Has anybody successfully got a refund from Ryanair?

[TheGreatSoprendo]

I have some flights booked with Ryanair over the weekend, which I was unable to take due to illness. According to their website, you cannot get a refund in these circumstances (fair enough) but you can get your taxes and charges refunded.

So, I called them last week before I was due to fly to inform them of the situation and ask them what the process was for getting the refund. This was a fairly expensive process in itself as you either have to phone a premium rate number or make an international call to Ireland. I was told that I couldn't make a claim until the flights had gone, so to call back this week.

So I called back again this morning only to be told that you can only claim a refund by fax (nice way to earn a few more pennies out of your premium rate number there, but not telling people that in the first place!). I was given a fax number after which I went away and composed my fax (something I haven't done in aaaages!) and tried to send it. In fact I tried several times, but it kept coming back as no answer, so I scoured Google and found a few more Ryanair fax numbers. Unfortunately, they're coming back as no answer as well.

I'm loathed to get back on the phone to them, so any suggestions as to how I can go about getting my money out of the gits?

[TheGreatSoprendo]

Bueller?... Bueller?... Anyone?

[RVVUNM]

Put it down to experience and NEVER use them again.

Edited by RVVUNM on Wednesday 9th September 10:26

[FarleyRusk]

What a st company!

Send them a registered letter or make a claim from your credit card company (?)

[fatboy b]

One of the guys in our office has. Takes 4 or 5 trys, and a threat to go to small claims (send them a copy of the filled out form saying it'll be sent unless you hear back from them pronto).

Edited by fatboy b on Wednesday 9th September 10:28

[bazking69]

It's a palava just to book with them, let alone get a refund from them!
There is literally no way to contact them if you want to shout either.

[TheGreatSoprendo]

RVVUNM said:

Put it down to experience and NEVER use them again.

I can't tell you how much I'd love to do that, but sadly (for the time being at least) they're the only airline that fly's to where the in law's live, so I'm kind of stuck with them. My solution would be simply not to bother visiting the outlaws, but the missus tells me that's not an option.

bazking69 said:

There is literally no way to contact them if you want to shout either.

There is as long as you are willing to pay for the privilege.

Is there some kind of airline regulator who these sort of complaints can be escalated to?

Edited by TheGreatSoprendo on Wednesday 9th September 11:03

[TheGreatSoprendo]

After a bit of research, I have managed to find 5 seperate fax numbers for Ryanair, and guess what? Yep, they're all continually coming back as "no answer". Here are the fax numbers in any case, for anyone interested:

00 35 318 121 676
00 35 318 121 671
00 35 315 081 702
00 35 318 121 230
00 35 318 121 213

Ryanair are famously retiscent to publish any of its e-mail addresses, so much so that the issue of getting hold of Ryanair has been raised in Parliament, who have helpfully published an e-mail address and a non-premium rate phone number:

http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDM...

I've also found a quite amusing site which seems to be dedicated entirely to the hopelessness that is Ryanair:

http://www.ryanaircampaign.org/

On there they have a list of e-mail addresses for Ryanair which reads as follows:

Ryanair Campaign said:

[e-mail] = Reservations Manager (Michelle Penston)

[e-mail] = Reservations Team Leader (Gemma Walsh)

(A recent message suggests that the Gemma Walsh address has been bouncing.)

[e-mail] = Head of Customer Service (Caroline Greene)

[e-mail] = possible contact for website problems

[e-mail] = Head of Communications (Stephen McNamara)


Also, we are told, some email addresses that customers got a response from, having only been able to contact Ryanair thanks to this site, were

[e-mail]

[e-mail] (Recently, automated replies have been received from this address saying "Unfortunately, replies to this email address cannot currently be processed. Please send your query to our fax [phone]".)

[e-mail] (after reports that this address was bouncing, we've had a report on 27 February 2009 that it seems to be working, and another on 22 August 2009 that it is bouncing again)

[e-mail] (we've had a report that an email was deleted unread, in which case it must have been received)

We've been told that there was a reply from Gemma walsh, with the reply address [e-mail].

also [e-mail] Deputy Head of Customer Services (Siobhan O'Neill)

and [e-mail]

I have now sent a seperate, suitably cutting e-mail to every address on that list, but so far all I've had back is one Out of Office reply.


I'll keep you posted on progress.

Edited by TheGreatSoprendo on Thursday 10th September 14:13

[Podie]

So the lesson here, is do not use Ryanscare.

ATB in getting the money back.

[TheGreatSoprendo]

Podie said:

So the lesson here, is do not use Ryanscare.

Avoid like the plague!

[Adrian W]

So go to the companies house website, get Michael O'leary's home address and sent your claim to him there, by registered post of course.

Now that will realy piss him off

[Podie]

Adrian W said:

So go to the companies house website, get Michael O'leary's home address and sent your claim to him there, by registered post of course.

Now that will realy piss him off

[TheGreatSoprendo]

Adrian W said:

So go to the companies house website, get Michael O'leary's home address and sent your claim to him there, by registered post of course.

Now that will realy piss him off

An undeniably excellent idea and one I would very much like to pursue. Unfortunatley UK Companies House has no listings for Ryanair, and the Irish Companies Registration Office does, but does not list director's details as far as I can tell.

Does anyone know how I can get hold of this information?

[Parrot of Doom]

Ryanair must have a UK office. Send a letter there, recorded delivery. Give me a fortnight.

When they don't pay, take them to court. Tell the magistrate that you tried repeatedly to contact them but were unsuccessful.

No magistrate in their right mind will refuse your claim. Then, later, when Ryanair still refuse to pay, get the Bailiffs in, and take pictures. Then post them here.

It'll make a great post. You'll probably be out of pocket though.

[Adrian W]

TheGreatSoprendo said:

Adrian W said:

So go to the companies house website, get Michael O'leary's home address and sent your claim to him there, by registered post of course.

Now that will realy piss him off

An undeniably excellent idea and one I would very much like to pursue. Unfortunatley UK Companies House has no listings for Ryanair, and the Irish Companies Registration Office does, but does not list director's details as far as I can tell.

Does anyone know how I can get hold of this information?

Sorry, I just checked out the UK Ryanair co's on Creditsafe, they all point back to Irish co, you will need someone there to do it, but they could still hid the addreses.

[Snoggledog]

A few more numbers can be found here.

Good luck with getting your money back. Would I be correct in assuming that the outlaws are in central Europe perchance?

[TheGreatSoprendo]

Snoggledog said:

Good luck with getting your money back. Would I be correct in assuming that the outlaws are in central Europe perchance?

Yep - Poland. Still, I'm sure I can work this up into a suitable excuse not to visit them half as often in the future.

[Dupont666]

TheGreatSoprendo said:

Snoggledog said:

Good luck with getting your money back. Would I be correct in assuming that the outlaws are in central Europe perchance?

Yep - Poland. Still, I'm sure I can work this up into a suitable excuse not to visit them half as often in the future.

Did you get read reciept on your emails?

Im so glad the OHs parents are in Finland and as such Sleezy Jet and Lying Air have been replaced with Finn Air and they work out cheaper overall...

Damn that means I need to go to see the outlaws?

[TheGreatSoprendo]

Dupont666 said:

Did you get read reciept on your emails?

I'm not sure that's do-able in Googlemail?

[Snoggledog]

TheGreatSoprendo said:

Snoggledog said:

Good luck with getting your money back. Would I be correct in assuming that the outlaws are in central Europe perchance?

Yep - Poland. Still, I'm sure I can work this up into a suitable excuse not to visit them half as often in the future.

Mines Slovak so Ryanair is the only choice apart from driving. I've refused to go on several occasions as I loath flying with Ryanair.