The case of the oversized case – and a win against Ryanair’s sneaky overcharging
On 22nd October 2024 Ryanair passenger Catherine Warrilow flew from Stansted to Seville, having paid in advance for priority boarding, a 10kg cabin bag and an underseat bag. Catherine, 45, from Oxford, knows what she’s doing. She is a travel expert with 15 years experience and is founder of The Plot, a travel brand consultancy.
On arrival at the gate, staff determined that the cabin bag was 2cm too deep. They told her to pay £75, leave the case behind or remove items and remeasure it. She removed some items and added a luggage strap so that the case fit within the Ryanair frame for the height, width and depth.
Despite taking one of the options offered to her by Ryanair staff, the check-in team told her that she still had to pay because of the “potential” size of the case. Although frustrated at the absurdity of the situation, Catherine paid £75 to take the case with her.
She says she begrudgingly paid a further £35 to check the bag in for the return flight to avoid a possible further £75 fee, taking the total to £110.
After her social media post on TikTok describing the situation went viral, the story was covered on the BBC online and on Jeremy Vine on BBC Radio 2. Hundreds of other passengers shared their experiences about the same issue.
@catminimarie Did you listen to the Ryanair baggage charges debate on @BBC Radio 2 today with Jeremy Vine? Have you been given some crazy reason your bag doesn’t comply and fined? #ryainair #baggagefines #jeremyvine #budgetairline #cabinbag #baggageallowance #excessbaggage
I was annoyed by the story and decided to take on the case (pun intended!). I wrote an email for Catherine, who thought it was worth fighting for. This covered the possible breach of consumer Law and Regulations. The result was a refund within 24 hours of sending the email.
I wrote the email for Catherine and sent it to the Ryanair CEO. You can get any CEO email addresses from ceoemail.com The CEO may not personally respond but it does escalate the matter and means you have written evidence.
The email explained the details of the flight, what happened at the airport and the unfair £75 charge because of the “potential” size of the case – that it might expand and that staff said they couldn’t risk having to “kneel on the case to fit it into the overhead locker”.
Embarrassed and confused by the peculiar notion that a case could “expand”, especially when secured by the luggage strap, Catherine asked for an amicable solution, considering the case fit and could not expand.
The email explains that she was given no choice other than to pay or leave the case behind and that this added to the confusion and contradiction.
It went on to explain how Catherine avoided having the same issue (despite having photo evidence that the case fit the rack), by paying a further £35 to check the bag in for the return flight, taking the total to £110 out-of-pocket.
Then we added the legal magic: The email referenced that there was nowhere in Ryanair’s Terms and Conditions to suggest that an expandable case is against any rules. It referred to the likelihood that this event was a breach of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPUTRs) because the Ts and Cs are misleading. If a consumer makes a decision because of misleading terms, then it is a breach. Catherine may well have chosen to do something else if she had already received the information that staff gave her at the airport. [1]
We mentioned a breach of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA), for good measure, because Ryanair gave Catherine wrong and conflicting information, which means that services were not carried out “with reasonable skill and care”, as the law requires.
In addition to these possible breaches of consumer law, Catherine also watched dozens of other passengers with the same size and style of case board without any problem. This shows that Ryanair demonstrated a lack of consistency and rigour in their rule-keeping. Again, a breach of the CRA.
We attached photo evidence showing the case both expanded – as it was presented at the gate initially – and compressed, with items removed, meeting the 20cm restriction.
We requested a full refund of the £110 and indicated that we would report the matter to the CAA and/or sue through the Small Claims Court if Catherine was not fully satisfied with the response.
Within 24 hours Catherine had her refund. Ryanair said that “Our records confirm our staff were simply following the procedure by checking the size of your bag according to our Terms and Conditions” but that, as a goodwill gesture, it would make a full refund. Catherine was delighted, commenting that it “… goes some way to a full stop for the hundreds of other people incorrectly charged.” She posted another TikTok describing the win and hopes that sharing her success will show others how to complain.
@catminimarie I got a full refund from Ryanair for my potentially oversized cabin bag – just under £110! With help from @BBC Radio 2 and @The Complaining Cow we took on Ryanair for ripping people off and breaking their own terms and conditions and we won. You need the right email address and you need to reference the right terms and legalities. If Ryanair have broken those conditions you could get your money back too. Let’s put an end to Ryanair ripping people off. I’m happy to share exactly what I did with anyone who wants to know and create a huge group of people who’ve had the same experiences. If enough of us fight then we could end these rip off charges. Use ceoemail.com for email addresses and quote Breaches: consumer protection of unfair trading regulations 2008 and CRA 2015. Report to CAA and progress through small claims. #ryainair #baggagecharges #handluggage #cabinbag #ryanaircharges #excessluggage
The Civil Aviation Authority said that very few issues have been raised regarding cabin luggage and that it did not consider it as a major issue. However, Catherine’s TikTok and appearance on Jeremy Vine would indicate otherwise. I encourage consumers to contest these unfair fees. It seems pretty clear that most people do not complain about these fees. But, when challenged using consumer law Ryanair appears to refund. If a consumer were to take them to court it might set a precedent and Ryanair and indeed any other airline would want to avoid that.
@thecomplainingcow Catherine and I were on Jeremey Vine on radio two this week Week discussing this matter! On arrival at the gate, staff determined that Catherine’s cabin bag was 2cm too deep. They told her to pay £75, leave the case behind or remove items and remeasure it. She removed some items and added a luggage strap so that the case fit within the Ryanair frame for the height, width and depth. Despite taking one of the options offered to her by Ryanair staff, the check-in team told her that she still had to pay because of the “potential” size of the case. Although frustrated at the absurdity of the situation, Catherine paid £75 to take the case with her and £35 to avoid the charge coming back. I got the refund of the £110. Assert your consumer rights Full story on my website #Ryanair #TravelTips #ConsumerRights #KnowYourRights #travelwins @Don’t Call Me Caroline
Tips for cabin luggage
- When booking your flight, take careful note of the size of cabin luggage and whether it will be enough. Many of the airlines have changed their luggage sizes recently.
- Check the costs of taking on any cabin luggage and compare with other flights, as you may get a cheaper overall price, taking all costs into consideration.
- Download a measuring app. Using the app take pictures of the bags/case that will clearly show the measurements. You can then use these as proof at the airport or in a complaint when you return.
- Remember that handles and wheels must fit inside the sizer.
Purchase and download a template for getting back those fees!
Charges unfairly applied for airline hand luggage
Advice regarding booking and complaining about holidays and flights
How best to book and complain about holidays/flights/travel links to various articles regarding saving money and your rights when booking and taking holidays.
Further help with complaining
20 Tips for effective complaining
For more information, tips, advice, consumer law and template letters for most consumer complaint scenarios GET THE BOOK! How To Complain: The ESSENTIAL Consumer Guide to Getting REFUNDS, Redress and RESULTS!
101 Habits of an Effective Complainer to help you become more skilled and assertive when making complaints
Purchase downloadable templates to gain redress
