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Eurostar: compensation for denied boarding / huge delay?
FairWorldCitizen
Posts: 20 Forumite
Good evening,
For once I will submit a question instead of advising, as I am really not sure what I should do.
My sister visited for Christmas, she purchased a Eurostar return ticket from Paris to London.
The return journey wasn't brilliant...
Eurostar advises to reach the London station at least 30 minutes before the departure time. On 26 Dec, she arrived around 45 minutes in advance (because buses to London were slower than usual due to city traffic), just to find an immense queue at the checkin.
Time went by and when she reached the checkin desk, the operator said that it was too late to board the train!
The only "solution" they offered to cross the channel was to purchase another ticket for a next train. While she had purchased the return ticket for around 75 EUR, she now had to pay an additional 150 EUR! The operator said she didn't have a cancellation or change option on the ticket.
I find this insane.
She has sent a long complaint, as by experience Eurostar deals rather well with customer problems (back to 2009, I was in 3 trains, the first time the train got burnt; the second time the tunnel got flooded; the third and last one, I stayed stucked in the tunnel for 3 hours).
They have replied that the delay was due to additional passport and luggage controls.
They have directly processed a refund of the first ticket price.
Still from my perspective:
- she suffered a delay of several hours;
- on top of this, the delay costed her 75 EUR;
Eurostar also said that they didn't communicate with customers (text, email) although they were aware of the delay, because... this isn't what they normally do.
Any advice on how to pinpoints evidence against regulations or enforcement bodies' guidelines?
I believe in a fair world she should not only have suffered any financial loss, but also should get compensation for the delay.
However, a total refund of the second ticket will still be better than having to pay 75 EUR!
Any advice?
Thanks in advance.
For once I will submit a question instead of advising, as I am really not sure what I should do.
My sister visited for Christmas, she purchased a Eurostar return ticket from Paris to London.
The return journey wasn't brilliant...
Eurostar advises to reach the London station at least 30 minutes before the departure time. On 26 Dec, she arrived around 45 minutes in advance (because buses to London were slower than usual due to city traffic), just to find an immense queue at the checkin.
Time went by and when she reached the checkin desk, the operator said that it was too late to board the train!
The only "solution" they offered to cross the channel was to purchase another ticket for a next train. While she had purchased the return ticket for around 75 EUR, she now had to pay an additional 150 EUR! The operator said she didn't have a cancellation or change option on the ticket.
I find this insane.
She has sent a long complaint, as by experience Eurostar deals rather well with customer problems (back to 2009, I was in 3 trains, the first time the train got burnt; the second time the tunnel got flooded; the third and last one, I stayed stucked in the tunnel for 3 hours).
They have replied that the delay was due to additional passport and luggage controls.
They have directly processed a refund of the first ticket price.
Still from my perspective:
- she suffered a delay of several hours;
- on top of this, the delay costed her 75 EUR;
Eurostar also said that they didn't communicate with customers (text, email) although they were aware of the delay, because... this isn't what they normally do.
Any advice on how to pinpoints evidence against regulations or enforcement bodies' guidelines?
I believe in a fair world she should not only have suffered any financial loss, but also should get compensation for the delay.
However, a total refund of the second ticket will still be better than having to pay 75 EUR!
Any advice?
Thanks in advance.
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