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Ryanair Passenger Faces £100 Bill for Auto-Correct Mistake

Ryanair Passenger Faces £100 Bill for Auto-Correct Mistake

The airline is arguing that 'Lukewarm' is a real name - he's even reached out to their CEO

Amelia Ward

Amelia Ward

We've all been a victim of an auto-correct fail - there's the classic battle with the word 'ducking', which has the ability to discredit any argument you're trying to make, or there was a time one mum was left red faced after trying to tell her son's school she was 'keeping' him off, but ended up getting it painfully, horribly wrong.

But imagine having to pay actual money for an auto-correct mistake. Luke (or should I say Lukewarm?) Bradley, 31, has fallen victim to just that on a Ryanair booking form.

"Looks like my name auto-corrected on my phone when I booked my ticket," he told LADbible.

"Spent all day Thursday speaking with Ryanair and go nowhere. They insisted 'Lukewarm' is a name and it needs a name change."

A Ryanair plane.
PA

Having attempted to book a £43 (€50) plane ticket to Manchester for the derby, Luke, from Wicklow in Ireland, was shocked to find that his name had auto-corrected on the form.

He called their customer care team when he noticed the mistake, only to find out he had missed the 48-hour cooling off period offered by the airline.

According to Luke, he spent a full day speaking with call centre staff, arguing the point that it was an accident.

'Gabi the senior customer service rep' then began to insist 'Lukewarm' is a name, confirming that he will need to pay the £100 (€115) fee if he wants to change his name on the booking - more than double what his original ticket cost.

He posted a screenshot from a live-chat conversation, in which he wrote: "My first name is down as Lukewarm Bradley. I DIDN'T ENTER that. It's not even a name."

Ryanair imposes no fee for putting 'minor errors' right, but similar to other airlines generally usually limits it to three letters.

Advice on the Ryanair website explains: "If you are correcting a minor error on a name, this will be processed free of charge. Full name changes will still incur a name change fee."

Luke even reached out to Ryanair CEO Michael Cawley, giving him the option of accepting tips on next week's Cheltenham game as compensation for the name change.

Instagram

Becoming desperate for a solution for what he has termed 'Lukewarm gate', Luke even discovered he could save £70 by changing his name to deed poll - a bit extreme, but you've got to be practical in these situations.

A spokesperson for Ryanair said: "It is each customer's responsibility to ensure the name on the booking matches the name on their passport and we offer a 48 hour grace period to correct minor booking errors.

"This customer requested a name change nine days after making the booking."

It's not the first time we've seen people frustrated by airlines and their charges. Last year, we heard the story of the lad who had an ingenious way of avoiding luggage fees.

Not happy with paying for the privilege of taking his belongings on holiday with him, he decided to get a bit crafty, taking his jacket to a tailors and getting a few extra compartments added in, meaning he could carry all his luggage in his new, extremely practical coat.

Fingers crossed Luke makes it to Manchester, and that common sense does indeed prevail.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Ireland, News, Ryanair