Kenneth Wong sent a message to Michael OLeary - CEO, Ryanair - Email Address that said:
Hi Michael,
I am sorry to have to email you regarding an unpleasant experience I am encountering with regard to my ryanair carhire booking ref IE755674320. The rate which I had contracted on was GBP 163.94 (rental) and GBP 50.40 (insurance), totaling to GBP 214.
Essentially, I was charged for the full amount for the hire on 20th August 2017. As I had purchased full insurance through your website, I received a confirmation email from AXA which had sent me the terms of the policy. According to the email, they expressly notified me that any amendments ought to be emailed to axa@cartrawler.com.
I made the effort to look through the terms of the said insurance policy and discovered that my country of residence was wrong. It was reflected as United Kingdom even though I had keyed it in as Singapore.
I immediately raised this issue to axa@cartrawler.com because I did not want any problems relating to any insurance claim in the event I encounter an accident. I had notified axa@cartrawler.com that all I wanted was for them to rectify this issue by making a simple amendment to their system and my policy.
Instead of directly replying to me, I received an email reply from ryanaircarhiresupport@cartrawler.com. Instead of making the amendments to my country of residence, they simply replied on 21 August 2017 that the booking had to be cancelled and rebooked at a higher cost which would be passed on to me at GBP 199.72. There was no explanation whatsoever, if this rate included insurance or if my existing payments made (GBP 214) would be refunded.
I had subsequently emailed ryanaircarhire to rectify the mistake at no further costs to me but this was denied.
Given that I am headed to Ireland in slightly less than 2 weeks, I decided I would suck it up and absorb the price difference first, and then pursue this issue through a complaint channel here later.
As such, I had replied on 23 August 2017 to obtain confirmation from your staff that I would get a refund of the amounts I had been charged so far.
Instead of dealing with the issue of whether I would be doubly charged, your staff had emailed me on 24th August 2017 that the rate had escalated and I would have to take the new rate.
This is utterly absurd. Please note that your staff did not even address the issue of a refund and yet expected me to commit to a position regarding an increased rate! I feel I had been taken for a ride as if I had immediately said yes to the booking, I could very well end up paying double for a single car hire - I would like to believe that this is not the intention here.
At this juncture, I would like to highlight a couple of observations:
(1) I emailed axa@cartrawler.com and expected them (as opposed to ryanairecarhire) to reply me directly
(2) I am not sure if ryanair carhire is even in a position to respond since my issue has got to do with the insurance policy underwritten by AXA
(3) I am appalled that even though the AXA website had suggested that amendments could be made by emailing axa@cartrawler.com, I was notified that a re-booking had to be made because your staff were unable to amend it - this sounds highly inflexible and unbelievable
(4) I do not see why I should have to bear additional costs for making a re-booking when I had correctly entered my country of residence
(5) I feel that my circumstance of having to amend my residence, had been taken advantage of, for them to have forced me to make a re-booking
(6) Your staff ought to have been upfront with me regarding the total costs I could potentially incur - in this case I had already paid for the booking in full, and yet all your staff were interested in was how much extra I had to pay for a re-booking and did not have the courtesy to even inform me if my existing payment would be refunded!
(7) your staff could have been more prompt in communication, via telephone or email, since this is a time sensitive issue and it consequently forced me into taking a higher rate
(8) I persistently called the telephone line and no one had answered it
(9) I feel that I had not been respectfully and professionally treated
(10) I should not bear any costs of amendments
(11) none of your staff had ever contradicted my true statement that I had entered my country of residence correctly
(12) the entire episode had left a terrible taste in my mouth
(13) your staff do not reflect well of your good company
I hope this issue is rectified as soon as possible.
Thank you and have a good day,
Kenneth Wong
