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After we had completed the on-line booking for a flight to Mallorca, and proceeded to accept the cost by supplying our card details, we were astonished when the confirmation arrived the following day, and a further £30.00 had been added for paying by card at the rate of £10 per passenger. This £10 is actually a £5 surcharge for each flight, outbound and inbound. By all accounts this is for the privilege of printing our own boarding passes since the check-in desks have been scrapped.
However, worse was to follow!
There was a stipulation that boarding passes had to be printed, not when purchasing the air fares, but BETWEEN 15 DAYS before flying, and up to within FOUR HOURS of take-off. This alone is seems to be a ploy guaranteed to net in more covert charges to the unwary - or in my case forgetful/naive as to this crucial 'procedure'. On arrival at the Ryanair check-in area, we had to confirm our details on one of those dreaded computerised machines, to discover that we three had to pay an extra charge of £120 because we had omitted to print our booking passes within the required time slot.
BE WARNED! Make sure you print your boarding passes or you'll be subject to these extortionate charges!
While Ryanair simply respond by asserting that their covert charges are "not illegal", if it takes legislation to make ANY business more transparent and honestly run, then this must be done. We already have a government who knows how to implement severe penalties upon their electorate who fail to toe the line in many aspects of daily life, so it can only be a well-practised procedure that needs applying to business as well.
By: Scottie Macbeth
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99% of complaints are from people that don't bother to follow a few basic rules and then refuse to take responsibility for it.
It does look that way, and usually the person in the minority is wrong. Sooner or later if you carry on flying with them you will have a bad experience and change our tune. Then you'll see their true colours, until then you will remain blissfully ignorant of their devious and underhand way of doing business.
To put it nicely, that is a grossly misleading claim. I find the booking fee high as well but it is not suddenly added AFTER you've completed the booking. When you choose your payment method, the cost of paying with that method will be displayed.
Which?, the consumer watchdog, has launched a so-called Super Complaint against credit card surcharges. A Super Complaint, which only a small number of bodies are allowed to issue, ensures that the Office of Fair Trading conducts a preliminary investigation, with the option to undertake a full-scale review.
The cost to the airline would be around 20 pence to process a debit card payment and no more than 2 per cent of the transaction value for a credit card, it claimed. While Ryanair charges a family of four £40, the same family would be charged £38 by Flybe and £5.50 by easyJet. "
That's not true. Shortly before your departure date you get an email with the subject:
"IMPORTANT: YOU NEED TO CHECK-IN ONLINE FOR YOUR FLIGHT NOW"
Also, the subject of your booking confirmation reads:
"Ryanair Travel Itinerary - Don't Forget You MUST Check-in Online and Print Off your Boarding Pass"
macca pakka