Late timetable confirmation - forced to buy extra ticket

[Max]

I've been planning a trip from Inverness to Aberdeen for several months and looked for advance tickets back in February when I would have expected them to be on sale, however nothing was out. I waited a few weeks, still nothing, and nothing on Scotrail's website about disruption. Eventually, after a bit of digging, I found an article in the local press about the line being closed from Dyce to Aberdeen. This was in April and our journey is today (mid May).

I assumed the timetable would be confirmed soon but eventually, when it got to less than 6 weeks before travel, I bit the bullet as I was a bit concerned about the cheaper APs selling out, and assumed given Dyce is just outside Aberdeen that advance tickets bought before the timetable was confirmed would be passed to Aberdeen on the buses (as is often the case during disruption).

However, upon speaking to the guard today, I was told that I would have to purchase additional walk up tickets for the bus, despite the inconvenience and time penalty, and the fact that Scotrail confirmed the timetable so late. The Twitter team also confirmed this and tried to use Network Rail's temporary suspension of the 12-week notice period for timetables as an excuse, but given they didn't even meet the 6 week commitment this seems like a bit of a feeble response. Do I have grounds for a complaint?

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Anyone can complain about anything at any time to anyone else, so you probably shouldn't feel inhibited from making a complaint. The question has to be whether you will get any positive result from your complaint. But...

I (...) assumed given Dyce is just outside Aberdeen that advance tickets bought before the timetable was confirmed would be passed to Aberdeen on the buses (as is often the case during disruption).

This is where you might run into a problem. You made an assumption. You didn't (as far as I can see) check whether your assumption was true. It seems to me that Scotrail might well be able to argue that they can't be responsible for your thought processes.

 

[30907]

Sorry, I'm not clear: did you in the end book an AP from Inverness to Dyce before the INV-ABD Advances were released?

Incidentally, on a random check, Advances to Dyce are consistently more expensive than to Aberdeen.

 

[yorkie]

Sorry, I'm not clear: did you in the end book an AP from Inverness to Dyce before the INV-ABD Advances were released?

Correction: Before the Dyce-Aberdeen buses were added to the timetable.

It was impossible to obtain an itinerary to Aberdeen.

 

[DuncanS]

But did you book the ticket to Aberdeen? If not then its no surprise that you were made to pay for a trip you were going to make on the RRB.

 

[_toommm_]

Did you post this on the SR Twitter feed? I swear I saw something similar to this earlier

 

[sheff1]

If I understand this correctly, you booked a ticket to Dyce ? If so, I do not see why you expected to be conveyed to Aberdeen at no extra charge.

TOCs do not need to offers Advances for all (or even any) journeys. I do see, though, that Inverness to Aberdeen Advances, including the replacement bus, are on sale for next week.

 

[najaB]

Do I have grounds for a complaint?

You can always complain but I don't see this one getting very far. You had a ticket to Dyce and you got to Dyce. I can't see why that should be valid to Aberdeen.

There might be an argument if the fares were the same that no loss occurred, but that isn't the case here.

 

[30907]

Correction: Before the Dyce-Aberdeen buses were added to the timetable.
It was impossible to obtain an itinerary to Aberdeen.

Thank you for clarifying. Obviously you know something the rest of us don't

BTW my comment about relative ticket prices suggests that the OP might have lost out doubly. FWIW the Scotrail staff were entirely correct but it would be worth the OP pointing out the loss they have suffered anyway.

 

[Starmill]

If the buses were not loaded into the timetable when you booked, you were never given the oppourtunity to book an Aberdeen to Inverness Advance.

This is disappointing but contractually you can do nothing about it.

I would imagine that you paid the £2.60 single fare? What was the price of your Advance? I would imagine that you still saved money over the cost of buying a walk up ticket from Inverness to Aberdeen. Of course, that isn't quite the point.

If you write to ScotRail enclosing the tickets and expressing your disappointment that they were unable to confirm the timetable until just a few days before your journey, and specifically that this meant no tickets could be booked because no services were loaded, then you may receive a gesture of goodwill. If you don't, you still saved money over not buying an Inverness to Dyce Advance. You were merely a victim of the late publishing of the timetable, which many people have been.

Consider also that unless you got a £5 Advance ticket, it is likely that an Advance to Aberdeen would have cost more than an Advance to Dyce. So the amount you have been charged extra by your need to split may be less than £2.60.