Ryanair Cancelled Flight

ceemac44

I booked flights with Ryanair in December '19 for a flight in August '20.  On 5/2/20 they contacted me to advise that "Due to the non-delivery of the Boeing Max aircraft this summer, please be advised that there has been a significant time change to your Ryanair booking".  The alternatives with Ryanair did not suit due to our preceding travel arrangements so I asked for a refund.  Ryanair had originally charged me €145.68 and debited my UK bank the sum of £133.01 for the flights, both prices being displayed on the flight information and I assumed this was shown because the flights were from Spain to UK.  I requested a refund and this was processed as the original €145.68 which when currency exchanged equated to £119.58, leaving me £13.43 short of my original payment.  On contacting Ryanair they said it was my bank's fault and not theirs as they refunded the full amount paid.  My bank advised that Ryanair debited the account originally in GBP therefore they should have refunded this amount in GBP.

I contacted Ryanair Customer Services in writing explaining the situation and asking for the money they owed me to be refunded.  They declined the claim stating that I didn't choose the correct currency option on booking and therefore would not accept any responsibility for the refund on the difference.  I was not aware of any currency payment option when I booked the flights.  I also received an email from Ryanair on 6/2/20 stating, "We confirm that your refund request has been processed back to the form of payment used to pay for your booking. Your issuing bank will take 5-7 working days to process this refund amount back to your account. The amount refunded to your credit/debit card is GBP 133.01", so I assumed this is what would come back considering that is the way the took it originally.  Just to clarify, the original payment was taken in GBP, not euros.

Could anyone offer any views on this, and/or if I have any comeback and where I could take it please?

eDicky

When paying Ryanair for a flight priced in euros with a UK card, they will bill you in pounds at their own (lousy) exchange rate unless you opt out, in which case your card provider does the conversion with any applicable fee and exchange markup.

It sounds like you did pay in GBP. Are you saying that according to your bank, Ryanair refunded to your card in euros, despite stating in their email that the refund amount would be GBP 133.01..?

ceemac44

Yes that’s correct. They stated quite clearly in their refund confirmation that the refund would be 133.01 GBP

eDicky

Sorry for the delayed attention.

It sounds to me like you have valid cause and available evidence to escalate your claim, if you want to refuse to be fobbed off by Ryanair as they appear to have done initially.

They have billed you in GBP but refunded you in EUR, despite what's stated in their refund email. Your choice of not declining to pay in pounds is no fault of theirs, but their refunding you in euros is.

I'm not sure of the exact way to go about it, probably a formal complaint, followed by an LBA (letter before action) if the response is still unsatisfactory, formally giving a set week or two for them to comply before you take legal action. Others may have better advice on this aspect.