Complaint Review: Aer Lingus

This is a garden variety scam. At the last step of ordering an airline ticket on aerlingus.com, travel insurance which you did not request is added to the ticket. There is a remove button but if you don't see it (and you aren't looking for it - as you never ordered it - just like you never ordered a giant elk or bicycle) you get stung for 6.50 euro of travel insurance. You can guess what it's actually worth. Essentially a total loss.

If you then complain to the airline, they tell you to talk to the insurance company even though the scam is being run on the Aer Lingus website. The email from the insurance company does have a number to cancel the coverage - if you can manage to call during their banker's hours.

If you're new to con games, this is a fairly common practice, essentially rationing by inconvenience. The vast majority of victims either won't notice or won't be willing to pursue the matter. A small percentage will jump through the hoops to get their money back. The insurance company will eventually issue refunds to that small majority, keeping them mollified so the scam can continue.

Lpointmpoint
San Francisco, California
U.S.A.