Ryanair-Extortionate exchange rates ( Complaint to CCPC, ECC Ireland & Ryanair)

power101 · 05-10-2015 2:45pm #1

Right, below is a complaint I've sent on Ryanair's overcharging;

Details of your complaint Many companies have started a practice of automatically changing a sterling price/payment on their website to Euro when a euro denominated credit /debit card is being used. Amazon is one example however they are based in the UK and I'm not sure if this agency can tackle them. The other major company that I have seen doing this is Ryanair. If you attempt to buy a single flight from the UK to anywhere else or even internal UK flights they change the currency as the payment stage from sterling to Euro.

In each case where I have bought flights recently they have done this and it works out an extra 5-10 euro more expensive compared to normal bank exchange rates that you would pay using your credit or debit card.

As an example:

I purchased UK flights with a sterling cost of £61.98. Ryanair attempted to automatically change this to a euro price of €89.53. I after several clicks and ignoring of warnings was able to pay the sterling price. This cost me €84.25 through my bank. Ryanair is taking €5.28(6.3%) extra and makes it extremely difficult to refuse their automatic exchange rate. Their exchange rate per the photo i took was 1.4444 to the pound compared to 1.3593 which my bank normally charged. I can only imagine this adds up to hundreds or thousands if not millions of extra charges for not only Irish but every other European.

Their warning when I went to not pay their exchange rate had the following lines
"...the rate from your bank is not guaranteed and is subject to daily fluctuations, which could result in a significantly higher cost to you"
"We recommend you do not untick the checkbox so that you receive our guaranteed exchange rate"

These statements are false and misleading and lead to unnecessary hidden costs for many of their customers.

Please let me know your thoughts on this,

Kind Regards,

Power101....

delahuntv · 05-10-2015 3:23pm

How about clicking "pay in sterling" - certainly Amazon had this option about 2 hours ago.

Would you not maybe ask ryanair first and also get your info correct instead of whining to some bureaucrat office?

power101 · 05-10-2015 3:55pm

delahuntv wrote: »

How about clicking "pay in sterling" - certainly Amazon had this option about 2 hours ago.

Would you not maybe ask ryanair first and also get your info correct instead of whining to some bureaucrat office?

They do have this function. However it is not obvious and takes several clicks etc and cancellations of warnings to get there. I have complained to Ryanair. You might read the heading in future.

I thought the whole point of consumer issues was to discuss them. This is clearly an overcharging issue that people should know about when booking with Ryanair. I don't see anything wrong with my info. I've given a detailed explanation of the problem.

davo10 · 05-10-2015 4:17pm

Did you really expect Ryanair to give you the same conversion rate as a bank?

ohnonotgmail · 05-10-2015 4:23pm

power101 wrote: »

They do have this function. However it is not obvious and takes several clicks etc and cancellations of warnings to get there. I have complained to Ryanair. You might read the heading in future.

I thought the whole point of consumer issues was to discuss them. This is clearly an overcharging issue that people should know about when booking with Ryanair. I don't see anything wrong with my info. I've given a detailed explanation of the problem.

how is it an overcharging issue? Either you agree to pay them the amount specified in euro at their rate (in which case how can it be overcharging if you agree to it?) or you change it to pay in sterling and take whatever rate you bank charge you. If it was the case they forced you to pay in euro at their rate then i would agree there is an issue but as they let you opt out i cant see what the problem is.

power101 · 05-10-2015 4:23pm

davo10 wrote: »

Did you really expect Ryanair to give you the same conversion rate as a bank?

I didn't want them to give any conversion in fact. It's forced upon anyone that buys the flights like this. Then they make it out as if it could be more expensive in a bank when they are many times more expensive.

power101 · 05-10-2015 4:25pm

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

how is it an overcharging issue? Either you agree to pay them the amount specified in euro at their rate (in which case how can it be overcharging if you agree to it?) or you change it to pay in sterling and take whatever rate you bank charge you. If it was the case they forced you to pay in euro at their rate then i would agree there is an issue but as they let you opt out i cant see what the problem is.

The point is that their opt out warns people that it could be far more expensive to go through their bank. This is a lie.

ohnonotgmail · 05-10-2015 4:26pm

power101 wrote: »

I didn't want them to give any conversion in fact. It's forced upon anyone that buys the flights like this. Then they make it out as if it could be more expensive in a bank when they are many times more expensive.

if they let you pay in sterling how is it forced upon you?

ohnonotgmail · 05-10-2015 4:27pm

power101 wrote: »

The point is that their opt out warns people that it could be far more expensive to go through their bank. This is a lie.

could be or will be? If they say "could be" they are covered. after all your banks rate could be worse. it probably isnt but it could be.

power101 · 05-10-2015 4:40pm

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

if they let you pay in sterling how is it forced upon you?

They auto change the sterling to Euro, do not make it clear that they have done so and you have to go through several clicks and screens to undo this automatic change. A change that is only in favor of Ryanair.

power101 · 05-10-2015 4:42pm

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

could be or will be? If they say "could be" they are covered. after all your banks rate could be worse. it probably isnt but it could be.

The statements are highly misleading as they do not mention them being possibly lower but instead say " possibly significantly higher". Then they recommend that you pay these extortionate exchange rates.

feargale · 05-10-2015 4:48pm

delahuntv wrote: »

How about clicking "pay in sterling" - certainly Amazon had this option about 2 hours ago.

Would you not maybe ask ryanair first and also get your info correct instead of whining to some bureaucrat office?

Why should OP have to go around the houses about this? It's not whining incidentally.
@ OP report false and misleading information to the appropriate agency. Are you in UK?

ohnonotgmail · 05-10-2015 4:48pm

power101 wrote: »

They auto change the sterling to Euro, do not make it clear that they have done so and you have to go through several clicks and screens to undo this automatic change. A change that is only in favor of Ryanair.

quite honestly if you havent noticed that the currency has changed, which would change the total, then you need to pay more attention.

feargale · 05-10-2015 4:50pm

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

could be or will be? If they say "could be" they are covered. after all your banks rate could be worse. it probably isnt but it could be.

It is a half truth.

ohnonotgmail · 05-10-2015 4:50pm

power101 wrote: »

The statements are highly misleading as they do not mention them being possibly lower but instead say " possibly significantly higher". Then they recommend that you pay these extortionate exchange rates.

well unless they use the exact same rate as your bank then of course they could be possibly lower or possibly higher.

dilallio · 05-10-2015 4:51pm

Thanks OP - I wasn't aware of this and will make sure I don't get caught.

power101 · 05-10-2015 4:53pm

feargale wrote: »

Why should OP have to go around the houses about this? It's not whining incidentally.
@ OP report false and misleading information to the appropriate agency. Are you in UK?

No I'm in Ireland and I have reported it to relevant agencies.

power101 · 05-10-2015 4:56pm

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

quite honestly if you havent noticed that the currency has changed, which would change the total, then you need to pay more attention.

Well I do notice these changes and that's why there's an explanation in the OP. Many others may or may not notice however and if they do they have Ryanair the now " friendly " airline telling them not to change back to sterling as it could cost them more.

power101 · 05-10-2015 4:57pm

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

well unless they use the exact same rate as your bank then of course they could be possibly lower or possibly higher.

But they don't say possibly higher or lower. They say possibly "Significantly higher"

ohnonotgmail · 05-10-2015 5:00pm

power101 wrote: »

But they don't say possibly higher or lower. They say possibly "Significantly higher"

can you quote the exact text of what they say? First it was "possibly significantly higher" now its just "significantly higher". quite a difference.

ohnonotgmail · 05-10-2015 5:01pm

power101 wrote: »

Well I do notice these changes and that's why there's an explanation in the OP. Many others may or may not notice however and if they do they have Ryanair the now " friendly " airline telling them not to change back to sterling as it could cost them more.

well the "you" i referred to obviously didn't include you as did notice.

power101 · 05-10-2015 5:02pm

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

can you quote the exact text of what they say? First it was "possibly significantly higher" now its just "significantly higher". quite a difference.

I've said possibly significantly higher in both posts.

ohnonotgmail · 05-10-2015 5:07pm

power101 wrote: »

I've said possibly significantly higher in both posts.

I'm really not seeing the issue. if they say "possibly significant higher" then that implies it could also be lower.

power101 · 05-10-2015 5:09pm

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

I'm really not seeing the issue. if they say "possibly significant higher" then that implies it could also be lower.

Sure like anything we'll see if any of the agencies have any issues with it. We could argue about statements being misleading etc until the cows come home :pac::D

ohnonotgmail · 05-10-2015 5:16pm

for the avoidance of doubt here is the text of the warning ryanair display when you change from sterling to euro

If you do not wish to accept the exchange rate please untick the check box below. The rate on this currency transaction is guaranteed and will not vary.
If you untick the checkbox below, the rate you receive from your bank is not guaranteed, and is subject to daily fluctuations, which could result in a significantly higher cost to you.
Please go to our terms and conditions for details of our guaranteed exchange rate. We recommend you do not untick the checkbox so that you receive our guaranteed exchange rate

Nothing misleading in there. The process is quite simple. One click to bring that window. one to uncheck the box. One to close the window.

power101 · 05-10-2015 5:21pm

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

for the avoidance of doubt here is the text of the warning ryanair display when you change from sterling to euro

Nothing misleading in there. The process is quite simple. One click to bring that window. one to uncheck the box. One to close the window.

Everything about the statement is misleading.

the rate you receive from your bank is not guaranteed, and is subject to daily fluctuations

Ryanair's rate is also subject to daily fluctuations. Why is that line even in the text.

which could result in a significantly higher cost to you.

Actually no it will always be lower if you go through your bank and don't take their outrageously expensive exchange rate. Misleading

We recommend you do not untick the checkbox so that you receive our guaranteed exchange rate

They recommend that the customer in effect pays a higher fare?!

feargale · 05-10-2015 9:42pm

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

I'm really not seeing the issue. if they say "possibly significant higher" then that implies it could also be lower.

No, it doesn't.

ohnonotgmail · 05-10-2015 10:06pm

feargale wrote: »

No, it doesn't.

So if i say that it could possibly rain tomorrow that doesnt imply that it could possibly not rain? bizarre logic.

feargale · 05-10-2015 10:37pm

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

So if i say that it could possibly rain tomorrow that doesnt imply that it could possibly not rain? bizarre logic.

Wrong. You are not comparing like with like. Possible rain tomorrow is an alternative to no rain tomorrow, and to that alone.
Possibly significantly higher can be paired as an alternative with 1.possibly (significantly) lower or 2. no change.
Furthermore, do you not understand that not all customers are as sharp as OP and many can be taken in by disingenuous advertising?

delahuntv · 05-10-2015 10:54pm

power101 wrote: »

You might read the heading in future.

.

How about giving them a chance to reply before whining to the world and its mother?

Graham · 05-10-2015 11:04pm

delahuntv wrote: »

How about giving them a chance to reply before whining to the world and its mother?

Does it only becomes a consumer issue after they reply?

I don't see a problem with the OP bringing this to the attention of consumers who otherwise may not be aware.

Ryanair-Extortionate exchange rates ( Complaint to CCPC, ECC Ireland & Ryanair)

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