Consumer queries: Ryanair unapologetic about boarding pass predicament

Lisa O'Malley contacted us about a Ryanair incident in Glasgow Airport last October that she is struggling to get resolved. "I am a frequent flyer, commuting back and forth from Glasgow nearly fortnightly, so I am well aware of the airport procedures in most airports," she says.

One day she arrived at Glasgow Airport well over an hour before her flight, only to realise she had the wrong boarding card.

“I went to the Ryanair help desk to get my pass reprinted, as I was already checked in. However, there were no staff around to help me.”

So she went to the airport information desk, and those of other airlines, to try and get help, but they said only Ryanair could print her boarding card.

"I tried using their app but it would not let me get the boarding pass from that either. The representatives at the Aer Lingus desk were even ringing Ryanair to try to get in contact with them," she says.

Eventually, Ryanair staff returned to their desk. More than half an hour had passed and our reader was told it was too late to print off the boarding pass, “and even though the flight hadn’t left yet, I could not board”.

“Later, a woman at their help desk said that if I could prove that I was there on time, Ryanair would refund me the price of the new flight that I was forced into paying, as I was now stranded in the airport.”

The new flight cost €139, but when she showed Ryanair staff the screen shots she had taken of her trying to use their app, she was told this evidence was insufficient. Apparently, the phone calls from Aer Lingus didn’t count either.

“This happened in October 2015, and I have been sending repeated complaint emails, phone calls, live chats and letters to Ryanair, which they continuously ignore.

“The one response I did receive from Ryanair was in June, eight months later. It pretty much ignored every point I made regarding the incident and gave a standard response which was irrelevant to my case. I am yet to receive an appropriate response.”

We contacted the airline, which was unapologetic. In a statement, it said “all Ryanair customers must check-in online and download their boarding card, either in print form or electronically on the Ryanair mobile app, at least two hours before their flight, and it is each customer’s responsibility to arrive at the airport in good time. The check-in desk closes 40 minutes before the scheduled flight departure, which is why there were no agents at the desk.”

It also said it had responded to our reader’s complaint on three separate occasions, although perhaps not in the way she would have wished.

Knock-on effects of Low Cost Holidays going bust
"With Low Cost Holidays going wallop, I felt that I should let you know about another impact that may be unknown to your readers," starts a mail from Paul Conlon.

"In March, I was looking to reserve some hotels in Italy for a trip in September. Although, in general, I prefer to book direct with the hotel, I decided to check the prices of the hotels in which we wished to stay. Sure enough, one of [Low Cost Holidays'] partner websites, Hoteling, had rooms available in both hotels for less than the hotels themselves, so I decided to book through them," he says.

In July, he heard about the collapse of Low Cost Holidays and was not unduly concerned “as I had no bookings through them”. He did, however, have a “nagging feeling” that something might be amiss.

He contacted the hotels. “They confirmed that they had my reservations through an Italian agency and had not been paid.

“I contacted the Italian agency, which again confirmed my two reservations but advised that my payment to Hoteling had not been passed to them, despite me having paid in March, resulting in me having to pay a second time for the hotels.

“My travel insurance does not cover this loss and I am currently claiming through my credit card company.”

He suspects he may not be the only person to have booked through Hoteling, and others “may be blissfully unaware that their booking may well be cancelled”.

He makes a fair point.

A charge of €5.58 for a very brief 11850 call
Carmel Carey was about to dial an 1850 number on July 4th but mistakenly dialled 11850. "As soon as the caller answered I realised my mistake and redialled the correct number," she says.

“ I got my statement from Eir a few days ago and was horrified to find that I have been charged €5.58 for that 15-second call.”

“At those prices, actually inquiring for a number must cost at least €20.”

“I do hope you can look into this and warn other people about these outrageous charges. I rang Eir to complain but they said that there’s nothing they can do about it.”