Ryanair won’t face action after name change complaints
Ryanair will not face any action after dozens of customers complained they had been unfairly charged up to £160 for name errors.
Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, had called on the Civil Aviation Authority to investigate after it received more than 160 complaints claiming the airline’s system had inadvertently changed names on bookings.
Some customers who were travelling in groups claimed their surnames had been changed to match those of the lead passenger or account holder.
Lewis earlier called on Ryanair to ‘have a heart’ and show some leniency after it noticed a spike in complaints.
But Ryanair insisted there was no technical problem and the CAA has confirmed it will not be taking any action against the airline.
The CAA said the issue appears to have only affected a very small number of Ryanair bookings and was unlikely to be caused by a glitch.
But it said it was continuing with its review of airline charges and hidden fees which began in 2016.
The review is looking at terms and conditions relating to fees for name changes, airport check-in, and re-issuing of boarding passes.
"Our review has highlighted the difficulty in dealing with the issue of unfair contract terms, and in particular the lack of clear legal framework underpinning contract terms and conditions," it told the consumer advice website.
"However, we recognise that, in a number of areas, airlines use their contract terms to further their commercial interests in a way which is more onerous on consumers than, perhaps, it need be.
"Our work in this area has focused on improving transparency and encouraging airlines to make their terms fairer and more proportionate."
MoneySavingExpert said although complaints were still coming in about name change charges, the rate has slowed down.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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