Gotogate refund fee?

JaneSmith1973

I initially booked flights with Ryanair through GOTOGATE. After this booking I received correspondence from Ryanair informing me of the new baggage allowance charges, I was given the option to pay the extra charges or cancel the flights and be issued with a full refund.
I have since received further correspondence from Ryanair informing me that a full refund has been processed and paid to GOTOGATE for me to claim back.
Following this I attempted to claim the refund from GOTOGATE, however, they have informed me that a mandatory refund handling fee of £55 per person (£110 altogether) will be taken out of my refund and it cannot be waived off?
Are they entitled to do this?

jpsartre

JaneSmith1973 wrote: »

Are they entitled to do this?

What do their T&C say? They're based in Sweden so Swedish consumer laws would be applicable. Why did you book from them in the first place rather than Ryanair directly?

EveryWhere

It's in the T&C. Did you peruse them prior to purchase?

Refunds
The handling period varies from 4 to 16 weeks in the event of any refunds. All refunds are made by the provider and Gotogate is unable to influence these handling periods. A handling charge of 61 EUR per ticket will be charged when refunds are made. Gotogate will not refund the charge for cancellation protection or previously paid fees, charges and any insurance policies (apart from travel insurance).

If the flight is cancelled by the airline due to unforeseen events (force majeure) or schedule changes a handling fee of 15 EUR per person will be debited.

https://ie.gotogate.com/terms-conditions

Caz3121

unfortunately this type of thing happens when people blindly go click click buy. They fail to research who they are giving their money to, and often don't even bother reading the t&cs
Never buy a Ryanair flight anywhere apart from direct with Ryanair
this comes down to poor decision making....
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g1-i10702-k7559817-o1740-Is_Gotogate_a_reliable_website-Air_Travel.html

JaneSmith1973

I booked with them because it was cheaper than direct with Ryanair and there was 15 of us.

JaneSmith1973

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Sometimes we trust that we are getting the best deal.

k3lvc

JaneSmith1973 wrote: »

Following this I attempted to claim the refund from GOTOGATE, however, they have informed me that a mandatory refund handling fee of £55 per person (£110 altogether) will be taken out of my refund and it cannot be waived off?

JaneSmith1973 wrote: »

I booked with them because it was cheaper than direct with Ryanair and there was 15 of us.

So were there 2 of you or 15 of you ?

As above given that Ryanair don't discount/operate through agencies then any 'discount' is likely to be loss leading and, as you've found in this case, when the chips are down the agency will get their money/profit leaving you worse off

jpsartre

JaneSmith1973 wrote: »

I booked with them because it was cheaper than direct with Ryanair and there was 15 of us.

If that is so they're taking a loss on the tickets that they have make up elsewhere. Next time pay the extra and book direct from the airline.

photome

JaneSmith1973 wrote: »

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Sometimes we trust that we are getting the best deal.

how come it is only £110 rather then 15 x £55


Hindsight is a wonderful thing but so is forward planning and a quick peruse of these boards or google would have told you that should always book direct with Ryanair .


the same applies to most other airlines to be fair

DCFC79

How much are the extra charges, I'd be tempted to just pay the extra and go, that's just me.

EveryWhere

JaneSmith1973 wrote: »

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Sometimes we trust that we are getting the best deal.

You did get the best deal.
The problem is tha you did not consider what would occur if you needed a refund.

To be fair to GoToGate, I'm sure many travel agents have similar conditions. How else do you expect them to make money? Even Ryanair impose hefty charges of their own. The onus is on you to research what it is that you are buying, in order to make an informed decision.
You had an opportunity to check their T&C before you chose the option of a refund. So you had two opportunities. Once when purchasing and another before you chose the option of a refund.

Absolutely not the fault of GoToGate.