Ryanair making it difficult for customers to get refunds

Can they do this? I am looking for a full cash refund. Also I do not know how long the replacement gift voucher will last for.

Yes, they can. Pretty much every company will refund a gift card payment with another gift card/ credit note. Gift cards and vouchers are not cash, different rules apply.

As you paid in a mix of voucher and cash, ideally they'd refund you in the same mix if their systems allow.
 
I have received an email from Ryanair re my flight of April 7th, which, I was informed by email on 21st March, was cancelled . I was hoping this was the "within x working days you will receive your refund".

Since 21st March I have run the circle of applying for refund, getting email with voucher, holding on for call centre to reject voucher and insist on refund, another determined but fruitless contact with call centre 6 weeks ago, and have today at last received.... another email with a voucher, inviting me to start the merry-go-round again. :rolleyes:

By the way, there doesn't seem to be an emoticon for breaking down in tears, which is the most appropriate for how I'm feeling now.
 
That is very frustrating for you and is bloody ridicules . We got our refunds for our early April flight almost immediately after they were cancelled.
 
I was to travel on 18th July, flights cancelled early June, received my refund yesterday.
 
Yes, they can. Pretty much every company will refund a gift card payment with another gift card/ credit note. Gift cards and vouchers are not cash, different rules apply.

As you paid in a mix of voucher and cash, ideally they'd refund you in the same mix if their systems allow.
Well after telling me that I was in line for a cash refund last April they are now telling me, five months later that I am to get a voucher. (seeing as they had someone dealing with my claim this week, they could easily have dealt with it and ended the matter by refunding me the cash, this would have freed up that team member to process the next customer. Instead they just kick the can down the road, doubling up the work that they have to do.)

They are telling me that I am to get a voucher for the full amount even though half of the cost of my flight was paid using a gift card and half using my credit card.

I have rejected the offer of a voucher so now I am back in the queue for a cash refund. They will decide when I get this.

I should have been refunded within a week of Ryanair cancelling my flight.

Every day there are dozens of posts on Ryanair's Facebook page about refunds, 90% negative.
 
It might be better perhaps to accept the voucher , it probably will be processed quickly for you. The fact that this was a partial cash / gift card payment could be the reason for the confusion or delay.
I had a flight cancelled for May and accepted a voucher in April but who knows when that will be used...
 
I've received refunds for both my outstanding flights in the last week. I got an email from Ryanair confirming this for one but not for the other.
 
Does anyone know what is the time limit on vouchers , seen as we won't be flying for some time yet.
 
Thanks Slim , no need to panic just yet then.
No need to panic about that at all, they have stated that any unused credit on these vouchers after the 12 months will be refunded in cash. Now how long that will take and whether they will stick to their word and not change their minds again, who knows??

The thing I would be worried about in accepting vouchers is whether the airline will still be around. I do think, just my opinion with no particular inside knowledge, that Ryanair are one the ones that will be around.
 
So I had three cancelled flights and finally got around to doing something about it this morning.

The first one - no problem in that I filled in the form and refused the voucher and am told I will get cash.

The second and third "encountered a problem"

I got onto live chat at 8.36 and now at 9.22 , I have eventually got their agreement to pay me cash and they say that the wait time is 3 weeks.

Surely they should be able to refund people automatically for cancelled flights?

I was ok, in that I was able to do other stuff while I was waiting for them. But normally I would not spend 46 minutes to get a refund of about €65. A lot of people just won't bother as they value their time and mental health at more than this.

Brendan
 
Coincidentally, I spoke to someone just now who had a flight booked to Slovakia early in the pandemic.

Slovakia was the first country to close its borders and have flights cancelled.

He went online and got his full refund within a week.

So Ryanair could have refunded people had the wished to do so.

Brendan
 
Some people have been lucky to receive refunds quickly. I had my refund for my first cancelled flight within one week. The next one , after spending almost an hour on the phone , got the agreement for refund but this took about four weeks.
I see that they are offering flights for 5 euro at the moment , with free cancellation, I wonder what the take up on this will be ?
 
A fiver for a flight ticket seems a bargain, so will help sell flights that otherwise, probably won't sell...

If the passenger subsequently decides not to fly, how likely are they to look for a refund?

Looks like a shrewd enough move by Ryanair, at this juncture.
 
it looks good alright but how many people will look for refunds for 5 euro. I can see many vouchers been accepted though. Although would anyone even bother for the sake of 5 euro....
 
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Yes, they can. Pretty much every company will refund a gift card payment with another gift card/ credit note. Gift cards and vouchers are not cash, different rules apply.

As you paid in a mix of voucher and cash, ideally they'd refund you in the same mix if their systems allow.

OK. Here is an update. I received the cash portion of my flights costs recredited to my Visa card. (9 months after booking, on September 1st). I received nothing for the gift card portion of payment.
I spent 4 hours today communicating on their chat line. Two of the agents disconnected half way through the conversation. I felt they did this because they did not know what to do.
A third agent said that in the next few days I would receive an email about the refund for the gift card portion. The voucher would have a 1 year life.

I have a question. I assume that I am getting another gift card to replace the old gift card. Last December the law was changed to make gift cards have a shelf life of 5 years. Surely my replacement gift card should also have a shelf life of 5 years and not 1 year?


 
Surely my replacement gift card should also have a shelf life of 5 years and not 1 year?

If they're wording it as a gift card rather than a credit note, I would have thought so alright based on date of issue.
 
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If they're wording it as a gift card rather than a credit note, I would have thought so alright based on date of issue.
The words that they are using are They will issue the refund as per "Payment Method". Which was a gift card.
 
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The words that they are using are They will issue the refund as per "Payment Method". Which was a gift card.

Further update. They have issued me with a new gift card yesterday (old one was used and had expired in June 2020) but with an end date of next January.

This is despite the fact that since December 2019 gift cards must have an expiry date of at least 5 years.


I have requested that they extend the expiry date to 5 years.

If they refuse this....who do I complain to? I have never found the CCPC any use............they just refer you on to someone else. So if I can cut them out and go straight to the next level it would help a lot.
 
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