Furious father slams easyJet after being hit with £144 baggage charge

Furious father slams easyJet after being hit with £144 excess baggage charge because hand luggage was ‘1cm too big’ – despite it being deemed ‘fit to fly’ on NINE previous trips

• Nick Proctor said there were no fees on the return flight and it fit under the seat 

A furious father has slammed easyJet after being hit with £144 fees for hand luggage because they were ‘1cm too big’, despite being deemed ‘fit to fly’ on nine previous flights.

Nick Proctor, 44, jetted off on a £4,000 all-inclusive holiday to Rhodes with his wife and two children last month when he was slapped with three £48 ‘excess’ baggage charges.

He said no-one questioned the size of his luggage as he passed through the airline’s check-in desk at Bristol airport on July 24. It was only at the gate when asked to check the black cases in the easyJet baggage sizer he was hit with the charges.

Mr Proctor said he was left upset and angry and spent his holiday fretting about how to get the suitcases home without paying another fee. But on their return flight a week later the family didn’t have any problems with the cases and Mr Proctor said they fit neatly under the seats in front of them.

The father-of-two said: ‘I’m a travel writer so I fly frequently and have used these bags on nine other occasions before and never had this issue. We got stopped at the boarding gate where we could literally see the plane [we were going to board].’  

Mr Proctor claims easyJet has modified its luggage checker by adding metal sides, which the airline denies. 

Travel writer Nick Proctor (pictured) jetted off on a £4,000 all-inclusive holiday to Rhodes with his wife and two children last month when he was slapped with three £48 ‘excess’ baggage charges

The jet-setter has been left frustrated by what he brands the airline’s ‘inconsistent rules’ and has vowed never to fly with the budget airline again if he isn’t refunded

On their return flight a week later the family didn’t have any problems with the cases and they fit neatly under the seats in front of them

The jet-setter has been left frustrated by what he brands the airline’s ‘inconsistent rules’ and has vowed never to fly with the budget airline again if he isn’t refunded.

READ MORE: Bizarre moment easyJet passenger tears his suitcase into PIECES before squeezing it into the measuring frame  

EasyJet said customers are informed of the baggage size allowance when booking and Mr Proctor’s were not within these guidelines on this occasion.

The company claimed its bag sizers are ‘universal’ and haven’t changed – though Mr Proctor showed images he’d sourced online of what appeared to be easyJet baggage checkers without the metal edging and some with.

Mr Proctor 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.’

Father-of-two Nick Proctor claims he bought the wheeled hand luggage 10 years ago and that they were deemed the exact size to fit easyJet flights as hand luggage

When he filed his complaint, he was told by easyJet to submit proof of payment of the excess charges and photos of his luggage next to a tape measure

Mr Proctor claims he bought the wheeled hand luggage 10 years ago and that they were deemed the exact size to fit easyJet flights as hand luggage.

After paying the fine, the three suitcases were taken to be stowed underneath the aircraft.

Mr Proctor said: ‘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.

‘It took the edge off the holiday and it didn’t need to.

‘There was absolutely no issue on the return flight and no one had their bags checked, there was absolutely no problem.

‘You either apply the rule or you don’t apply it.’

When he filed his complaint, he was told by easyJet to submit proof of payment of the excess charges and photos of his luggage next to a tape measure.

He said he is yet to receive a refund for the extra luggage charges.

Nick Proctor claims easyJet has modified its luggage checker by adding metal sides. But the company says it’s sizing hasn’t changed and is ‘universal’ 

Mr Proctor said: ‘If I don’t receive my refund I won’t be flying easyJet again, just out of principle.’

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.’

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