some lessons here
If you are going to tick the box saying you have read and understood the T&Cs you can either read them first or accept if you just tick the box without reading you will be agreeing to the unknown and have no comeback on occassions like this one
Booking through 3rd parties - Ryanair do not allow 3rd parties to sell their flights so Opodo pretend they are you and go onto the Ryanair website and book a flight they often use a new email address in your name.
You do not need any credit card details to checkin online (there are 3 different options; one wants email address and booking reference, another wants email address and flight date/route and the third asks for reservation number and last 4 digits of card
You would need to check very carefully to be 100% sure you were not supplied with booking reference or email address before you would have any argument (however given the information about online checkin on their site you would have had plenty time to contact them to chase on any missing info)
If you are ever tempted to book with an agent rather than with the airline direct (never quite sure why people do this!) at least check the reviews of the company you are going to hand your money over to and read all the T&Cs
I expect if you had read any Opodo reviews you would likely not have booked with them

Thanks Caz3121,
Having tried all three options with the various info provided by OPODO in the conf email and then on my return trip actually going through it with OPODO cust Serv whereby even they could not check in until they actually asked someone else in their team to provide me with their credit card details, there was no possibility of ever completing the checkin online with Ryan Air - I suspect if Ryan Air had not changed their policy then there would be no problem ....... having tried to book online with Ryan Air first as I had done the week before, then OPODO was cheaper but obviously were not stating that in fact they could not provide a process compatible with Ryan Air policy !

budgetflyer

You dont need credit card details to check in online