Mum devastated by son's death is left £350 out of pocket after Ryanair refuses refund because he died 24 hours outside its cut-off
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By ERIN DEBORAH WAKS, TRAVEL WRITER
Published: | Updated:
A grieving mum branded Ryanair 'greedy' and 'inhuman' for refusing to refund her cancelled trip – as her teenage son died 24 hours too early to be eligible for any money to be returned.
Tina McDermont was due to fly with the budget airline from Newcastle to Alicante in Spain on August 30 for a four-day getaway with her husband.
However, the trip was cancelled after their son Billy McDermont died in a tragic accident on August 19, aged just 18.
Tina, 45, began amending her travel arrangements and contacted Ryanair customer support to notify them and request a refund.
After providing a copy of her son's death certificate, the mum-of-two said she was told she was not eligible for a refund due to Billy's death taking place more than ten days before the departure date.
According to Ryanair's policies, you may apply for travel credit if a passenger on a booking or an immediate family member (partner/parent/child only) passes away up to ten days before your flight.
Tina McDermont was forced to cancel a holiday after her son Billy, pictured, died
Tina was 'disgusted' to learn she was not entitled to a £350 refund of her and her husband's flights as her son died 24 hours before the airline's cut-off date.
She had hoped to use the refunded money to pay towards Billy's funeral costs.
However, in response, Ryanair simply reiterated their policy and said that Billy had died outside of the bereavement window so Tina was not entitled to anything from them.
Tina, who lives in Washington, Tyne and Wear, said: 'Billy's death was a massive shock. He'd just turned 18.
'I could never have travelled and gone abroad. I just wanted to be at home with my family around me. I'm arranging my son's funeral. There's no way I could go.
'I thought when I got in touch with Ryanair there wouldn't be an issue. I thought we'd get that money back and put it towards Billy's funeral and then I hit these barriers because of this ten-day policy that I hadn't been aware of.
The mum was 'disgusted' when she found out that she was not entitled to a refund
'[After they sent me a link requesting his death certificate] I couldn't get any further forward because they kept requesting the date of death. It was really starting to agitate me.
'It was raw emotion all the time. It wouldn't let me complete the form. I looked at the terms and conditions and thought that doesn't really make sense.
'I opened a chat on the app and they told me to 'no show' so I could get a letter off them and you can go to your travel insurance and claim off them. I thought that's passing the [buck].'
Tina added: 'If he'd died a day later, I would've got my money back. It's disgusting and petty.
'It was like a slap in the face. It should be done by a case by case basis. It's a blanket policy, but it isn't human.
'I felt very insulted. He wasn't meant to die. It was a tragic accident, so surely there should be special circumstances.
Tina said that is has 'it's made the grieving process worse' for her
'I was devastated. Everybody I've dealt with has been compassionate except for them. They're greedy. I was outraged. Nobody wants to lose their child. It was disbelief in their policies.
'It's not about the money. It's the principle. £350 for a huge company like Ryanair is chicken feed. It's made the grieving process worse. I'm a mother who's grieving. It felt very personal and I know the terms and conditions are not.'
The civil servant described the policy as a 'slap in the face' and is calling for the airline to review bereavement on a case-by-case basis.
Tina said: 'Ryanair needs to change their policies. There needs to be a special circumstances clause for close relatives like children. Have a bit of heart and compassion.
'I feel so deflated by them. I'll never fly with them again.'
However, Ryanair stood by its policy and said Tina was not entitled to travel credit under its policy.
Tina has said she will no longer fly with the budget carrier any more
A Ryanair spokesperson said: 'Ryanair's bereavement policy allows passengers to apply for travel credit where the death of an immediate family member occurs within ten days of their scheduled flight departure.
'As this bereavement occurred outside of that period, this passenger was not entitled to travel credit.
'This passenger was provided with the documentation required to submit a claim through their travel insurance provider.'
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