Ryanair flight charges

cookster

I was just reading the guide on travel to Spain and on the Blog its states "Ryanair - Not cancelling all flights. No flight change fee for new bookings made after 10 Jun for Jul/Aug flights, and after 16 Jul for Sep flights, so long as seven days' notice is given"
I'm due to fly to Lanzarote in Sept and tried to change my booking online, the flight difference was £30 but Ryanair are charging me over £500 admin fees?

Caz3121

I am assuming you booked your flights before 16th July so change fees will apply
how many passengers is this for? - the change fees range from £35 to £95 per passenger per flight so 2 passengers could be £95x4 + £30x2 = £524

Miguel66

On Saturday 5th September I made reservations for return flights from to Valencia. Due to unforeseen circumstances my son and daughter work in a pub part time as students and they told on Monday 7th that they would have to get tested for Covid 19 due to a work colleague testing positive. This was no problem as both came back negative, however the bombshell was that they would still have to isolate until the 19th September. So legally we cannot pursue our trip to Valencia. As soon as I knew about this, I called Ryanair on Wednesday 9th approx. 14.18 and was waiting and on a call for 32 mins to make these changes, having got nowhere with the chat bot. I spoke to a Ryanair Colleague and I explained my predicament and again was being told that I would have to pay flight change fees. This was most unsatisfactory and explained that when you book a flight you see the big banner that saying Book To Travel in September and pay no Flight fee change. There are no links, no stars, no inclination that the above would only be honoured if you changed before 7 days.  It’s very clear and in big and bold writing. The agent told me to call back in a few days and Ryanair would make the changes for free. Fair enough I thought, however I thought it would be easier to credit my account and let me rebook. I did ask her for a reference and she said I didn’t need one as my details were on the data base. I queried this as I did not want to explain my issue again which would have wasted more time. Ryanair agent confirmed my detail and issue was on the data base. So, I went away believing in good faith that when I call again Ryanair would know exactly what I was calling about. I called Friday 11/09/2020 just before 10.41am and waited another 25 minutes to get through and spoke to another Ryanair Colleague, and guess what? I had to explain my situation again as the database did not have any information other than call log and my flights. Well I was livid and frustrated that I had to explain again and also been let down having been promised that my flights would be changed free of charge. I was then told that I would need to speak to a manager. I thought I was going to be put through straight away. This did not happen, instead I was put in another queue and had to wait for about half an hour or more. I know I didn’t get off the phone until about approx. 12.25pm. (1 hour 41 minutes and most of it waiting in a queue) If this was the case why didn’t Ryanair take my number and call me back when the manager had finished her call? The manager (if she really was one) who I spoke to was even more unhelpful was and showed no empathy or applied any common sense with regards to my issue which has caused me a lot of anxiety in trying to rearrange and sort out the complexities involved in my trip. She played the card that I should look at the terms and conditions more carefully and that said why doesn’t anyone else complain about it. She was trying to point me to a page where it does show some inclination there was a disclaimer. I am surprised that no one has amended that banner, because it is misleading and implies that Ryanair are compassionate and understanding with our uncertain world that things change. The banner clearly says in big bold letters that you can book in September and no flight charge fee. There is nothing on that banner to say you have to do this within 7 days.  I explained this to the manager who seemed to be not bothered.  Instead she was trying to point me to a page where the banners flip from one to another. I explained as a customer I am going onto a site and straight to the flights page. I am along with no doubt many other customers would have just skipped all the advertising offers and information and have one thing in mind. That is to get a flight. I checked what she was telling me and noted the banner link if not opened says No Late Charge Fees. Even if you did click on the links the late charge fees do not appear until you have clicked 5 times and you have to make sure you have clicked the correct ones. I find this outrageous and has not been made easy for the customer to acknowledge. Common sense would have shown something like *Charge fees are applicable if you cancel within 7 days £35 - £95 (outrageous), would have not been to arduous to do and would be clearer. I also expressed my dissatisfaction again pointing out that was told on Wednesday that the previous agent confirmed to me that I would be able to call in a few days and my flights would be changed. Again, the manager seemed not bothered and said there was nothing on the database to suggest that. I suggested that if she was to listen to the calls then she would find what I said was true and as a customer had gone away in good faith that my issue had been acknowledged and would be resolved. Again, not interested. I can only assume that I was misled on Wednesday by the agent to appease me and get me off the phone. I call it passing the buck!

I would be interested to know if I have a case that Ryanair have misled me? Also any chance of Ryanair replying with a satisfactory resolution?

Caz3121

Your big wall of text if very difficult to read, some paragraphs would help
https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/useful-info/no-change-fee#!
terms and conditions https://www.ryanair.com/ba/en/useful-info/help-centre/faq-overview/promotion-waive-flight-change-fee/waive-flight-change-fee-terms-and-conditions
show - The free flight change is not available on changes made within 7 days of the departure date of the original flight
Maybe better dealing with your travel insurance

Miguel66

Ok but did you actually go to Ryanair site and hypothetically try and book a flight? did you not see the banner when booking?