BEWARE RYANAIR GIFTVOUCHERS

Tupins

There has been a lot of discussion about avoiding the credit card charges that Ryanair charge. Other than paying by visa electron (which is not available in Ireland) someone suggested to me to buy Ryanair gift vouchers and use them as there would be no credit card charge. This seemed like a good idea as when you buy them they are delivered to your email immediately.

The vouchers are sold in denominations of 25, 50, 75, 100, 150, or 200 euro but you must choose one amount from a drop down list - i.e. it's not possible to select 1 x 25 and 1 x 150 to make 175 for example. (unless you complete two separate transactions which is not very convenient)

I was planning to book two flights and I bought a voucher for €200 and was sent 4 voucher numbers worth €50 each.

Now, here's the catch:

It says in their terms and conditions that up to four vouchers may be used in a single transaction so I thought that this would be very handy as if one is partially used you can put it towards the next flight along with another voucher.

It also states that if a voucher is partially redeemed the remaining balance is non-refundable. To me, this meant that if I didn't use the whole amount of the voucher I would not be able to get this money back from Ryanair (ie the definition of refund) but I assumed that I would still be able to redeem the remaining amount on future purchases, as is the way of vouchers used in any other establishment.

Well, as you have guessed by now - no I couldn't. After I booked the first flight, there was about €20 unused on one of the vouchers which I tried to put towards the second flight but when I entered the number a message came up saying 'voucher already redeemed' or something along those lines.

I thought this was a total rip off and if there are any legal people reading this I'd love to know the legality of witholding someone's money like this.

The story has a happy ending though, as I wrote a letter of complaint to Ryanair and would you believe they have issued me a new voucher with the remaining balance of the unused amount!! They sent it via email with 'Reissued Gift Voucher' in the subject and on the email simply a new voucher number and the amount. No 'Dear' or 'From' or apology or any message - just the voucher. Oh well, you can't have it all :rolleyes:

As far as I'm concerned, by giving me back the amount which is rightfully mine, they admit that they were in the wrong yet no doubt there are other people out there who are still getting ripped off by this situation all the time.
My advice to anyone is not to buy these vouchers in the first place as the only time they will be of value is if you buy the amount which is the exact amount of the flight. If it's less, you won't get your 'change' and if it's more you'll have to make up the difference with your credit card and get charged that charge anyway.

If anyone else has had the same experience as I've had, I urge you to write a letter of complaint to Ryanair and demand a voucher be reissued with your remaining balance. The more people who say nothing - the longer they'll keep getting away with it!