MSE News: Rail strike: your rights if your train is cancelled

Ms-Pacman

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glider3560

Bogof_Babe wrote: »

Yes I noticed that after I'd posted, so have emailed East Coast (where I bought my ticket) to ask what I need to do. I have a problem in that I paid with a NatWest Maestro card, but my bank have now asked me to destroy that and use the new Visa card they've sent me, but East Coast say they have to put the credit on the card that was originally used. Why is life so complicated?

Also, I presume you have to get your unused ticket to them before the relevant travel date, otherwise who's to say you haven't travelled anyway and the ticket inspector never marked it. Not much chance of getting it to them before 6th .

If EC refund your tickets back to the Maestro card, it will still be credited to your account correctly.

You have 28 days to return the ticket. From the National Rail Conditions of Carriage:

(c) if paragraph (a) does not apply, the ticket has been bought from a Train
Company’s telesales office or a Train Company’s internet website and you
return the ticket to an address notified by that Train Company no later than
28 days after the expiry of the ticket’s validity, you will receive a refund
(subject to the notes below); or

Bogof_Babe

glider3560 wrote: »

If EC refund your tickets back to the Maestro card, it will still be credited to your account correctly.

You have 28 days to return the ticket. From the National Rail Conditions of Carriage:

Oh that's excellent :T.

amiehall

I am in a right fluster about all this, it's been a ridiculous stress. I had tickets booked for a trip the full length of England on a sleeper night of 8th April. This route was announced as completely cancelled. This was a completely necessary trip, my boyfriend was flying 5000 miles from the Middle East to meet me. I booked a National Express coach for the journey. Now my train is running as scheduled originally. I am not able to get any refund on the bus ticket but am happy to travel on it. I'm very worried I'm now unable to get a full refund on the train ticket. I booked alternative travel based on the information available to me at the time. What can I do now other than just apply for the refund and hope for the best? I am on a low income and really can't afford to pay for both tickets.

jd82

From what I can gather ti should be quite easy to get a refund. The exact terms and conditons re the strike are on the nationrail.co.uk website

patty56

I had to cancel a hospital appointment in London(I live in South Wales) on the 31st March based on the strike going ahead.Strike subsequently cancelled . I rang the number on my tickets and they said I'd have to pay an admin fee of £10 to get the refund.
Emailed train company and explained the situation and apparently a call centre operates the refund system and has been told that from 1 April there will be an admin charge, but that most train companies will consider waiving the admin fee in these sorts of circumstances and giving a refund. Need to go direct to the train company.

Bogof_Babe

Well I've had very helpful replies to my emails to East Coast, who I booked my tickets through, and no mention was made of a deduction for admin. I can't see how they could justify that anyway, given that it's not the passenger's fault. I've just done a letter and enclosed my ticket and seat reservation, will post it off and see what happens. I'm quietly confident though, going by the emails I've received.

I suggest you do the same amiehall. You should be entitled to a full refund. Who did you book your train ticket through?

Yicky

Arrgh I am so frustrated with all this. I have Advance single tickets to London on 6th April and was undecided what to do. After the strikes were called off I received an email from the Trainline who I booked the tickets through with a link to network rail's updated details regarding refunds and change of plans etc. As part of my original journey was going to be cancelled, I changed my hotel booking to Mon 5th and had to pay for this in advance. It was ok to do this (I thought) as Network rail issued the following notice:

Q: Following your previous advice, I have changed my plans to travel on a different date. Will I still be able to do so?
A: In addition to any normal terms and conditions, customers will be allowed to travel with their original ticket on a different day between Saturday 3 April until up to seven days after the original strike date on which their ticket was valid (this must be either 6th, 7th, 8th or 9th April 2010). Please note that this only applies to already booked tickets. The conditions are as follows:

• Anytime tickets (including Day tickets) may be used on any other service within this period on the normal route of the ticket.
• Off-Peak and Super-Off Peak tickets (including Day tickets) may be used on any other service within this period on the normal route of the ticket, but normal ticket restrictions will apply.
• Advance tickets may be used on another day (but NOT on 10th/11th April on East Coast services due to extensive engineering works). You should travel within one hour of your original booked time, or on the nearest service either side of the original booked departure time if this is more than an hour different.

In all cases the original ticket will be valid for travel.

However, I have today emailed the Trainline just to make sure I can still travel on 5th April, with my tickets dated 6th April. They have emailed me back to say under no circumstances must I travel on 5th as the ticket will not be valid! I plan to catch the same time train as I was booked on so I don't see how they can contradict what Network Rail say and I have argued the point with them but they still insist I cannot travel unless I cancel my original tickets and rebook (at an extra £130 cost!). Am I reading something wrong here?

KeithP

Yicky wrote: »

However, I have today emailed the Trainline just to make sure I can still travel on 5th April, with my tickets dated 6th April. They have emailed me back to say under no circumstances must I travel on 5th as the ticket will not be valid! I plan to catch the same time train as I was booked on so I don't see how they can contradict what Network Rail say and I have argued the point with them but they still insist I cannot travel unless I cancel my original tickets and rebook (at an extra £130 cost!). Am I reading something wrong here?

I would travel on the 5th.

But I would arm myself with a printout of that Network Rail document you have quoted.

The Trainline are only a reseller. They should know what the train operator is doing, but apparently they don't.

As you have an Advance ticket, you must travel at the right time of day though... as detailed in your post.

Btw... next time maybe avoid thetrainline's fees by buying your ticket from a train operating company.

amiehall

I booked with ScotRail. Can I get a refund at a train station if I bought tickets online? Because of the value of my tickets, they're more than the £37 Royal Mail will insure. I don't want to spend a fiver on postage if I can help it.... Do you think they would reimburse me with that money?