East Coast, worth asking for compensation for missed flight?

iScottJS

Hi,

Back in August we had a flight to Copenhagen booked from London Gatwick.

We had a train booked from Newcastle to King's Cross. It usually takes about an hour to get from King's Cross to Gatwick, so we gave ourselves just over 3 hours to get to the airport after arrival in to London.

The railway had signalling problems and the train sat stationary for 3 and a half hours.

We missed our flight by just 5 minutes and had to book another one, putting me out of pocket for an additional £250 and losing a day of our holiday, there was much stress and tears.

East Coast have already been in touch confirming that we're eligible for refund on our outbound tickets, but I'm wondering if I should write a letter asking for compensation for the missed flight?

If so, any tips for writing a letter requesting compensation would be appreciated.

East Coast typically refund train ticket vouchers instead of cash, is it reasonable to request a cheque refund instead? These vouchers tend to expire and I'm not planning on travelling on a train for a while.

Thanks in advance,
Scott.

alanrowell

Their contract was to get you to Gatwick, which is what they did. They aren't responsible for any consequential loss. That's why you have insurance

tomtontom

As per alanrowell, you should be covered by your travel insurance for a missed departure due to public transport delays.

agrinnall

I missed a flight back from Berlin due to a problem with Deutsche Bahn (so much for the fabled reliability of German railways) and my travel insurance paid for the replacement flight and the extra night in Berlin as the next flight was the following day. I did have to get proof of the issue from DB so you may need a letter from East Coast, but at least you shouldn't need to translate it from German, which I had to!

yorkie2

iScottJS wrote: »

Hi,

Back in August we had a flight to Copenhagen booked from London Gatwick.

We had a train booked from Newcastle to King's Cross. It usually takes about an hour to get from King's Cross to Gatwick, so we gave ourselves just over 3 hours to get to the airport after arrival in to London.

The railway had signalling problems and the train sat stationary for 3 and a half hours.

We missed our flight by just 5 minutes and had to book another one, putting me out of pocket for an additional £250 and losing a day of our holiday, there was much stress and tears.

East Coast have already been in touch confirming that we're eligible for refund on our outbound tickets, but I'm wondering if I should write a letter asking for compensation for the missed flight?

You are due 100% compensation for your rail tickets, nothing more.

Had you travelled onward by Eurostar, Eurostar would have let you board a later train at no additional charge.

As you used a different mode entirely, the risk is yours. I'd advise allowing more time next time.

The airlines will not allow you to take a later flight; Eurostar will. I would therefore suggest you consider this crucial difference when considering transport plans in future.

iScottJS wrote: »

If so, any tips for writing a letter requesting compensation would be appreciated.

Simply take a photo of your rail tickets and attach them here http://www.eastcoast.co.uk/customer-service/contact-us/refund/delay-repay/ but you are not entitled to any consequential loss.

iScottJS wrote: »

East Coast typically refund train ticket vouchers instead of cash, is it reasonable to request a cheque refund instead? These vouchers tend to expire and I'm not planning on travelling on a train for a while.

Thanks in advance,
Scott.

This is not a refund; it's compensation. If it was a refund, it would be refunded by the same method you paid for the tickets.

People will pay 95% of the full value for them and they are valid for one month. You could simply sell them.

Quentin

yorkie2 wrote: »

...... and they are valid for one month. You could simply sell them.

No


They last a year.

iScottJS

Hi,

Thanks to everyone for the replies and keeping me right on the difference between compensation and refunds.

I guess there's some valuable lessons to learn here, especially when it comes to different modes of transport entirely.

Missing flights due to trains hasn't been an issue before so I've been a bit ignorant of the correct steps to take to prevent this from happening.

I've learnt about it the hard way.

Thanks again,
Scott.