Ryanair broke my toddler's pushchair and wants proof of purchase

[RoseHedgehog23]

Hiya
Can anyone help me? I flew on Ryanair alone with my toddler, and they completely broke my buggy. I couldn't push it and was stranded at the airport! It was a gift from someone no longer with us but they are insisting i need a receipt/proof of purchase which i dont have. Has anyone got proof of purchase for a joolz hub +?

@RoseHedgehog23 Am I looking at the right buggy? Joolz hub ? They are 600!!! Ryanair are NOT reimbursing you £600 without proof of purchase. Sorry. I thought if it was £100 or less you could challenge them but £600 not a chance in hell

Can you really not imagine a scenario where someone not having their toddler's buggy would leave them stranded?

Depending on the age and temperament of the toddler (a "toddler" could be as young as 12 months), a lot of toddlers wouldn't be able to walk very far at all, or might still be at the stage where they take a 2 hour nap in the middle of the day, or might be constantly trying to run off and need to be contained, and presumably OP will have luggage which will make it tricky to carry her child.

OP, no idea why everyone is being so hostile to you after what must have been a very stressful experience. You shouldn't need proof of purchase because it doesn't matter if someone else bought it for you as a gift, it's still yours and they still broke it so they are still liable to compensate you for the damage.

It is a total shit but I don’t think there is much you can do. When I had my bag stolen on holiday the insurance company wanted receipts for everything, funnily enough I didn’t have receipts for my 20 yo expensive sunglasses or wallet. I got a token amount and just about managed to replace the sunglasses 😐

You need to prove ownership of the item….

I didn't say she shouldn't have to prove ownership, just that she doesn't need to prove purchase. However. If she was stranded at the airport and waiting around ages for some number I assume they are well aware she was at the very least the bailee in possession of the buggy

Yes but it would be the amount claim. The price of her buggy starts at £600. Ryanair are not paying that without proof of ownership/purchase. Maybe if it was less than £100 she could challenge but not for that amount

You can afford a flight and a holiday. Second hand buggies are super cheap, so sure you can get something else easily.

I would threaten small claims for the second hand value. They might then cave to avoid the hassle of defending a case.

Put together a formal letter before action and attach it to an email. You can find a draft template online. Attach photos of the damaged pushchair.

Explain in the letter than you did not buy the item new but that does not absolve them of their obligations to pay up to the value of a second hand replacement.

I trust that you are not asking them to pay up for the cost of a brand new replacement?

Photos of the OP using the buggy could be sufficient for the small claims court.

A decent airline would refund but that's what you get if you fly Ryanair. You can claim it on your travel insurance.

Try the cost of a new one with evidence such as a weblink.

I also think that you should copy in your MP and perhaps local trading standards.

I am not hopeful for you.

If someone posts on a public forum asking for assistance to defraud, imagine what that someone does that they don’t broadcast?!

OP I get you are upset but in your original post you asked if anyone had a receipt of your exact buggy. You implied by this you wanted to use it with Ryanair as proof of your buggy which is FRAUD. That’s why someone said this.

Being a single mun is no excuse for asking strangers for a receipt you can use as ‘proof’ of your gift buggy.

This is what travel insurance is for - they won’t compensate without proof which is fair because anyone could claim for anything.

Go through your travel insurance.

Travel insurance will need proof of ownership as well. They would also expect claimants to seek reimbursement from the airline first

Not always. I had lost luggage and had to name everything but didn’t have receipts anymore and they gave me money based on what I claimed.

chatgpt is your friend. Can you have AI create you a fake invoice/reciept? That’s what I would do 🫣give it an email receipt from something else you’ve bought from a store and have it alter it.

@RoseHedgehog23 might a solution be to send them a photograph of the buggy, with your baby in it, another indicating how much they have grown to indicate ownership and age of the buggy and a link to what ot costs now.

Ryanair lost my luggage a couple of years ago. I had to buy: my prescription medication, toiletries, basic cosmetics, charger and plug, nightie, underwear, a couple of clean tops and a cardigan. Plus a return fare back to the airport to collect it when it turned up the following day.

I sent all the receipts. They repaid in full and I was surprised. However, it took about four months and an escalation.

Can the buggy be repaired.

The issue with a photo is there is no proof how much it cost you could have been given it free or purchased 2nd hand.
When Ryanair broke my buggy they refused to pay anything and it was cheaper to get a new one than pay insurance excess

I bought my first pushchair brand new then every one after that second hand. There is nothing wrong with that. Don’t be sad by it, it’s sensible.

i certainly would not fly with an expensive pram, things can and do get damaged in transit unfortunately.

It shouldn’t matter what OP paid for it though, if anything, or gifted. the cost of the replacement is what matters, not the original price.

They broke it. £100 or £600 makes zero difference. They broke it, they need to replace it.

But what were you thinking, flying with an expensive pushchair, especially if money is tight? People just have or borrow a crappy cheap one for flying, because stuff just gets chucked around. I think when DS was a toddler I had something that was being given away for free on Freecycle.

I feel for you, this must have been awful at the time. My experience of Ryanair (mainly good btw) is that when things go wrong, they wriggle like mad, and you are probably wasting your time and energy. Their staff left the overhead lockers unclicked / unlocked when I flew with them to Spain, and a heavy item fell out onto my head and it pretty much knocked me out. The air staff were good at the time with ice packs etc for my head, and other passengers swapped details in case needed. The guy whose item fell was very distressed, but it wasn't his fault. We made other arrangements to get to our hotel as I was not fit for public transport and my children were beside themselves with worry, kept receipts. Thankfully recovered but other than reporting it at airport, did not go to hospital (probably should have, but late at night, young children with me etc. and had to be practical). First day of holiday spoilt and headaches for weeks. Did write to them, mainly to claim the transport back, but pointless. Made me more stressed trying to deal with them and gave up in the end. Had insurance, but the usual excess was far more than what I was trying to claim. My only "thank god" is that I, on boarding, swapped seats with my 4 year old son so I was on the aisle and he was in the middle. Had I not done this, we would be looking at far worse injuries I suspect. They are not great to deal with if they have a "rule", and have a good legal team to back them up against the "normal person". I realise this scenario is a bit different, but just wanted to share what you are up against. Hope this helps xx

It is Ryanair doing the defrauding.