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

EdGasket

I reported the matter to Transport Focus as I have heard nothing from SW Trains. After 9 days I have heard nothing from Transport Focus either. It's beginning to look like a conspiracy to protect the train companies!

And yeah, Yorkie2, I might just sue the b**st**ds

EdGasket

Update: Had an initial response from Transport Focus, basically asking me to resubmit everything I had already told them in the first place. I hope it will get better.....

EdGasket

Update: Transport Focus have been told by South-West Trains that they have a 40-day backlog of complaints and are only now getting around to dealing with complaints from February. They say I will get a full refund based on the length of time taken to respond (what about a refund for the poor train service?). We'll see.

yorkie2

EdGasket wrote: »

(what about a refund for the poor train service?). We'll see.

As I said before, your only legitimate complaint (based on the limited information you have posted, and view of experts) is that compensation for delays on SWT is woefully inadequate, because SWT do not offer Delay Repay.

If that was your complaint, I'd support you 100%

EdGasket

Update: Received full refund of ticket. A waffly explanation was given re. scheduling but this did not explain how being 10 to 15 minutes late equates to the 'extenuating circumstances' quoted by the Evening Standard article. Nor why they could not use the spare tracks at Fleet, nor why the local train could not be held back a few minutes to wait for the unfortunate people turfed out at Basingstoke.

yorkie2

EdGasket wrote: »

Update: Received full refund of ticket.

What time were you scheduled to arrive at your destination, and what was the actual arrival time?

EdGasket wrote: »

A waffly explanation was given re. scheduling but this did not explain how being 10 to 15 minutes late equates to the 'extenuating circumstances' quoted by the Evening Standard article. Nor why they could not use the spare tracks at Fleet

I don't know what you are saying, but the train can either trundle behind the stopping train and call at Fleet, or the train can take the fast lines and be pretty much on time into Waterloo, and on time for the remaining workings that day.

EdGasket wrote: »

nor why the local train could not be held back a few minutes to wait for the unfortunate people turfed out at Basingstoke.

The "local" train is all stops from Basingstoke, but from Woking becomes a semi-fast. So if they held that train at Basingstoke, it would also arrive into Woking late, where you'd want the Woking train to be held. And so on...

Basically, you want your one late train to make many more London-bound trains late, so you don't have to change trains.

Here's an example of how the timetable works today:

http://postimg.org/image/aidu8cuh3/



It's obviously much more intense on a weekday, especially during peak hours, where the absolute maximum number of trains are working, so there is no margin for delaying trains further without causing the entire timetable to collapse.

SWT made the right option, and you need to accept that.

You should be entitled to delay compensation, though.

prowla

My opinion is that the issue was not about delay, but rather about not stopping at the scheduled station.

On occasion I've been caught out by SWT deciding to take a late running train out of service and dumping people off part-way through their journey, either to wait for the next train or get a bus.

As has been noted, they probably do this because it has less impact on their statistics than seeing the journey through and arriving late at the end.

yorkie2

prowla wrote: »

My opinion is that the issue was not about delay, but rather about not stopping at the scheduled station.

On occasion I've been caught out by SWT deciding to take a late running train out of service and dumping people off part-way through their journey, either to wait for the next train or get a bus.

As has been noted, they probably do this because it has less impact on their statistics than seeing the journey through and arriving late at the end.

If you can supply the details, I can investigate this for you.

Tumtitums

I dont know the correct answer to this is however this seems to occur up and down the country and has been going on for years . I dont see why train companies are not severely punished for missing out stations they are supposed to call out. I've been on trains which are running late so they miss out several stations on route. If you are a passessenger waiting for the train at one of these stations only to find out it is cancelled then this is very annoying and can cause massive inconvenience. What makes it even worst is when you are at the station platform and you see a train that looks like your train whizzing past half empty and not stopping.

EdGasket

I was hoping Transport Focus might put more pressure on the train companies to stop where advertised but they just seem to relay my complaint to the train company and pressure them to reply. Still the more people that complain and demand refunds, the more likely the practice of omitting stations will be reduced.