I was hit with fee to change a tiny detail on my EasyJet flight after a booking error – and it refused to refund me

THE Sun’s Squeeze Team wins back money for readers who have had a refund or billing issue with a company and are struggling to get it resolved.

This week, we helped a man whose name appeared on his aunt’s flight booking by mistake to get back the £55 fee he was charged for changing it more than 24 hours later.

Q) I BOOKED a flight for my aunt to Italy in July, but after paying I realised my name had appeared as the passenger instead of hers.

I tried to ring EasyJet immediately but couldn’t get through, so I changed it online the next morning.

But I was charged £55 as it said I’d missed the 24-hour grace period. Is there anything I can do?

Gary Martin, Peacehaven

A) YOUR elderly aunt isn’t good with technology, so you offered to book her flight to Italy in August to save her the hassle.

So you weren’t best pleased to be hit with a £55 penalty for what was a simple slip-up.

When you typed your email address into the online form it automatically updated the passenger’s name to yours and overrode your aunt’s name which you’d already written filled in.

It was only after you’d paid for the flight and seen the booking confirmation come through that you realised what must have happened. 

You immediately rang EasyJet’s customer service number, but after sitting on hold for an hour you gave up.

The next morning, you found a way to change your booking online, but you realised you would be charged £55 for doing so.

EasyJet said you had missed its 24-hour grace period, which you hadn’t been aware of when you decided to wait until the next morning to amend it online.

It had to be done, so you reluctantly paid the fee.

Airlines are understandably very strict about the names that appear on their documents for security reasons.

But I think it seems unfair to charge passengers such a hefty fee for changing it so quickly after realising they’ve made a genuine mistake.

You also tried to reach out faster, but understandably you didn’t fancy being sat on hold for hours.

When I spoke to EasyJet, it said the £55 charge covers the admin cost of transferring the booking, plus any difference in fare since the booking was made.

However, it said it does try to apply common sense when genuine errors are made.

A spokesperson said: “Although we have no record of Mr. Martin calling us to request a name change within 24 hours, on this occasion, as a gesture of goodwill we have offered to refund the fee.”

The total our Squeeze Team has won back for readers is £151,439

What are my rights if I make a mistake on my booking?

Most airlines have a grace period in which you can make minor changes without a charge – usually 24 hours.

After this point, you will usually be charged some kind of fee and these can vary massively.

While EasyJet charges £55, British Airways charges £100 per name change, according to its website.

It’s therefore best to get in touch with the airline as soon as you realise you’ve made a mistake.

You can usually ring the airline speak to them on a chatbot or through social media.

Most airlines have help pages on social media sites like X, formerly known as Twitter, where customer support staff will reply to queries.

If you’ve made a simple spelling error on your booking, some airlines will apply common sense to allow you to amend it for free.

You may have more luck by calling or speaking to a person rather than trying to go through an automated process online, which may not take other factors into consideration.

Always remember to double check your flight details before paying to avoid mistakes.

You can complain directly to the airline if you’re unhappy with how you’ve been treated.

Provide as much evidence of what’s happened as possible and explain why you’re not satisfied with the outcome.

You can try taking your complaint to an alternative dispute resolution service (ADR), such as Resolver, if you’re not getting anywhere.

However, not all airlines may accept complaints made this way.

If the airline refuses to come to an agreement with an ADR you can escalate your complaint to the Civil Aviation Authority.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

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