Originally Posted by
Tobias-UK
Ryanair may well be within its rights to pursue payment from those who have unlawfully triggered chargebacks. I suspect any denied boarding would trigger EC261 Article 4 and expose Ryanair to Article 7 compensation. It could also expose them to a claim under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (in the UK) and/or a claim for breach of contract.
If the refunds were correct (for example because FR refused to refund tickets for cancelled flights), then I'd imagine that the bans were invalid and that Article 7 IDB compensation, Article 8 rebooking and Article 9 assistance. Rebooking would probably mean that the passengers had to rebook themselves and seek refund from FR afterwards (after suing them). Since FR likes to fly from odd airports, they might also get a taxi bill from FR's airport to the other airline's airport.
If the refunds were incorrect (the flights were operating), then the ban is possibly valid. Why should they accept a fraudster as a customer? However, I wonder if the passengers shouldn't have been given advance notice to solve this issue before going to the airport as waiting until the last second opens up for problems.
Originally Posted by
lowfareair
They would probably be in the right if they proactively contacted the customer they did not agree with the chargeback decision and the customer was no longer allowed to have tickets in their name until the debt was satisfied.
If the debt was invalid, then I don't think that FR had any right to ban the customers. After all, if the airline can ban someone who relies on passenger rights, then the passenger rights are worthless.
If the refunds were invalid, why doesn't FR simply sue the passengers to claim back the money?