Train not stopping at advertised station; can I Get a refund?

wealdroam

EdGasket wrote: »

OK well the first thing it says is:

Have you received a full response?
If not, please wait until you have received a full response from the train company

So how long am I supposed to wait? I have forwarded my complaint again today pointing it it has been three weeks since the original was emailed with no reply to date. I have looked but can't find any timeframe given for a maximum wait for a reply.

I am sorry to see that you appear to be unable to get past that 'first thing'.

If you were to read on - just a few lines - you will see:

If you haven’t received a response it is worth checking that they have received your complaint and also their response times. If there is a delay in them responding to you this may be because they are experiencing a backlog of complaints. However if you have chased for a response but still haven’t received one we can look into this further for you. Click here to ask for our help with this - please make sure you give all the details of the action you have taken so far.

EdGasket

yes yes I read that but how long is it reasonable to allow for SW Trains to reply ?

magyar

Just catching up on this thread.

I agree with the poster above who said that SW Trains simply have a responsibility to get you from A to B, and that 42(c) limits their liability. To take this to the extreme, if delays mean that you miss a last connection to your destination they would still provide a bus or taxi at their cost, but liability is still limited to the compensation caps.

I would think the best argument is actually the last line in 42(c) which says "However, they will consider additional claims in exceptional circumstances". The DoT quote above literally says that train companies should only use stop-skipping in "exceptional circumstances".

yorkie2

They pay delay compensation, but not as much as most companies. That'll change in the future. For now, there's not much you can do about that.

The complaint that the train runs fast to catch up time is without merit; it would cause disruption to many more passengers if the train trundled along the slow line behind the all-stations stopper losing time, rather than skip a few stops and catch up time and then be on time for the next working.

EdGasket

Well they haven't bothered to reply so I'll wait 1 month and then escalate.
I understand what you are saying re. delaying other services but my concern is that they did not provide the service I paid for. It is by no means cheap; in fact twice the cost of driving, so no excuses.

magyar

Out of interest do they usually announce this before you get on the train, or after?

EdGasket

Usually after as the train gets more delayed as the journey progresses; really annoying and if you happened to be asleep and missed the announcement you could end up in London!
Sometimes not told until Basingstoke, only one stop before.

magyar

It's very frustrating, I agree. I suppose they would argue that in practice this is no different to if there was an equipment failure: you'd still be late. They'd argue that they'd fulfilled their part of the contract which was to get you from A to B, and that you'd be due compensation.

There is another argument you can use: the National Rail Conditions of Carriage state you can get a full refund if you discover after you have bought a ticket that you train is cancelled. Is there not a pretty strong argument that by not stopping at an advertised station, they have 'cancelled' that particular service.

yorkie2

EdGasket wrote: »

Well they haven't bothered to reply so I'll wait 1 month and then escalate.
I understand what you are saying re. delaying other services but my concern is that they did not provide the service I paid for. It is by no means cheap; in fact twice the cost of driving, so no excuses.

They did provide the service you paid for. You paid for travel from A to B. That is what you paid for, whether you like it or not.

Arguably, compensation should apply at a much lower threshold than 1 hour, which is ridiculous, so I have sympathy for people who are delayed by less than that who receive nothing. But that is an entirely separate argument.

EdGasket

yorkie2 wrote: »

They did provide the service you paid for. You paid for travel from A to B. That is what you paid for, whether you like it or not.

I also paid for the advertised service that arrived at Fleet so I could get to work on time; that part they did not provide but could have mitigated inconvenience by at least stopping at the advertised stops. There are 4 tracks in use on this section so I don't buy the excuse that it would hold up follow-on services.

Escalating today as no response received for a month from SW Trains who are a complete disgrace for customer service.