Ryanair charged for case within size limit!

bundly · 8 July 2015 at 7:58PM

My friend is Latvian and her written English isn't perfect so she asked me to post this.

She has a hard suitcase that is within the limit for Ryanair cabin baggage. She has flown with Ryanair with this case more than 5 times without problems.

Last week she paid for priority boarding, arrived at the gate with her case, her handbag, and a bottle of booze in a duty-free bag. The gate attendant demanded £50 because she had 3 bags. So my friend opened her suitcase and popped the duty free bag inside. The gate attendant still demanded £50, this time because her case was "too big" to go as cabin baggage! But the case is a rigid one, unchanged by the insertion of the bottle.

My friend then put the case into that measuring slot that Ryanair uses to check your baggage. It states on a large notice above it that if it fits in here, it goes as cabin baggage. Her case fitted easily, as it always does. But the attendant carried on demanding £50! All the other passengers were allowed to board ahead of her. Eventually the attendant said if she didn't pay £50 then she would not be allowed to fly. My friend became very anxious and paid out of fear.

Luckily she has given me all the relevant photos, of the duty free bag, the duty free bag inside the case, the case fitting into the measuring slot, and she has the receipts for the £50 charge. The rude attendant wrote "3 bags" on her boarding pass, even though that was not the reason she gave for charging the £50.

I've written a complaint to Ryanair. I wondered if anyone else has been confronted with something like this and what are my chances of getting my friend her money back.

Below are pics of the case in the measuring slot.

Bundly.

http://i1130.photobucket.com/albums/m534/helena1958/ryanair/7_zpsryzhad9l.jpg

http://i1130.photobucket.com/albums/m534/helena1958/ryanair/8_zpsgbkl3j6w.jpg

http://i1130.photobucket.com/albums/m534/helena1958/ryanair/3_zpsgfjiyaec.jpg

jpsartre · 8 July 2015 at 8:40PM

Could it have been her handbag that was too large?

bundly · 8 July 2015 at 8:54PM

jpsartre wrote: »

Could it have been her handbag that was too large?

No, they let her take her handbag, but they banished the suitcase (shown in the photo) to the hold for being too big.

Voyager2002 · 8 July 2015 at 9:01PM

I think your chances are pretty good since it is all well documented. I hope you used snail-mail rather than email (which they could well ignore).

NFH · 8 July 2015 at 11:11PM

Don't forget the weight limits.

Could the case have been >10kg?
Did Ryanair weight the case and find that it was >10kg?

Looking at the photos, I expect the answer to the first question is yes, but the answer to the second question is no. Only the answer to the second question is relevant.

Make sure you pursue this and don't give in to pathetic excuses given by Ryanair. If necessary issue a claim at www.moneyclaim.gov.uk and let us know the outcome.

fifeken · 9 July 2015 at 12:29AM

NFH wrote: »

If necessary issue a claim at www.moneyclaim.gov.uk and let us know the outcome.

MCOL is no good for pursuing Ryanair. If the OP wishes to take it further the European Small Claims Procedure would be the way to go.

NFH · 9 July 2015 at 6:17AM

fifeken wrote: »

MCOL is no good for pursuing Ryanair. If the OP wishes to take it further the European Small Claims Procedure would be the way to go.

If the £50 was charged at a UK airport, then it would be possible to take action in UK courts.

bundly · 9 July 2015 at 9:14AM

Thanks for all the replies.

The case was definitely not overweight. You can see from the internal photo that she had almost nothing inside. She was only going to Italy briefly (to be a bridesmaid at a wedding and her bridesmaid outfit was already in Italy).

Besides, the gate-clerk (what are they called?) wrote across her boarding pass "3 bags" as the reason for the charge, even though she only had two.

They did not weigh the case.

I sent the complaint online but I will do it snail mail if I get no response.

Yes it was charged at Stansted, NFH.

My friend and I believe that the gate-clerk was in a foul mood and saw my friend with three bags, decided to charge her £50. When my friend "outwitted" her by placing the duty free bag inside the case, the gate-clerk lost her temper, refused to back-pedal or back down and bullied my friend into paying the £50 anyway.

My friend says that the gate-clerk was belligerent and rude throughout the entire altercation.

I think it is relevant to point out that my friend is extremely petite: about 4ft 8 and wears clothes in a child size (age 10). Although an adult, she literally looks about 12. People do tend to treat her as a child and she is quite easily intimidated.

Thank goodness for the i-phone, enabling her to show that the 3rd bag was placed inside her case, and the case fitted in the measuring slot. Otherwise she would have no proof and could not complain.

Thanks for the advice. I am going to pursue this on her behalf. She works 12-hour days in a factory for minimum wage and £50 is a huge sum of money to her.

One last thing, she paid priority and took the small case to make sure she could keep her case with her in the cabin, but they forced her to send it in the hold. When she retrieved it in Milan a wheel had been smashed off and there is a nasty scratch down one side. So I have also made a complaint about that, hoping to get compensation. However, I now read that she should have complained at the time (she didn't know that).

Bundly

NFH · 9 July 2015 at 9:25AM

bundly wrote: »

Thank goodness for the i-phone, enabling her to show that the 3rd bag was placed inside her case, and the case fitted in the measuring slot. Otherwise she would have no proof and could not complain.

Another thing worth doing with an iPhone (or any other smartphone) is to voice-record any conversations with awkward staff at airports. Don't do this at security though, as there are usually by-laws prohibiting any form of recording.

When I arrived on a Ryanair flight at Stansted last year, some irritating airport staff were refusing to allow hundreds of passengers into the immigration hall. When I politely complained to the staff about their behaviour, they threatened to call the police for "kicking off". I replied that I was recording the conversation and that I would play it back to any police officers. Immediately they let me through to the immigration hall but continued to hold back the hundreds of other arriving passengers. People don't like being voice-recorded, especially when their actions are unreasonable.