Ryanair grrrrrrrrr

theotherhalf

I phoned to book a flight on Wednesday evening 21st. My husband got home from work Thursday evening (22nd) and said he can no longer get those dates off work so I tried to phone Ryanair. It says on their website that the call centre is open until 7pm. I phoned at 6.30 and a message said the call centre was now closed. I went on live chat and waited a while before being connected to Ali who said that Ryanair is a non-refundable company so there’s no chance of cancelling but I could change the flight date for a fee of £60 each each way. I looked on other websites and it said there should be no charge during the 24hr grace period if I wanted to cancel for a full refund or change the dates. I phoned Ryanair this morning (23rd) and was firstly told there was no such thing as a Grace period and they then said if there was a 24hr Grace period that I had been literally minutes outside it anyway so still had to pay £60 each. I’d spent over 20 minutes trying to get through on the phone and then waited a while for someone to answer on the live chat and they won’t budge. If the call centre had been open until the stated time I would have been within the grace period. I know the dates I want to change to are a lot cheaper but I’m not even bothered about that. I’m happy to keep at the original price which is over £200 more but then to add insult to injury they now want me to pay more on top of that. I asked for a complaint form and they gave me a link which doesn’t even work. What can I do?

Ayr_Rage

What are these "other websites" mentioning a 24 hour change of mind policy ?

If you booked a non refundable ticket then paying the change fee is your only option.

elsien

Ayr_Rage said:

What are these "other websites" mentioning a 24 hour change of mind policy ?

If you booked a non refundable ticket then paying the change fee is your only option.

It's in their own FAQ.
How much does it cost to change my flights?

Changes are subject to payment of a change fee, charged per person per flight. See our Table of Fees for details. You must also pay any difference between the original fare and any fees for optional services (such as check-in bags) paid at the time of the booking, and the fare/fees available when you make the change. Please note that, if the new fare/fee is cheaper than the original fare/fee, we will not refund the difference.

We allow a grace period of 24 hours from the time of your original booking to correct any minor errors you may have made (dates/times) free of charge. We also allow you to reverse the route if you’ve booked your flights incorrectly (e.g., you may change DUB to STN to STN to DUB). During this time no flight change fee will be charged, however, you will need to pay any fare difference.

mr_stripey

I'm reading it as the grace period is to correct "minor" errors to the flights - wrong name, or early/later flight?

So I guess it depend on whether the OP is making minor changes to the booking or not (or at least whether Ryanair considers them to be "minor changes")

Ryanair not exactly famed for their flexibility however!

elsien

That is true.
They could quite rightly argue that putting 22nd instead of 23rd could be a minor error caused by hitting the wrong number on the keyboard or getting your dates mixed up  but that a complete change of date to a week or several later is a change of mind rather than an error? Which in effect is what has happened here. 

theotherhalf

I’ve had it confirmed by Ryanair that there is in fact a 24hr grace period during which you can correct errors, change flight details including route or dates, or names on booking  - anything apart from cancellation. Apparently this is not commonly shared 

elsien

Their complaints process sends you to an online link in the booking area. I can’t see it because I don’t have an account with them. Have you tried making a complaint through that?

mr_stripey

theotherhalf said:

I’ve had it confirmed by Ryanair that there is in fact a 24hr grace period during which you can correct errors, change flight details including route or dates, or names on booking  - anything apart from cancellation. Apparently this is not commonly shared 

We allow a grace period of 24 hours from the time of your original booking to correct any minor errors you may have made (dates/times) free of charge

yes, as @elsien posted above.

Is it a minor error, or a totally re arranged booking? Where does one (or rather they) draw the line.

The example on T&C's is a good one - perhaps booking the flights in the wrong order - say STN-DUB instead of DUB-STN.

Or maybe booking the 10.00 flight instead of 22.00 flight.

What changes are you asking them to make?

Ayr_Rage

theotherhalf said:

I’ve had it confirmed by Ryanair that there is in fact a 24hr grace period during which you can correct errors, change flight details including route or dates, or names on booking  - anything apart from cancellation. Apparently this is not commonly shared 

Did you actually contact them within 24 hours ?

If not, then I am afraid you don't have a leg to stand on.

mr_stripey

Ayr_Rage said:

theotherhalf said:

I’ve had it confirmed by Ryanair that there is in fact a 24hr grace period during which you can correct errors, change flight details including route or dates, or names on booking  - anything apart from cancellation. Apparently this is not commonly shared 

Did you actually contact them within 24 hours ?

If not, then I am afraid you don't have a leg to stand on.

Think OP is saying they tried to contact Ryanair during the hours they claimed to be open, but the call centre was closed.

But it may be a moot point anyway, if the proposed changes fall outside Ryanair's "minor changes" description

theotherhalf

elsien said:

Their complaints process sends you to an online link in the booking area. I can’t see it because I don’t have an account with them. Have you tried making a complaint through that?

Yes I have and the link is broken. I reported it broken to them so they sent me a link to make a complaint following a flight rather than before a flight as that doesn’t seem to be working.