UK student changes his name by deed poll to avoid £220 'admin fee' after Ryanair booking error

[webfact]

Student changes his name by deed poll to avoid £220 'admin fee' after Ryanair booking error
Amy Willis for Metro.co.uk

LONDON: -- A student has changed his name by deed poll because it was cheaper than paying Ryanair’s £220 ‘admin fee’ to fix a mistake on a booking.

Adam Armstrong, 19, was booked to go on holiday to Ibiza with his girlfriend India Lomas, 17, next week – flying with Ryanair.

India’s stepfather booked the flights, but accidentally listed his surname as ‘West’.

‘Her stepdad got my name from Facebook but I had put it as Adam West as a joke, because he was the actor who played Batman on TV,’ he told The Sun newspaper.

When Adam realised the error he contacted Ryanair who told him the admin fee to fix it would be £220 – double the usual £110 fee because his girlfriend was listed on the same ticket.

A spokesperson for Ryan air said: ‘Customers are asked to ensure that the details they enter at the time of booking are correct before completing their booking and we offer a 24 hour ‘grace period’ to correct minor booking errors.

‘A name change fee is charged in order to discourage and prevent unauthorised online travel agents from ‘screenscraping’ Ryanair’s cheapest fares and reselling them on to unwitting consumers at hugely inflated costs.

‘Under our “Always Getting Better” improvement programme, we have reduced our baggage, sports equipment, airport check-in and missed departure fees, as we continue to improve the Ryanair travel experience for the 100m customers we’ll carry this year.’

Full story: http://metro.co.uk/2015/06/05/student-changes-his-name-by-deed-poll-to-avoid-220-admin-fee-on-ryanair-booking-error-5231494/

-- METRO 2015-06-05

[lee b]

But how much would it cost him for a new British passport showing his new name?????

[Crossy]

But how much would it cost him for a new British passport showing his new name?????

I don't believe he needs one, at least not yet. The legal name change documents along with his existing passport should be sufficient.

[MaeJoMTB]

But how much would it cost him for a new British passport showing his new name?????

I don't believe he needs one, at least not yet. The legal name change documents along with his existing passport should be sufficient.

"So instead of paying the £220, Adam changed his name by deed poll to Adam West for free. He then paid £103 to get a new passport."

Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2015/06/05/student-changes-his-name-by-deed-poll-to-avoid-220-admin-fee-on-ryanair-booking-error-5231494/#ixzz3cBUXqoDs

[colinneil]

Some people have brains, some people have no brains.

This clowns falls in the latter category.

[MaeJoMTB]

Some people have brains, some people have no brains.

This clowns falls in the latter category.

This guy not only has brains, but a really cute gf free of charge (unlike all of us).

From

https://www.facebook.com/india.lomas

Edited June 5, 2015 by MaeJoMTB

[Crossy]

But how much would it cost him for a new British passport showing his new name?????

I don't believe he needs one, at least not yet. The legal name change documents along with his existing passport should be sufficient.

"So instead of paying the £220, Adam changed his name by deed poll to Adam West for free. He then paid £103 to get a new passport."

Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2015/06/05/student-changes-his-name-by-deed-poll-to-avoid-220-admin-fee-on-ryanair-booking-error-5231494/#ixzz3cBUXqoDs

He's still 117 Squid up.

[gerry123]

Some people have brains, some people have no brains.

This clowns falls in the latter category.

oh yeah please tell why you think this seems to me the guy saved a bit of cash and screwed R A at the same time

[Seastallion]

"‘A name change fee is charged in order to discourage and prevent unauthorised online travel agents from ‘screenscraping’ Ryanair’s cheapest fares and reselling them on to unwitting consumers at hugely inflated costs."

I can understand the reason behind the fee, but as usual with most companies and their "only inside the box" thinking, exceptions to the rule and the spirit of the rule are incomprehensible. They should have made an exception in this case as it obviously was not what the fee was designed for.

[gerry123]

whilst i agree with your comments from the picture i think not all as seems maybe a bit of gob <deleted> didn't help their cause

[Basil B]

Good on him if only for the publicity to highlight Ryanair's ripoff charges...

[English 1]

Sounds like the whole family are dumbos!

[snowflake]

Just change it back after the holiday, saves the future passport trouble...

[shaurene]

But how much would it cost him for a new British passport showing his new name?????

I would say that it would have been cheaper to book another ticket.

[12DrinkMore]

Dunno why people are calling him an eejit.

Sounds like he has a way of thinking out of the box, could go far with that initiative.

He changed his name, went on holiday incurring no charge.

Presumably he can then change his name back to the original name free of charge too.

Saves 220 Quid.

And probably given a few bad boys an idea too.

[ray richards]

I also changed name by deed poll & the amount of dept's to contact is endless e.g drivers licence,any banks or insurances,gov departments etc etc it took me weeks & cost more than 220 quid in postage,photo's & my time taken do change them all, so i think in the long run he will realise he should have paid up the money.

[freebyrd]

Some people have brains, some people have no brains.

This clowns falls in the latter category.

This guy not only has brains, but a really cute gf free of charge (unlike all of us).

batman.jpg

From

https://www.facebook.com/india.lomas

Cute?! I guess one man's meat really is another man's poison.

[MaeJoMTB]

Some people have brains, some people have no brains.

This clowns falls in the latter category.

This guy not only has brains, but a really cute gf free of charge (unlike all of us).

batman.jpg

From

https://www.facebook.com/india.lomas

Cute?! I guess one man's meat really is another man's poison.

I never made it higher than the waist.

[Ulic]

A brilliant idea as far as I am concerned.

[Shiver]

But GBP 220 to change a name in a computer that takes less time than for me to write this one line?

[sandyf]

"‘A name change fee is charged in order to discourage and prevent unauthorised online travel agents from ‘screenscraping’ Ryanair’s cheapest fares and reselling them on to unwitting consumers at hugely inflated costs."

I can understand the reason behind the fee, but as usual with most companies and their "only inside the box" thinking, exceptions to the rule and the spirit of the rule are incomprehensible. They should have made an exception in this case as it obviously was not what the fee was designed for.

Probably asking a bit too much. Wasn't there some scandal over O'Leary trying to screw some old lady out of a prize she had won.

[silver sea]

These three ladies probably had Ryanair in mind when they sang this

[sandyf]

Wednesday 19 June 2002 14.49

The High Court has awarded Ryanair’s one millionth passenger €67,500 damages and her costs against the low cost airline.

Jane O'Keefe, a mother of two from Leopardstown Heights in Dublin, had sued Ryanair because she claimed they had reneged on a commitment made to her in 1988 of free flights for life.

By 1997 the relationship was turning sour with Jane O'Keeffe finding it increasingly difficult to deal with the airline and use her concession.

Ms O’Keeffe subsequently sued for breach of contract, with Ryanair claiming there was no contract.

Today, Mr Justice Peter Kelly – who heard the case over four days – found there was a contract and that Ryanair had not met its commitments.

Ms O’Keeffe was awarded €67,500 to compensate her for loss of her flights’ concession to date and loss into the future. She also received her costs.

Mr Justice Kelly also found her clear in her recollection of events and steadfast in her testimony.

He found her a more persuasive witness than Ryanair Chief Executive, Michael O’Leary, and rejected Mr O’Leary’s assertion that he was not hostile or aggressive towards Ms O’Keeffe.

Ryanair has since confirmed that it is very satisfied with the outcome of the case.

The airline says it will not be lodging an appeal, and confirmed that it was pleased that the matter had at last been brought to a conclusion.

[arunsakda]

Some people have brains, some people have no brains.

This clowns falls in the latter category.

This guy not only has brains, but a really cute gf free of charge (unlike all of us).

batman.jpg

From

https://www.facebook.com/india.lomas

Cute?! I guess one man's meat really is another man's poison.

Nice body with "butterface". West is a better sounding name then Armstrong. Good on the lad. I'm waiting for some customer to show up at the ticket counter with a brand new printer and a ream of A4 cheaper than the fee to print a boarding pass at the ticket counter. Then bin the lot and put on YouTube .

[Gillyflower]

SilverSea.........Thanks for introducing me to Aida. Had a great laugh!!!!!

[Buakaw]

Body of Baywatch...Face of Crimewatch!

[7by7]

The headline is not correct; it should read

"UK student changes his name by deed poll to avoid £220 'admin fee' after error by a father who couldn't be bothered to find out the name of his 17 year old daughter's boyfriend before booking a holiday to Ibiza for them both."

Why didn't the father check the boy's name before booking the tickets?

Why didn't the boy tell him?

Why didn't the boy check that the details had been entered correctly before submission?

Why didn't they change it in the 24 hours in which they could have done so free of charge?

I have no real desire to defend Ryanair, but in this case it seems that all the fault lies with the girl's father and the boy.

[Daffy D]

Some while ago the UK TV program "Watchdog" did a piece about the excessive charges by all airlines just to change any small detail in the ticket information.

The airlines justified the high price because of 'administration' costs

Anyway, the programs financial expert after recommending you double check the information is correct that if you should by some chance make a mistake or through some unforeseen circumstance need to change the ticket information it would be cheaper to change your name than pay the extra.

This guy must have seen the same program

I'm guessing he can always change his name back again after the holiday and still be in pocket.

[cookee68]

But how much would it cost him for a new British passport showing his new name?????

I don't believe he needs one, at least not yet. The legal name change documents along with his existing passport should be sufficient.

Not really because once you change your name by deed poll, you can no longer use documents with the other name, that includes the passport

Edited June 6, 2015 by cookee68