Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary Richard Drew/AP/Press Association Images

Ryanair publishes complaints email address after NCA action

The carrier confirmed yesterday it was dropping a court action challenging the agency’s order.

RYANAIR HAS AGREED to bring in an email address for customer complaints after government watchdog the National Consumer Agency took action against the no-frills carrier.

The NCA launched an enforcement action against the airline back in May in an effort to compel it to publish an address, in line with e-commerce laws. That followed a similar successful action against Aer Lingus.

Ryanair had exercised its right to appeal the action, and the case was listed to go ahead at Swords District Court yesterday. However, yesterday morning Ryanair confirmed the appeal was being withdrawn, and published the address customerqueries@ryanair.com on its website.

CEO of the NCA Karen O’Leary said that providing an email address was one of the basic obligations traders had to adhere to when doing business on the internet.

“This requirement is set out in law and the National Consumer Agency is ensuring that traders, including airlines, comply with their obligations.”

Read: “I’ve made mistakes… I have to change those rough edges” — Michael O’Leary

Read: Ryanair promises to refund Dr Sattar for Leicester Flight fees >

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

Close
37 Comments
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Myles
    Favourite Myles
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 9:23 AM

    They may be required to supply an email address but does that mean they have to supply staff to handle and respond to complaints……

    245
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute conor hickey
    Favourite conor hickey
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 11:32 AM

    Auto response, or pay€200 to get a written reply.

    75
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute PerkyBeans
    Favourite PerkyBeans
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 9:50 AM

    Automated Response
    To have your Email read please Add €3
    To Receive a reply please Add €5

    For all other queries please insert credit card

    162
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Bruno Velten
    Favourite Bruno Velten
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 9:23 AM

    We all know the’ll hire some callcentre in India and answer with pre-written templates, nothing more.

    118
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dublinjonny
    Favourite Dublinjonny
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 9:41 AM

    I honestly can see Micheal responding to some of those emails …. honestly …. Dear Madam, in relation to your complaint regarding (insert Ryanair BS here ) , we have fully investigated this matter to the best of our ability and have concluded that you can go fk yourself ya fking bit*h

    105
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Carcu Sidub
    Favourite Carcu Sidub
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 9:26 AM

    Well done to the National Consumer Agency.

    However have you ensured emails to customerqueries@ryanair.com, will be read, contents investigated & have the results replied to the customer?

    67
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Jim Walsh
    Favourite Jim Walsh
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 9:30 AM

    I was just going to make the same point. The law may require them to publish an e-mail but does it require them to actually read and respond to the queries/complaints that they get?

    I suspect that when you submit you’ll get a standard reply back thanking you for your contact and thereafter it will just disappear into the aether never to be heard of again.

    30
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute conor hickey
    Favourite conor hickey
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 11:33 AM

    Copy all correspondence to NCA

    19
    See 1 more reply ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Emily Elephant
    Favourite Emily Elephant
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 11:54 AM

    /dev/null@ryanair.com. There’s an alternative postal address in Argentina.

    5
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dave
    Favourite Dave
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 9:38 AM

    It’s crashed already!

    53
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Barry Aston
    Favourite Barry Aston
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 9:22 AM

    Still far off what is needed after the bottom feeder efforts made addressing there actions charging a man that lost his family 24hrs before, a date change fee. Even on the Matt Cooper show they tried marketing stunts whilst trying to save face. They are creatures. All out for the profit margin at whatever costs.

    51
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute brian magee
    Favourite brian magee
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 10:53 AM

    Next thing is people will be complaining about under takers charging for Funerals or Florists charging for wreaths….

    26
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Barry Aston
    Favourite Barry Aston
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 1:09 PM

    Imagine having your outlook on life you sad twisted greedy bollix. Enjoy being miserable there lad.

    4
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Peterson Cat
    Favourite Peterson Cat
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 9:35 AM

    Why does he pull those stupid faces? What exactly is his objective with the stupid face!!!

    45
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute bacoxy
    Favourite bacoxy
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 9:21 AM

    P.R. stunt

    36
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Nelly
    Favourite Nelly
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 10:58 AM

    Well done Ryanair.o Leary came off well on prime time last night.he admitted they didn’t treat customers well in the past but are changing their policy and changing their website to make it easier.great to see an Irish company doing so well.but this been Ireland he and the company will be bad mouthed for being successful

    36
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute lostintallaght
    Favourite lostintallaght
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 11:39 AM

    He will be bad mouthed for being the cocky sh*t that he is. He came off well in ONE interview last night. What about the years and years of arrogant interviews he has given? Nothing about being successful, he comes across as a nasty turd.

    28
    See 3 more replies ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Nelly
    Favourite Nelly
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 12:02 PM

    He’s arrogant cos he turned the aviation industry around and is one of the worlds biggest airlines.he made flying affordable for many people that otherwise would never be able to fly.fair play to him I say.thanks to him I can get cheap flights and wkends away in Europe,cheaper than what I’d pay for a hotel for a weekend in this country

    41
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute lostintallaght
    Favourite lostintallaght
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 1:11 PM

    Nelly, Steve Jobs was a genius that presided over one of the most profitable technology companies ever. He turned Apple around from a company on the edge of to being an industry leader. Why did he never act like an arrogant knob in public and to his customers like O’Leary does?

    You can be head of a successful company and still act like a normal human being – they two are not mutually exclusive.

    16
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Nelly
    Favourite Nelly
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 2:42 PM

    That’s his public persona it gets him publicity and it works.you should read the report the FBI done about Steve Jobs if you think he was such a nice guy.

    13
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Gggordon
    Favourite Gggordon
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 9:48 AM

    And here I was listening to radio news this morning talking about this as if it was Ryanair being nice and changing the way they perceive their customers …… no .. they were forced in to providing a basic email address for their customers.

    35
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Brian Ward
    Favourite Brian Ward
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 10:37 AM

    It would be interesting to see if Ryanair publish any of these complaints in the future. Having watched various TV programmes and knowing people who work in the industry. it seems to me that most of the time it is the customers fault for their complaint. They don’t print off their ticket, they arrive late, they over pack their bag, they don’t read the terms and conditions, they don’t navigate the website properly and then they blame it all on everyone else.

    Ryanair is a flying bus, no more no less. It’s not like people don’t know that there are “hidden” charges even though a proper look through the booking process will knock out most of those charges.

    29
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Tony Skillington
    Favourite Tony Skillington
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 10:24 AM

    Might as well write a complaint on a stone and toss it at the tide…

    27
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute RecessionTraveller
    Favourite RecessionTraveller
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 11:13 AM

    You get what you pay for with Ryanair. If you follow their rules (whether you believe them to be fair or not) you shouldn’t have too many issues. Print your boarding pass at home, don’t be over the weight limit and arrive on time for the flight.

    25
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Torpedo
    Favourite Torpedo
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 9:38 AM

    What happen with the doctor was a disaster. But you really need to blame the staff member more. They should have realised it was a genuine reason and not some BS story they usually hear. Even if they can’t make the decision they can make a call. Apart from that, if I had just lost my entire family the last thing I would do is try and change my ticket. I wouldn’t be even thinking I had a ticket for a later date I would be paying anything asked for.

    18
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute lostintallaght
    Favourite lostintallaght
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 11:45 AM

    The problem was not with that staff member. This is an attitude that is endemic within Ryanair. The staff member was doing exactly what he/she was trained to do from the first day they went through the Ryanair training. They’re not encouraged to use discretion, they’re not encouraged to check with senior members of staff in a situation like this. They are encouraged to come down tough on any passenger that deviates from their T&Cs. That’s fine as far as I’m concerned but don’t blame the member of staff here, blame the company that Micheal O’Leary has built.

    12
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Chris Doherty
    Favourite Chris Doherty
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 9:19 PM

    It is the same problem with all large organisations, employees operate from a standard template, and are incapable of individual thought. Look at any of the consumer shows on UK TV, the bigger they are the worse they are.

    1
    See 1 more reply ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Daithi G.
    Favourite Daithi G.
    Report
    Oct 2nd 2013, 8:03 AM

    If you are a worker in a huge company like Ryanair, the reason you follow the rules without deviation is so you can continue to work.
    ANY deviation or personal discretion/thought is an infringement of the rules and you’ll more than likely face some form of disciplinary action “up to and including dismissal”.

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Martin
    Favourite Martin
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 1:01 PM

    Without them most of us wouldn’t be able to afford air travel

    16
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Eva Kwok
    Favourite Eva Kwok
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 10:36 AM

    I still havn’t received my reply from months ago, and they claimed it would take ten days for a reply. Ten months is coming up soon

    15
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute urban living
    Favourite urban living
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 2:05 PM

    I actually got a refund for 40 euro (boarding pass print out) last year from Ryanair by writing them a letter. I’ve since been on to Aer Lingus about a few things and have been left disappointed (I travel to the UK a couple of times a week) and Ryanair I have to say haven’t let me down. Over last winter I remember being stuck in airport delays for hours with Aer Lingus and always, more or less, arrived on time with Ryanair. You get what you pay for and if you play by the rules, you won’t have nothing to complain about, we’ll not much!

    14
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Who's Yer Man
    Favourite Who's Yer Man
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 10:43 AM

    Email address probably just goes no where, like most people’s complaints. I trust that it will most likely be deleted upon receipt, and they’ll pretend they never got it. Sure no one complains about Ryanair, hardly ever.

    8
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Emily Elephant
    Favourite Emily Elephant
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 12:01 PM

    Dear Beloved

    I represent the estate of Mr George Wesley, who was a shipping contractor in the Central African Republic. His estate leaves to you the sum of US Dollars Fifteen Million Eight Hundred Thousand. If this is not collected by you it will revert to the State.

    Please to send me our administration fee of US Dollars Fifteen Million Seven Hundred Thousand plus release taxes of US Dollars One Hundred Thousand and printing fees of Euro Seventy and we will send the money Western Union priority to an account just a 30 minute bus ride away from you.

    Yours in Christ,
    Yamane Dradi (Mrs)

    3
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Joseph Siddall
    Favourite Joseph Siddall
    Report
    Oct 2nd 2013, 11:29 AM

    Emily, stop smoking that stuff. Why am I not seeing even a tenuous Ryanair link in this ?

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute William Furlong
    Favourite William Furlong
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 11:54 PM

    Not to mention all the extra hits ryanair.com will get from people looking for their complaints email address, handy PR for ryanair

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Thomas Maher
    Favourite Thomas Maher
    Report
    Oct 1st 2013, 1:47 PM

    I would bet the law says nothing about employing someone to read these emails.

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute BPA Free Paper Rolls
    Favourite BPA Free Paper Rolls
    Report
    Feb 23rd 2014, 3:20 PM

    Total joke, I faxed in a complaint as my transfers from airport to hotel never arrived they ignored the fax for 6 weeks and then said we don’t accept complaints after 4 weeks. What a scam. Total scam artists.

    1
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.
JournalTv
News in 60 seconds