German court bans Ryanair payment card fee
22.05.10
A German court has banned Ryanair from charging customers a fee for using a credit or debit card to pay for flights, the Irish Times reports. Germany’s federal court found yesterday that Ryanair was placing consumers at a ‘disproportionate disadvantage’ by offering no way to pay for flights without paying a fee. The court said: ‘By charging the fee is shifting in a one-sided manner on to customers the costs of fulfilling its own legal obligations ... without bringing any service in return.'
The case against Ryanair was brought by Germany’s consumer organisation. Lawyers for Ryanair argued that it passed on to customers the fee banks charge for credit card payments, and that no fee was charged for using a Visa Electron card. The court dismissed this argument, saying the airline must provide an ‘established’ means of payment that does not require extra effort on the part of the consumer.
The ruling is understood to be applicable to all low-cost airlines operating in Germany with a similar credit card fee.
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