A dad has vowed never to fly with easyJet again after being charged £144 due to a ‘strict’ rule.
Nick Proctor, 44, jetted off to Rhodes from Bristol with the airline for a £4,000 all-inclusive holiday with his wife and two children on July 24.
But he was shocked to discover he was charged £144 at Bristol airport as he prepared to board his flight.
Nick was told by staff he must pay £48 ‘excess’ baggage charges because each bag was 1cm too big.
However the dad claims the baggage had been deemed ‘fit fo fly’ on nine previous easyJet flights.
Even though Nick was worried throughout the holiday, bizarrely the family were not charged extra on their return flight back to Bristol and claimed the bags fitted under their seats.
Nick, from Reading in Berkshire, is an experienced traveller so knows about all the rules and said: ‘They were really strict and because the bag didn’t go in the sizer, that was it. We had to pay, there was no other option.
‘The wheels were one centimetre too big to fit in the checker but the bag did fit underneath the seat a week later.
‘The bag checker used to be a cage so it fit in but this time when we put the bags in the sizer they had a metal inlay inserted into it so there was no wiggle room.
‘Maybe that is new but the main point is that these bags have always been fine and have been on lots of easyJet flights.
‘I was upset and angry and I had told them that I had taken these bags on easyJet flights over the last decade.
‘On these occasions we put the bags under the seats and in the overhead lockers and they fitted absolutely fine, no problem.’
Nick admitted the whole debacle took its toll on the family who were hoping for some relaxing time in Greece.
‘We tried to enjoy our holiday but there was always this niggly feeling about what to do on our journey home and there was a bit of tension between me and my wife.
‘We thought about taking carrier bags on the flight home and looking like tramps or should we risk it and try and take them on.
‘It took the edge off the holiday and it didn’t need to.’
Nick was told by easyJet to submit proof of payment of the excess charges and photos of his luggage next to a tape measure when he filed his complaint.
He claimed he has yet to receive a refund for the extra luggage charges.
An easyJet spokesperson said: ‘We clearly inform customers of their bag allowance and bag dimensions when booking, via email before they travel and it is also clearly displayed on boarding passes.
‘Unfortunately Mr Proctor’s bags on this occasion were not within the allowance he had booked and so in line with our policy and in fairness to other customers who book to bring larger bags they were asked to pay for these at the airport.
‘We are also contacting Mr Proctor to understand more about his experience.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Share this with