Photograph: Stephen Frost/Alamy
I booked a one-way flight for my family from Amsterdam to Bristol with KLM Cityhopper. The agreed fares were £71.30 each, including four seat reservations (£37.60). I paid for a hold bag (£25.70), bringing the total to £310.90.
A few days later, I checked my bank statement and noticed I had been charged £428.90, a difference of £118. The “My Trip” section of the KLM website still had the original amount on it, so I queried it. After an hour to-ing and fro-ing, I was advised to submit an online complaint; however, this was dismissed within 24 hours.
It told me the higher price was due to “dynamic pricing”. It said the fare price had increased and thus three tickets are now £92.90, instead of £71.30, and the other, £86.90 instead of £71.30.
I am familiar with dynamic pricing and, while it is annoying, I accept it is allowed. The key thing, though, is that the altered price was agreed before the transaction. We had agreed an amount, I submitted my card details, and then KLM charged more without telling me. By KLM’s logic, I would have no comeback even if they had decided to “dynamically’ increase the price by £10,000.
KLM won’t budge on the £118. We only chose it because it was cheaper. This makes them more expensive, and looks as if it was just hoping I wouldn’t notice.
RB, Burnham-on-Sea
When you complained to KLM about being overcharged, you were given short shrift. Its customer service told you: “Fares are dynamic in nature, and not guaranteed.”
It says that prices could change, based on factors such as seat availability or the number of passengers trying to book a particular fare at the same time. It added: “Fares may increase or decrease as per the availability.”
However, while dynamic pricing affects the prices on its website (in other words, if you see a price for a flight to London on a Monday, it is not guaranteed it will be the same price on the Friday after), if you agree a price for the transaction – that is the price for the ticket – it should not change.
When I contacted KLM, it confirmed there had been a mistake here. It says: “After conducting a thorough investigation, we have found that the passenger was previously quoted a lower fare online. We have reached out to RB to offer our apologies and a refund of £118.”
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