Des frais internationaux malgré un achat en CHF sur le site easyJet

Je souhaite attirer l’attention de des lecteurs sur une anomalie constatée dans la facturation des billets par la compagnie easyJet.

Lorsqu’un billet est acheté en ligne pour un vol au départ de la Suisse, le tarif est affiché en francs suisses (CHF). Si l'on règle ce billet avec une carte de crédit émise par une banque suisse, il est légitime de s’attendre à ce que le montant débité corresponde exactement à celui affiché sur le site easyJet.

Or, ce n’est pas le cas. Mon épouse, Marion M, a constaté une majoration de plusieurs pour cent sur sa facture de carte de crédit, bien que le billet ait été réservé en CHF et que la transaction ait été effectuée depuis la Suisse avec une carte suisse. Elle a contacté easyJet pour demander une explication :

From: Marion M <@bluewin.ch>
Sent: Fri Mar 14 2025 07:13:43 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
To: [email protected]
Subject: payment

Good morning, I would appreciate an explanation concerning bookings I made recently: K92ZC96, K92ZBQ9, K95B279. I booked two flights from Geneva to Dubrovnik. The bookings were for a departure from Geneva and the price quoted was in CHF. 

However when I received the debit to my credit card the amount debited was way higher than the total of my booking. I realised that the booking in CHF had been charged by an extra percentage, which corresponded to the % added by the credit card to a booking made in a foreign currency, in spite of the fact that my booking was made in CHF for a departure from GVA. This is apparently due to Easyjet: please can you explain? 

Also I then made another booking a few days later, again for a departure from Geneva again a price quoted in CHF and this time I tried to pay for the reservation with my debit card, but this was not accepted. Debit cards have a platform of costs which would be considerably less than the % charged on a credit card, but Easyjet refused the debit card: why? 

Thank you for your reply 

Yours faithfully 

Marion M. 

La réponse de easyJet fut de rejeter toute responsabilité, attribuant les frais supplémentaires à l’émetteur de la carte de crédit :

On 18 Mar 2025, at 06:23, [email protected] wrote:

Dear Marion,

Thank you for reaching out to us with your concerns regarding your recent bookings and the payment issues. We understand how confusing it can be and we're here to address every concern of yours.

Regarding the additional charges on your credit card for the bookings, we understand your surprise upon seeing a higher amount debited than expected. Please be assured that easyJet do not apply any currency conversion fees when you book your flights from Geneva to Dubrovnik in CHF. The extra charges you've noticed are likely from your credit card issuer, as many companies apply their own conversion fees for transactions made in a currency different from the card’s issuing country.

We recommend contacting your credit card issuer to clarify their fee structure for foreign currency transactions and to address any discrepancies. As for the issue with your debit card not being accepted during your subsequent booking attempt, we apologise for the inconvenience caused. While we aim to make every journey easy and enjoyable, occasionally, there are restrictions or technical issues that might prevent certain transactions.

It is possible that this could be related to the specific policies of your bank or the type of card you are using. We would advise contacting your bank to check if there are any limitations or issues with your debit card that might be affecting its acceptance. Trying an alternative payment method or another debit card may also resolve this issue.

Thank you for choosing easyJet, and we hope these explanations help clarify your concerns. We value your business and look forward to welcoming you on board soon.

Kind regards,

Namit
easyJet Customer Services

 Mon épouse a alors répondu, précisant que sa banque confirmait que ces frais avaient bien été engendrés par easyJet elle-même, et non par la banque :

Original Message ...
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Fw: Fw: Re: payment
Sent: Sun, 30 Mar 2025 10:26:12 +0000 (UTC)

Dear Namit,

Thank you for your reply, but I must say that I cannot accept your explanation.

I have contacted the card issuer and they assure me that the charges come from Easyjet and not from them. My transaction was made in Switzerland, my card is issued in Switzerland and the departure was from Switzerland. There is no different country nor different currency involved here. It appears that it is Easyjet that have involved a different country and therefore an additional charge. All my transaction involves is ONE country, and ONE currency CHF. On your website you quote the fare in CHF and that is the amount that should be charged. There was no deviation from CHF either by myself, nor by my card, nor by the country I am in, therefore my charge should correspond to the price quoted on your site for my departure from GVA.

As for the debit card please can you confirm that you do indeed accept debit cards? or have I got this wrong and you only accept credit cards? 

In the meantime I am waiting for an acceptable explanation for the credit card transaction, and thank you for your help in this matter.

Best regards

Marion

Nouvelle réponse d’easyJet : une répétition de leur position, accompagnée d’un relevé des montants facturés, sans reconnaître l’origine étrangère du traitement de la transaction :

On 5 Apr 2025, at 11:20, [email protected] wrote:

Dear Marion,

Thank you for reaching out and providing detailed information regarding the charges on your credit card statement. I understand your concern about the foreign transaction fees applied to your bookings departing from Geneva.

Upon checking the details of your bookings, I can confirm that for booking reference K92ZC96, only 167.68 CHF was charged; for booking reference K95B279, only 276 CHF was charged; and for booking reference K92ZBQ9, only 465.34 CHF was charged. I can assure you that we have not added any foreign transaction fees. I would kindly ask you to check again with your credit card issuer for clarification on the charges.

I hope this information proves helpful.

We appreciate your understanding in this matter.

Kind regards,

Mohammed
easyJet Customer Services

Une fois encore, mon épouse a contacté sa banque, qui a confirmé que bien que le montant ait été libellé en francs suisses, la transaction avait été initiée depuis l’étranger — d’où l’application automatique de frais de transaction internationale. Elle a demandé à easyJet de confirmer depuis quel pays la facturation avait été effectuée :

Original Message ...
Subject: Fw: Re: [[ Ref:196807436 ]] payment
Sent: Sun, 25 May 2025 05:48:45 +0000 (UTC)

Dear Mohammed,

Thank you for your response.

Following your request, I contacted my credit card provider again. They have confirmed that while the transaction was indeed processed in CHF, the charge originated from abroad — which is why a foreign transaction fee was applied.

In other words, although the amount was in Swiss francs, the location from which EasyJet initiated the charge caused it to be treated as a foreign transaction by my bank. 

To help resolve this, I would be grateful if you could confirm from your side the exact location or billing entity from which the charge was processed. As you state everything originated in CHF and Switzerland, which is not what they are saying. This information will help me follow up further with my credit card provider and seek a resolution regarding the additional charges.

Thank you for your continued assistance.

Best regards

Marion M

Réponse d’easyJet : ils réaffirment ne pas appliquer eux-mêmes de frais, et renvoient une fois de plus la responsabilité à la banque :

On 26 May 2025, at 12:14, [email protected] wrote:

Dear Marion,

Thank you for reaching out to us again regarding the extra charges on your booking. We're here to assist you.

Please be assured that we do not apply additional charges to our customers. It appears you were charged extra for international transactions upon reviewing your bank statement. Therefore, we suggest you contact your bank or card provider to clarify these charges.

Thank you for your continued patience and understanding.

Kind regards,

Toshaan

easyJet Resolution Support

Mon épouse, persistante (et à juste titre), a insisté une fois encore, soulignant que c’est easyJet qui a initié la transaction depuis un autre pays que celui de l’achat, provoquant ainsi les frais :

From: Marion M <@bluewin.ch>
Sent: Tue May 27 2025 06:06:11 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [[ Ref:196807436 ]] payment

Dear Toshaan,

Thank you for your response, but I maintain that it is Easyjet who is avoiding the question. As I have explained before:

I purchase a ticket in Switzerland, for a departure from Switzerland and with a price quoted in Swiss Francs. However when I receive my credit card bill there are charges added. The credit card company has explained that this is because EASYJET put through their invoice from a FOREIGN country, (from Luton England) and therefore they have to treat it as a foreign transaction not a Swiss one. It is easyjet who are misleading their customers giving a Swiss franc fare but invoicing from abroad and this is what engenders the charges, as you do not charge from Geneva but from your UK hub. This is the problem and the issue remains with Easyjet and not with the credit card company. 

Please give your explanation to this?

Regards

Marion M

Finalement, easyJet reconnaît qu’il est effectivement possible que les transactions soient traitées depuis un autre pays, ce qui est, selon eux, une « pratique standard » :

From: [email protected]

Subject: Re: [[ Ref:196807436 ]] payment

Date: 28 May 2025 at 11:30:41 CEST

To: @bluewin.ch

Dear Marion,

Thank you for reaching out again and for your patience. I understand your concerns regarding the additional charges on your credit card statement and the location from which the invoice was processed.

At easyJet, it is indeed possible that transactions are processed outside of the country where the ticket was purchased, depending on our operational hubs in Europe. In your case, the charge was processed through our hub in UK. This is standard practice for us, influenced by the booking and billing systems we use.

Regarding the international transaction fee of 2.5% that appears on your statement, this fee is typically imposed by your bank or credit card company when a transaction is processed in a country different from the billing address associated with the card. easyJet has no control over these bank-imposed fees, as they are part of your credit card company's policies on international transactions.

We strive to be transparent with our billing processes, and I apologise for any confusion. If you need a detailed breakdown of your transaction or require specific details or amendments to your invoice, please log into your easyJet account. You can use the "Email me a payment confirmation (PDF)" or "Email me a VAT Invoice (PDF)" links to obtain a copy of your transaction details. Additionally, for any invoice adjustments, please submit an Invoice/Payment confirmation webform request with 'VAT invoice update' mentioned in the text column.

We value your business and appreciate your understanding in this matter. Should you have any questions, please let us know

Kind regards,

deborah
easyJet Customer Services

En résumé, même lorsque le prix est affiché en francs suisses pour un vol au départ de la Suisse, easyJet peut traiter le paiement depuis l’étranger, entraînant ainsi des frais de conversion ou de transaction internationale. Ces frais, bien qu’ils puissent paraître minimes (en l’occurrence 2.5%), peuvent représenter une somme non négligeable pour une famille nombreuse. Si easyJet choisit de centraliser la facturation depuis le Royaume-Uni ou tout autre hub européen, il serait souhaitable qu’ils informent clairement leurs clients du risque de tels frais, afin d’éviter toute surprise ou malentendu.

• Explications