RYANAIR is at war with a leading national consumer organisation after it alleged the airline made "false claims" over its record for paying out refunds for flights cancelled as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

Consumer organisation Which? alleged it found that airline chief executive Michael O’Leary's claim that every passenger who booked with the airline and had requested a refund up to the end of July had received one was not correct - saying some customers were still out of pocket.

Which? assert that Ryanair customers have said they are are still waiting for refunds they requested for trips cancelled up to six months ago. They said some who requested refunds have received vouchers instead.

Mr O'Leary sparked uproar on social media last week after dismissing claims that passengers who booked cancelled flights are still awaiting refunds saying they were “false”, “hearsay” and "factually incorrect".

On BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast when host Rachel Burden quizzed him on complaints received from listeners last week, he insisted every customer who asked for their money back between March and August has received it.

It came as Mr O'Leary confirmed Ryanair customers will not be refunded for flights in November despite the UK Government banning non-essential travel.

READ MORE: Ryanair -  No refunds for Scots flights after Covid lockdown in England

The no-frills carrier has been battered by the coronavirus crisis, suffering a £177.8million loss in the six months to September as traffic plunged.

After taking aim at the government for its “failed” lockdown strategy, the racehorse owning tycoon turned his fire on a claim made on a show hosted by BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast host Rachel Burden that the BBC inbox was "awash" with refund complaints.

He said the claims were "completely false" and accused the BBC of bias, saying his Dublin-based carrier has given refunds or vouchers totalling 1.5 billion euros in cash in the last six months.

He said: "We have no customers outstanding who have requested a refund who haven't received it. So don't mind what the BBC has... these hearsay claims."

In a heated exchange he insisted: "Every single customer who has requested a refund, has now received it from March, April, May, June and July, so the emails you are reading are factually incorrect."

He conceded a "tiny number" of customers who booked through scraper websites haven't received refunds because fake customer details were submitted by scammers. Ryanair has set up a channel for them to get their money back, he added.

Which? has now said that it has heard from Ryanair customers who are still waiting for refunds they requested for trips cancelled up to six months ago.

"Frustratingly, those who requested refunds have received vouchers instead," they said.

The consumer organisation said that under EU law, which still applies in the UK, airlines must refund passengers within seven days of cancelling a flight from any EU airport once the passenger requests the refund.

Vouchers should not be automatically issued. Airlines instead are required to obtain the signed consent of passengers agreeing to accept a voucher. "By sending vouchers in the first instance, even after customers have requested a refund, Ryanair is placing the burden on its customers to apply twice for the refunds to which they are entitled," Which? said.

In July, Which? analysed more than 12,000 complaints about flight refunds from passengers and found that more than four in 10 were about Ryanair.

The consumer organisation said it believes the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) should be making it clear to airlines that they "must follow the law" on vouchers and refunds.

"Unlike some other regulators, the CAA itself cannot fine an airline directly. By contrast in 2019, the Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates financial services, issued a total of £392 million in fines," it said.

"As a first step towards restoring long-term trust, the government must urgently review the CAA's powers and seek to extend them at the earliest opportunity, to ensure passengers have an aviation regulator with the powers to stand up for their rights."

Ryanair said it had not claimed that every passenger booked with the airline has been refunded.

A spokesman said many millions of Ryanair customers have already accepted free moves or vouchers rather than refunds, and they have "clearly not been refunded".

READ MORE: Coronavirus - Travel operators 'continue to break law' over refund failures despite reassurances

A Ryanair spokesaman said: “Ryanair correspondence with Which? exposes its false claims. All Ryanair passengers who have requested a refund since our offices reopened on June 1, have now received these refunds. There is no backlog of refunds. Ryanair has also put in place a procedure whereby customers of unlicensed screenscrapers can apply directly to the airline to receive their refund. It is notable that Which? remains silent on the illegal behaviour of these screenscrapers who use fake emails and virtual credit cards to overcharge and rip off customers.

"Ryanair, which is Europe’s largest airline, rejects these false and malicious claims made by Which?, which attribute to Ryanair statements it hasn’t made, or completely misdescribes case studies, which in fact support Ryanair’s factually accurate position that customers who have requested refunds, have received them.”

During the BBC interview after Ms Burden defended the listeners who wrote in, Mr O'Leary said: "I wish you and the other members of the BBC would stop rabbiting on about refunds when they have already been refunded."

Ms Burden pressed the airline boss on his angry response.

She said: "Can I ask, why do you get so irate about this stuff when it's a really basic customer service issue?"

Mr O'Leary replied: "Because it's false. We get irate when we have spent 1.5 billion in refunds over the last six months. We hired extra staff, we have worked day and night, 24 hours a day.

"Even if you applied for a refund today you would receive it now in the next three to four days and yet... every time I'm on the BBC, 'Oh, we got an email from somebody or a tweet about a refund in July'.

"You didn't. If they have written to us looking for the refund they have received it."

Which? produced three anonymised case studies to back up its allegations. And Ryanair responded on each one saying two had not requested a refund and received a voucher, while the other was refunded.

Case studies

Warren

Which: Warren applied to Ryanair for a cash refund at the end of March after his flights to Tenerife in April were cancelled. He initially received an email from Ryanair saying that his refund was being processed, but in May they sent him a voucher for the £2,028.80 cost of the flights, with no instructions on how to exchange this for cash. Ryanair admits that Warren didn’t receive a link to reject the vouchers. It claims it never received the two emails he sent Ryanair asking where his cash refund was. Only after Which? challenged Ryanair, did it arrange for Warren to receive the refund he was entitled to.

Ryanair: He was issued a flight voucher on May 10 and a reminder email on September 16. These emails informed him of the option to exchange his voucher for a cash refund. However, to date, he has not chosen to use either his voucher or request a cash refund.

Robert

Which: Robert was also emailed a voucher after he had applied via the airline’s website for a refund for flights to France that were cancelled in May. His email from Ryanair in June included a link to reject the voucher, which he says he did, but he heard nothing more until Which? raised his case with Ryanair. Ryanair told Which? that Robert never rejected the voucher, so it didn’t refund him. After we approached Ryanair about Robert’s refund of almost £500, it has since been paid.

Ryanair: He recieved a flight voucher on June 8 and a reminder email on September 16. This email informed him of the option to exchange his voucher for a cash refund. However, to date he has not chosen to use either his voucher or request a cash refund.

Matt

Which: When Matt’s flights to Faro were cancelled, he was emailed vouchers in May. He says it wasn’t until September that he received another email from Ryanair with an option to convert the vouchers to cash – which he didn’t see until 29 October – but he was then told that he’d have to wait up to three weeks for his refund. A Ryanair spokesperson confirmed his booking was due to be refunded “within 14 working days”. Regulation EU261 says airlines should refund within seven days. He has since received his refund within this period.

Ryanair: He received a flight voucher on May 29 and was sent a reminder email on September 16. Both emails informed Mr Caswell of the option to exchange his voucher for a cash refund. He only requested a cash refund on October 27 and his booking is due to be refunded within 14 working days of receipt.