This latest super complaint, up held by the OFT isn't just about FR, but about CC & DC in general of which the budget airlines are the worst offenders and as FR is the biggest in Europe by a long way then it applies here.
You completely miss the point by saying these charges are avoidable by using a pre paid card, it's reckoned that only 4% of the population have these cards, 75% of which have been acquired solely to avoid Ryanair charges per person per sector. The rest because their personal credit rating is so crap that they can not get a CC
Where do I state about the rant......
OFT looks after UK and what happens in rest of Europe is none of their business just like similar bodies in Spain get told to bugger off if they ask about UK.
Prepaid CC's require NO credit rating which is why they are attractive to so many people who can't get a CC or who don't wish to add to existing debt.
Given the oft claimed statistic on here that FR doesn't really fly that many people just a lot of people doing multiple flights then 4% of the UK population is 2.4 Million plus spouses, partners and kids then probably looking at 5-6 million people covered if so called statistic is right. On that basis if the oft made claim on here is correct then numbe of people actually paying it in UK could be very small.
Funny Which doing nothing about LOCOG2012 using Visa as only online payment method.
If you honestly believe that this fair practice, then i invite you to my wife's restaurant for a meal for 4, i will give you 50% ofF menu prices, but i don't accept cash or cheque and i will only charge you £5 per person per course admin fee onto of your discounted meal, more over i won't tell you about until the very last second at which point you have the choice of cancelling the booking and trying to re book a meal with someone else who will probably do the same anyway!!
Oh you mean like the 10-15% service charges that restaurants impose on your bill or a minimum spend that shops and other places use !!!!!
If as I believe FR will do is tell someone when they start a booking of the charges then its not secret and wishing to proceed after that and buy is up to the individual. If in Your wife's restaurant they state everything when booking a table then its perfectly legal.
The idea that you can't rebook elsewhere is nonsense as the whole booking process from start to finish for a family of 4 on FR should talk way less that 10 minutes.
There should be no charge for using a DC period and the CC charge should be limited to a max% or max fee for the whole transaction not per person per sector and this is where this will end up, it may require primary legislation to implement it, Justice will always lag the crime.
This isn't about Ryanair, sadly where they go Easyjet, Jet2 and baby follow, this sector of the airline industry grew from taking the frills out of flying and into taking the p**s out of its customers.
Right so lets see the LCC's fly in newer planes than the majority of the legacies, rarely if ever go on strike unlike BA, rarely lose luggage unlike BA/AF/LH or abandon thousands at airports unlike BA yet somehow these LCC's have taking the "frills" out of flying by allowing people to fly more, for less, to destinations not deemed worthy of serving by the legacies.
The only customer allowable options should be limited to seating preference, boarding priority, luggage, on board food, insurance and a small fee for using a CC to reflect the cost to the airline of the charges levied by the banks for card processing costs
Ah so you want the nanny state to tell people to run their business, which given their ineptitude in running the country is
The customer you may be shocked to know they have a choice, are well aware of that choice and yet still make that choice as the one that suits them best.