Ryanair has been ordered to refund a passenger who refused to fly against Government advice during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The disgruntled customer was awarded more than £400 by the small claims court after he argued he should have been given a refund for a Ryanair flight he didn't take due to Government advice not to travel during the pandemic. Although the decision doesn't set a legal precedent, Money Saving Expert's Martin Lewis says it could be used as an example of case law when bringing similar complaints to court.
And Martin reckons now could be a good time to try to get your money back If you're still owed money for a flight you didn't take due to Covid guidance, although you have six years to take a complaint to the small claims coiurt.
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Nick Blades, from Gloucestershire, won his case against Ryanair in Gloucester and Cheltenham County Court after the airline initially refused to grant him a refund for a flight he had booked from Bristol to Malaga. The flight was scheduled to depart on July 30, 2020 - a time when the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advice was against non-essential travel.
When Mr Blades decided not to travel, Ryanair refused to refund him twice. He was refused a refund on his first complaint and then again when he escalated it. Ryanair's argument was that the flight had not been cancelled, so no refund was due, however the court agreed with Mr Blades and awarded him £429, made up of the price of his flight and £90 in court fees. Ryanair had previously offered him a travel credit voucher worth £339.36 but he wanted a cash refund.
Ryanair told Money Saving Expert: "While we do not comment on individual cases, our General Terms & Conditions of Carriage, which are available at every step of the booking process and which passengers expressly agree to before completing their bookings, provide that we may refuse carriage where a passenger owes money in respect of a previous flight due to payment having been recharged against us."
If you're still owed money for a flight you didn't take due to Covid guidance here are the steps to try to get your money back:
- Complain to the airline: Ryanair states in its T&Cs that if flights still go ahead they are non-refundable, however, British Airways, Easyjet, Jet2 and Virgin Atlantic all gave passengers the option to rebook or request a voucher;
- Complain to the airline's regulator: Ryanair's 'ombudsman' is an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme called AviationADR, but you won't get anywhere unless you have already complained to Ryanair and given it at least eight weeks to respond. Money Saving Expert suggests you could try also complaining to regulator the Civil Aviation Authority, but it's unlikely to consider complaints where the airline has an ADR scheme in place.
- Try a Chargeback: You could try going through your card provider, though there are no guarantees of success. If you paid on credit card for something costing more than £100 then you can try under Section 75. If you paid by debit card or your flight was less than £100 on credit card then try Chargeback.
- Go to the small claims court. There is a fee to do so but you can reclaim this if you win, although if you lose you won't get fees back and you may also have to pay expenses (but not legal costs) to the other party too.
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