SOUTH WEST TRAINS have cancelled my MEGATRAIN ticket to sell for higher price.

JoanneJ

9/6/12 bought MEGATRAIN ticket to travel to LONDON 24/712 and on 15/612 get emailed that MY JOURNEY HAS BEEN CANCELLED!

Seems SWT have decided to STOP ANY BUDGET TRAVEL during the OLYMPICS as per below statement;

South West Trains are not offering any megatrain services from Monday 23 July - Saturday 8 September 2012. This period covers the Opening Ceremony (on Fri 27 July) to the end of the Paralympics. We are expecting a high demand for our trains over the summer period both to and from London. Megatrain was set up to offer low cost travel on services with available capacity and with the anticipated demand generated by the Olympics, Paralympics and various cultural events; we felt it inappropriate to offer megatrain services during this period.

This COMPLETELY CONTRADICTS what the NATIONAL RAIL site states; as below;

"Train companies have been working together to offer great value fares and additional services for the 2012 Games"

How can it be fair that a seat is advertised, money paid for it and then being informed YOU CANNOT TRAVEL; even though SWT is selling the SAME SEATS on the SAME JOURNEY/DATE at this moment; only at 1600% more than I was charged.

This is just BLATANT profiteering!

Livingthedream

JoanneJ wrote: »

This is just BLATANT profiteering!

It seems that way, I hope you got all your money back including any fees. What can you do about what they have done, unfortunately not much, but what you can do is write a letter of complaint to the following;

Passenger Focus
FREEPOST (RRRE-ETTC-LEET)
PO BOX 4257
Manchester
M60 3AR

I would also write a strong letter of complaint to;
Customer Services
megabus.com/megatrain.com
Buchanan Bus Station
Killermont St
Glasgow
G2 3NW

You never know you might get some Megabus/Rail vouchers as a goodwill gesture.

jd87

Sadly this is happening all over with other bookings (for example hotels). South West Trains should indeed be ashamed of themselves.

I guess you should just be grateful that they have given you more than a months notice instead of cancelling it a few days before. Are there maybe still some cheap advance (non-megatrain) tickets available for your journey?

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

JoanneJ wrote: »

This is just BLATANT profiteering!

Well, they have to pay those bonuses to the staff for being nice and working during the Olympic period.

davidlizard

Surely if the tickets have been paid for, and they have accepted such a payment then they are in a legally binding contract?

JoanneJ

Belated thanks for replies and advice.

NATIONAL RAIL site is still showing this statement;

"Train companies have been working together to offer great value fares and additional services for the 2012 Games"

which clearly SOUTH WEST TRAINS are NOT doing if they are now withdrawing ANY budget travel ie MEGATRAIN ticket allocation, from sale; even affecting my already booked journey which on the 24/7/12 is THREE DAYS before even the opening ceremony.

The least that MEGABUS could do was to NOT advertise the journeys for sale; ie that is how I was able to pay for it on 9/6/12 and I have my BOOKING CONFIRMATION, CREDIT CARD PAYMENT email; which surely has SOME contractual binding legally.

The MEGATRAIN T&Cs only refer to CANCELLATIONS/DELAYS OVER 60 MINS in the instance of weather/mechanical faults causing issues and in those instances they state the customer can board the next train, which if involves further payment the latter can be refunded by MEGATRAIN...or the customer can choose to have a refund on their MEGATRAIN booking, should later travel not be acceptable.

If the two companies [BOTH OWNED BY STAGECOACH] cannot prepare their own sites to reflect their changes in sale practice....and the MEGABUS/SWT sites are STILL not showing ANY information about this removal of ticket allocation; [so that is not fair to anyone wasting time trying to book travel via there, for between 23/7 and 8/9/12...which means a LOT of clicking on tabs only to find "NO JOURNEY AVAILABLE FOR DATES CHOSEN"] then that is not my or any other paying customer's fault; when they have just seen a journey for sale, paid for it and been given the booking confirmation to use as a 'ticket'.

That is one other reason I hope that posting on MSE might alert others to this. so far. HIDDEN strategy by SWT and its denial by MEGABUS.

Thanks again for reading and replying.

mynameistallulah

davidlizard wrote: »

Surely if the tickets have been paid for, and they have accepted such a payment then they are in a legally binding contract?

A contract was formed, but due to frustration it no longer exists. If Megabus were not aware that their allocation was to be pulled when they sold the ticket, they would not be at fault and hence the only remedy required would be to put the buyer back to their original position i.e. provide a refund.

JoanneJ

Thanks for reply but refunding £1.50 is nothing to MEGABUS but by having made that booking on 9/6/12 I then went on to book other connecting services, non-MEGATRAIN and accomodation for the trip; so I have incurred more expenses in the good faith that I had received a BOOKING CONFIRMATION [ie the MEGATRAIN 'ticket'] and had my PAYMENT taken.

MEGATRAIN/MEGABUS/SWT are ALL owned by STAGECOACH and if they could not communicate to ensure that innocent customers are not given bookings to buy AND the same companies TOOK THE PAYMENTS, then that is the fault of the PAID STAFF MANAGEMENT of those companies and NOT the fault of the UNPAID but PAYING customer.

The OLYMPICS are hardly a LOW PROFILE event so there has been ample time for ALL companies to make the correct provision of services/journeys offered for sale.

That SWT are selling the SAME SEATS ON THE SAME DATES FOR THE SAME DESTINATIONS but at £18 rather than £1.50 proves that this is blatant profiteering; and without any consideration for the duped customer who planned and incurred further expense by buying an advertised seat AND having that payment taken AND a 'ticket' being issued.

These are not some tin-pot little new set-up business; they are MASSIVE companies with a HUGE parent owner.

It is just not fair that for ONE seat they cannot honour the same booking that they advertised and was purchased in complete good faith....and they STILL hold my payment as no refund has been made yet and is not expected to reach my account until next Wed!

If they really think that their making £16.50 is worth the bad publicity they are now going to receive as I copy this matter onto as many places as it can be seen; then that is their choice.

I just would rather not have to spend even one second on it but have been forced to defend my rights.

Thanks for reading and replying.

mynameistallulah

I totally understand how unhappy you are, I would feel the same. The problem you have is that you have no rights. Even if they have the same parent company, they are run as separate entities, so there is no expectation that one will know what the other is doing (in fact, they would be in trouble if that was the case).

You are in a no win situation. All the bad publicity in the world will not stop people buying from MT if they are the cheapest supplier. I would have a good vent about it, and then move on in the knowledge that you have done all you can.

jd87

Joanne please stop SHOUTING.

mynameistallulah

jd87 wrote: »

Joanne please stop SHOUTING.

She's annoyed, let her have a little rant!