Warning: Ryanair charging their currency conversion rates, even when opted out

Dan54321

So, you can opt for your bank/credit card company to make the currency conversion for you when booking on Ryan air, if you are paying in a currency different to the one that your credit/bank card is in. As per usual, I did this. However, on my credit card bill it's clear Ryanair have carried out the conversion, rather than my bank. I have proof of this. I also have proof that I opted to pay in the local currency, as my confirmation email states the total amount in the local currency. I emailed Ryanair about this and basically got a standard response that did not address my complaint and suggested I had made a mistake (which is not true). For some reason, it's not possible to directly reply to their reply (you just get a bounceback email back directing you to various means of communication). I've emailed them again from scratch via their website and will see what they say but I think they will just pretend they made no mistake (even though I have proved that they did).

Has anyone else had a similar experience? And as a matter of principle how can I make them rectify their error? I think they may have done this deliberately knowing people won't notice the error, or that people won't be bothered to chase them up on it.

Thanks for any help/suggestions.

Dan54321

I got the same copy and paste reply the second time: "Please be advised that when creating a new reservation, prices are always shown in the currency of the departure country. Upon providing the card details our system will recognize if the card was issued in a different currency, and will offer the booker to pay on the indicated exchange rate, or stick with the original currency of the booking and let the bank make the conversion. Please note that we do not take responsibility for any extra charges incurred due to selecting the wrong option, and thus we are unable to process a refund on the difference."

As I said, it's not possible to reply directly to their reply. So without phoning them, I might be a bit stuck. Any thoughts?

EveryWhere

If you have proof that Ryanair did this, approach your bank and raise a dispute. They will refund the difference at the very least,

MiraculousM

i booked flights the other day but paid for them via paypal with my clarity- i have just checked and this was taken out as euros.. i am curious to see the outcome of this thread as if this is the case, i will def only be using paypal.

eDicky

I paid with my Starling card for a flight in euros Jan 13th, using the Ryanair app, taken in euros and converted by Starling.

Dan54321

So I tried the Livechat option (to avoid wasting too much time calling and getting stuck in queues), and the customer service was hilariously bad (as expected). I was told they could not help me, and that I should fill out the form that I had already filled out (and got the reply I already quoted). I was passed onto another agent who just told me to fill out the form again (I told him I already had done but the reply had not addressed my complaint). I was then told "my colleague with contact you via email.
i will send this issue to head office". I don't hold out any hope of this being resolved, even if I call them. It should be a very simple matter to resolve since I have proof that an error was made on their behalf, but their customer service agents were incompetent.

Dan54321

Ah, and I just found out it costs 13p/minute to call them. So there's a good chance I'll spend a couple of pounds phoning waiting in queues and calling them, and not even have the matter resolved. Luckily I wasn't overcharged by much, but it's more the principle of the matter that is annoying, as they are making it virtually impossible to resolve simple charging errors. Which regulation can I report Ryanair to file a complaint?

zagfles

Why are you wasting time and money talking to Ryanair? See post #3 - dispute it with your bank.

Dan54321

Thanks, I might do that. I've never disputed something with my bank before (never had cause to), and have always had refunds etc. directly from the company in question with no problem as I assumed they would be the first port of call.

zagfles

Dan54321 wrote: »

Thanks, I might do that. I've never disputed something with my bank before (never had cause to), and have always had refunds etc. directly from the company in question with no problem as I assumed they would be the first port of call.

Be aware that your bank might try to fob you off - you need to insist on a "chargeback", VISA and Mastercard both have chargeback codes for incorrect currency and if you have proof that you didn't accept DCC it should be easy to win.

budgetflyer

Did you actually opt out ? By default, Ryanair will DCC you.