Successful charge back has blocked my Ryanair account

blue_kimba

Hello!
Last year Ryanair cancelled my flights, offered a refund and then refused to refund the amount. I successfully claimed £950 through Visa charge back in January. Last month, I booked new Ryanair flights but when I returned to my Ryanair account I saw a tiny 3-second pop-up stating I have an outstanding amount of £950. I was not previously notified of this and it definitely did not appear on my account before booking my new flights. Their customer services have confirmed I will be stopped from boarding my flight and must pay the outstanding amount to clear my account. They have directed me to a dedicated charge back telephone number that no-one ever answers. This is an under-hand way to trick customers into a catch-22 situation so beware fellow travelers!!

Has anyone else experienced this? Any information on possible solutions would be great. 

Caz3121

something certainly not right here.
Ryanair appear to indicate that a refund was not due so the chargeback was incorrect. There was another post recently when that was the case
this is the thread - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6249632/ryanair-and-chargeback-and-new-flights/p1
If Ryanair had cancelled your flight then a refund would be due and no £950 outstanding.
Was your flight cancelled by them? do you still have the notification?

blue_kimba

Hi, yes Ryanair cancelled the flight. I have the cancellation email with the refund option and their cancellation confirmation stating it covers all flights for all travellers. All this happened the day before we were due to fly. 

Can they dispute chargeback without informing you?

TELLIT01

blue_kimba said:

Hi, yes Ryanair cancelled the flight. I have the cancellation email with the refund option and their cancellation confirmation stating it covers all flights for all travellers. All this happened the day before we were due to fly. 

Can they dispute chargeback without informing you?

It's Ryanair.  What they are allowed to do and what they actually do can sometimes differ.

bagand96

A retailer can dispute a chargeback but they do so with the bank, then the bank would make a judgement and notify you if it was reversing it. 

This is a strange one and not seen anyone else report similar.  You say you have an email confirming a refund of all passengers... at what point after that did Ryanair refuse to refund?

It's looks as though Ryanair believe you've received a refund and a chargeback?

Westin

bagand96 said:

A retailer can dispute a chargeback but they do so with the bank, then the bank would make a judgement and notify you if it was reversing it. 

This is a strange one and not seen anyone else report similar.  You say you have an email confirming a refund of all passengers... at what point after that did Ryanair refuse to refund?

It's looks as though Ryanair believe you've received a refund and a chargeback?

I'm thinking the same.

martindow

Is it possible that Ryanair are treating this as a failed payment and the site is waiting for you to make the payment again.  Their system may not be taking in to account the flight was cancelled.

jpsartre

Last spring, several people reported Ryanair threatening them with being blacklisted once a chargeback was brought up on the chat. 

Did Ryanair outright refuse a refund or did they just make it difficult to pursue so you gave up claiming? I've had multiple flights cancelled with them since COVID became a thing and I've had refunds from Ryanair for all of them but early on it was a bit of a faff as they were desperate to get you to accept a voucher. If you pay the outstanding amount, you should still be able to claim a refund for the flights that were cancelled.

blue_kimba

Thanks for all you comments. 

One month after Ryanair cancelled the flight the night before departure and offered a refund which I applied for, they sent a refund refusal as the flight departed. 

The problem is not being to speak to anyone at Ryanair to get more information. Paying £950 is not an option. I can’t seem to see anyone who had a similar experience which is strange especially when it comes to Ryanair. 

Westin

blue_kimba said:

Thanks for all you comments. 

One month after Ryanair cancelled the flight the night before departure and offered a refund which I applied for, they sent a refund refusal as the flight departed. 

The problem is not being to speak to anyone at Ryanair to get more information. Paying £950 is not an option. I can’t seem to see anyone who had a similar experience which is strange especially when it comes to Ryanair. 

A little confused by latest addition to events. Can you elaborate on what happened with dates, flight number, routing and which flight cancelled and reinstated.  Was it one flight in a series of two (e.g. outbound cancelled but not the return).

If they cancelled a flight, gave you an option for a refund which you acted upon in a timely and the appropriate way, then I cannot understand even if the flight reinstated why the refund was not made.  They cannot cancel a flight 30 days out, refund, then put the flight back on the night before original departure and expect you to then accept and travel again.

Have you tried calling that number again (during regular hours) now that the Easter Holidays have past?

brianposter

You could try asking the CAA. They do not seem particularly keen to respond to queries but it is probably worth a try.