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Train compensation
JennLlama
Posts: 2 Newbie
I've been reading the forums for a while but this is my first post so please be gentle!
I'm really fed up of train companies - not just one specific one, but several of them. Now what annoys me about them isn't that the trains are overcrowded, or run late, or the engineering works which make weekend train travel a virtual impossibility for weeks at a time. It is their compensation policies - and the lack of publicity about them.
It amazes me how many people aren't aware they can claim compensation when their train is delayed. I took a train this weekend which was delayed by over 30 minutes, and caused several of us to miss a connection thus delaying our journeys by at least an hour as we waited for the next train. I spoke to four separate people as we waited for the connection and not one of them was aware they could claim back money from the train company (in this case First Great Western) because of the delay! What is the point in them even having a compensation policy if nobody knows it exists!?
The other annoying thing is the amount of compensation you can claim back. According to the Rail Passenger Charter, I believe the companies are only *obliged* to offer you 10% of your ticket price if you are delayed by an hour or more - now admittedly all the ones I've checked generally offer between 50 and 100% of the ticket depending on how long you've been delayed, but nonetheless I think that's rather daft. If my plane were delayed/cancelled, I'd be entitled to a reasonable amount of compensation and - please correct me if I'm wrong - I think the service operator would have to actually tell me I was entitled to it, rather than me having to find out for myself? Why isn't that the case with trains?
Grrrr... I'm now on a little personal crusade to try and tell as many people as possible that they can claim compensation, because I just don't think train companies realise how big a problem delays actually are and claiming back money is probably the most effective way to show them!
I'm really fed up of train companies - not just one specific one, but several of them. Now what annoys me about them isn't that the trains are overcrowded, or run late, or the engineering works which make weekend train travel a virtual impossibility for weeks at a time. It is their compensation policies - and the lack of publicity about them.
It amazes me how many people aren't aware they can claim compensation when their train is delayed. I took a train this weekend which was delayed by over 30 minutes, and caused several of us to miss a connection thus delaying our journeys by at least an hour as we waited for the next train. I spoke to four separate people as we waited for the connection and not one of them was aware they could claim back money from the train company (in this case First Great Western) because of the delay! What is the point in them even having a compensation policy if nobody knows it exists!?
The other annoying thing is the amount of compensation you can claim back. According to the Rail Passenger Charter, I believe the companies are only *obliged* to offer you 10% of your ticket price if you are delayed by an hour or more - now admittedly all the ones I've checked generally offer between 50 and 100% of the ticket depending on how long you've been delayed, but nonetheless I think that's rather daft. If my plane were delayed/cancelled, I'd be entitled to a reasonable amount of compensation and - please correct me if I'm wrong - I think the service operator would have to actually tell me I was entitled to it, rather than me having to find out for myself? Why isn't that the case with trains?
Grrrr... I'm now on a little personal crusade to try and tell as many people as possible that they can claim compensation, because I just don't think train companies realise how big a problem delays actually are and claiming back money is probably the most effective way to show them!
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Comments
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I've tried claiming a partial ticket refund for delayed trains on many occasions, and yet all I get is generic responses from an indian email/call centre and get absolutely nowhere!
It's like they use a computer to scan your email for certain words, then they tick boxes to choose which "i'm sorry" lines they'd like to use in their reply. Never any offer of a partial refund, and I'm not sure they've even actually read the email!
At the bottom it always says something along the lines of "If the response is not satisfactory, please reply quoting the reference" blah blah.
So I reply, and yet again, I get the same generic "I'm sorry you were delayed on your journey blah blah", and nothing else!
I give up, and DRIVE now!Should've = Should HAVE (not 'of')
Would've = Would HAVE (not 'of')
No, I am not perfect, but yes I do judge people on their use of basic English language. If you didn't know the above, then learn it! (If English is your second language, then you are forgiven!)0 -
If my plane were delayed/cancelled, I'd be entitled to a reasonable amount of compensation and - please correct me if I'm wrong
Yes, you are wrong.
If a flight is delayed there is no right to compensation, only care during your wait.
If a flight is cancelled then you may be entitled to compensation. However, there are numerous exclusions to this.Gone ... or have I?0 -
Train company compensation is a bit like insurance, the train company do their utmost to avoid paying up. The only time I had a refund was when the train company wasn't at fault and they could pass the claim on to network rail and so not be out of pocket.0
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Get refunds all the time from the London underground0
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I've tried claiming a partial ticket refund for delayed trains on many occasions, and yet all I get is generic responses from an indian email/call centre and get absolutely nowhere!
It's like they use a computer to scan your email for certain words, then they tick boxes to choose which "i'm sorry" lines they'd like to use in their reply. Never any offer of a partial refund, and I'm not sure they've even actually read the email!
At the bottom it always says something along the lines of "If the response is not satisfactory, please reply quoting the reference" blah blah.
So I reply, and yet again, I get the same generic "I'm sorry you were delayed on your journey blah blah", and nothing else!
I give up, and DRIVE now!
You are (or were) doing it the wrong way. You need to send your ticket in - as proof you travelled. You can't do that by e-mail.
And no they haven't read your e-mail - their computer has.
Writing a letter to the customer services of the relevant train company, with the ticket, has worked every time for me.0
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