Confusion - Delay Repay, Cancelled Train?

[therailwayking]

Hello everyone,

I was travelling with GWR from London to Cheltenham few days ago. On arrival at Paddington, I saw my train was cancelled. I was informed by a staff member that the trains were severely disrupted due to staff self isolating, and as my journey had a stop in Swindon it would involve me having to get the next train to Swindon, then waiting at Swindon until whenever a train to Cheltenham would turn up, which I was advised could take a long time due to ongoing disruption and last minute cancellations expected throughout the day.

I decided not to bother catching the train, so went back into London, and ultimately travelled back to Cheltenham by car later in the evening with my colleague.

I wanted to claim my money back for this journey, so put in a delay repay, the option of 'cancelled train, did not travel' was unavailable so I chose 'cancelled train, board next service' as I assumed that was the next best accurate. My claim was promptly rejected by GWR who said I could have caught the next train to Swindon, boarded a delayed connection and would have got into Cheltenham on time.

I was a bit surprised by this as GWR staff at the station never advised this to be a likely option, and how was I supposed to know a Swindon-Cheltenham would be delayed in the future allowing me to board it and reach Cheltenham on time?

Is there a way to claim back my refund then if I did not travel or is the view of GWR that I could have boarded the next service, and used my telepathy to know a connection would be delayed to allow me to get to Cheltenham on time? I would be delighted to have known this was an option as it would have meant I could get home earlier. Ultimately GWR cancelled my original service and did not provide appropriate advise.

Thanks

 

[Haywain]

As you did not make the journey, Delay Repay is not appropriate. You should instead claim a refund from the retailer from whom you purchased the ticket. Tis refund is provided in full, with no admin fee applied, as the reason for claiming is disruption.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hello everyone,

I was travelling with GWR from London to Cheltenham few days ago. On arrival at Paddington, I saw my train was cancelled. I was informed by a staff member that the trains were severely disrupted due to staff self isolating, and as my journey had a stop in Swindon it would involve me having to get the next train to Swindon, then waiting at Swindon until whenever a train to Cheltenham would turn up, which I was advised could take a long time due to ongoing disruption and last minute cancellations expected throughout the day.

I decided not to bother catching the train, so went back into London, and ultimately travelled back to Cheltenham by car later in the evening with my colleague.

I wanted to claim my money back for this journey, so put in a delay repay, the option of 'cancelled train, did not travel' was unavailable so I chose 'cancelled train, board next service' as I assumed that was the next best accurate. My claim was promptly rejected by GWR who said I could have caught the next train to Swindon, boarded a delayed connection and would have got into Cheltenham on time.

I was a bit surprised by this as GWR staff at the station never advised this to be a likely option, and how was I supposed to know a Swindon-Cheltenham would be delayed in the future allowing me to board it and reach Cheltenham on time?

Is there a way to claim back my refund then if I did not travel or is the view of GWR that I could have boarded the next service, and used my telepathy to know a connection would be delayed to allow me to get to Cheltenham on time? I would be delighted to have known this was an option as it would have meant I could get home earlier. Ultimately GWR cancelled my original service and did not provide appropriate advise.

Thanks

As mentioned, you are entitled to a full refund if you choose not to take a journey due to cancellation (or delay I think) before you board - see page 22-23 (Part F, clause 30 etc) of the Conditions of Travel - and insist on your rights as set out here:

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/National%20Rail%20Conditions%20of%20Travel.pdf

from

Your Rights and Obligations as a Passenger | National Rail

When you buy a train ticket to travel on the rail network, you enter into an agreement with the train companies. Find out about your rights and obligations as a passenger, and how to get more information.

www.nationalrail.co.uk

Who did you buy ticket off? That is who you need to apply to. Apply to them as soon as you can.

eg if you bought it at the ticket office before the train was due you just walk back to the ticket office and ask for your money back, but I'm guessing that you may have bought on line, maybe from an independent retailer (eg one that is not GWR for example).

Head back here for more advice if you need it of course, and let us know how you get on, useful for people to know if you get given the run around.

It would have been more helpful for GWR to explain to you that Delay Repay was not the process you needed to use when you tried that but hey ho....either way luckily no need for you to be telepathic at least

Also - if you need some proof of cancellation (you should not need it, the ticket retailer you used should be able to check it but you need to state the train time and date etc to them), people here can give links to sites like this which will show the details of the train cancelled which you could screen grab (they become a bit more tricky to find after a while) as evidence of the cancellation should you need it. Might be worth keeping until you get your money back

Realtime Trains | Search

Realtime Trains is an independent source of live realtime running information for the Great British railway network.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

or if you post here the date or time of the train concerned from Paddington someone will find the details for you if you are not sure how to quickly get them of links like that.

 

[Haywain]

Who did you buy ticket off? That is who you need to apply to. Apply to them as soon as you can.

I think it's worth adding that if it was from Trainline, don't go through the easy to find refund process as they automatically apply the £10 admin fee. There is, apparently, a separate route for disruption refunds.

 

[WesternLancer]

I think it's worth adding that if it was from Trainline, don't go through the easy to find refund process as they automatically apply the £10 admin fee. There is, apparently, a separate route for disruption refunds.

a point well made, and yet another reason on the ever lengthening list of reasons to never use The trainline.com I suspect....

 

[AlterEgo]

As others have said, you should claim the refund for your unused ticket (abandoned journey) at the point of sale. No admin fee can be charged. Delay Repay isn’t appropriate here.

 

[Deafdoggie]

a point well made, and yet another reason on the ever lengthening list of reasons to never use The trainline.com I suspect....

I think you mean a good reason to use trainline. Many online retailers (including many TOCs) offer no way online to get a fee-free refund! You have to basically submit a complaint. At least trainline have a way, albeit a bit hidden.