Help with train refund please.

stragglebod

So it's virgin's responsibility to arrange your business meetings for you?

discat11

I must admit I've become a little confused, so please confirm If my assumptions are correct?

1.You normally pay £50 for an advanced return.
2.Because you could get 1 (presumably as these were sold out for the trains you wanted) you booked a cheap day return at £86.90
This makes 1 irrelevant by the way -you may normally pay £50 for a advance return but if it isn't available -it isn't available.

3.When you turned up at the station the machine wouldn't deliver the CDR you had paid for online.
4.You had to pay for a standard single ticket instead.
5. You didn't travel back by rail.

My earlier response was based on the fact that a £86.90 outward part would have been valid on the peak time train you travelled on -is this correct?

If so, then you are owed £1 the difference between a single and return.

If not, you own the train company the difference between what you paid and what you owe them for the single fare.
This would explain why the machine wouldn't issue the cheaper ticket -it wasn't valid.

If so also -why did you not travel back within the month?
Presumably the train company would have refunded anything also for this part had the original ticket purchased been valid on the return?

Daisies14

Hi discat11. I will try to explain the points you have raised.
1. Yes I normally pay around £50 for a return. This is in the form of two single tickets and I tend to buy either a £23 ticket or a £27 ticket depending which is available at the time.
2. I bought the £86.90 on the day of travel as I couldn't afford to buy a ticket beforehand as I was waiting for money to be credited into my bank account which was happening on the morning of travel. So this meant I would be paying more than I usually do to travel. That ticket is valid for one month on off peak trains only.
3. Yes when I got to the station and entered my reference in the machine wouldn't accept it so I tried again several times before enlisting the help of the station staff.
4. After being told at the ticket office I would need to buy a new ticket and I needed to phone the helpline as I bought the ticket online I did that. The phone call lasted about half an hour and they said my ticket would be refunded within 24-72 hours.
By the time I went to buy a new ticket it was peak time and the only tickets available to me were a single at £169 or a return at £338.
It took about 2 weeks to get the £169 refund.
5. No I didn't travel back by rail. I've not travelled back at all. I intended to travel back 2 or 3 weeks ago but couldn't do as this hasn't been sorted out.
I didn't travel back within the month as the machine didn't give me my ticket so I didn't have a ticket with which to travel back with. Though I had paid for the ticket.
I hope that answers all your questions and sorry my replies are so long but I didn't want to miss anything out.
Thank you.

Daisies14

Oh yeah the £86.90 ticket was only valid on off peak trains. So it wouldn't have been valid on the train that I ended up getting but it was valid for the train that I wanted to catch.

discat11

OK thanks Daisies.

I will, therefore, revert to my original reply, the train operator ostensibly owes you £1.

To be fair you had the refund within 2 weeks so I would guess you had funds available to travel back within the 'other' 2 weeks of your original return tickets validity.

This is basically why I don't feel you have a case, although train operators are free to make goodwill refunds etc as they see fit of course.

jbuchanangb

Seems like the OP has been stranded in Manchester for 6 weeks, having paid £86.90 for a return ticket and made a single journey for which the fare was £85.90. In fact she travelled on a peak train for which the fare was £169, but the train company acknowledged the problem with issuing the original ticket, and refunded the cost of the replacement. She says that her stranding in Manchester was because of the problem with the original ticket.
I think she would struggle to convince the train operator to issue her with a free ticket to London after waiting six weeks in Manchester. But maybe if it was explained clearly to them, they might offer something.

Daisies14

Hi discat11.
Yes I had the refund in 2 weeks but I was told I would get my refund in 24-72 hours. Which didn't happen. I was told I would get a refund for the original ticket as I hadn't purchased the more expensive ticket at the time as I was still on the phone trying to sort out the ticket that I had paid for at the time (£86.90).
I didn't have the funds to get another ticket. The £169 I paid for the single ticket was 'borrowed' from my rent money so when I got it back it went to pay my rent.
I contacted them several times by phone and email asking about my refund and each time they asked for more information which I provided.
I have asked them several times if they have listened to the phone call that said I would get a refund of the tickets and they keep avoiding my question so I'm assuming the answer is a no.
Hi jbuchanangb. I've not waited 6 weeks to contact them. I've been contacting them every week asking about the ticket and just getting useless replies and apologies which is why I came on this site to ask for advice.

k3lvc

Daisies14 wrote: »

5. No I didn't travel back by rail. I've not travelled back at all. I intended to travel back 2 or 3 weeks ago but couldn't do as this hasn't been sorted out.
I didn't travel back within the month as the machine didn't give me my ticket so I didn't have a ticket with which to travel back with.

So where have you been for the last 2-3 weeks - are you genuinely saying that you've stayed where you were rather than making any effort to travel home ??


You can get back tomorrow on Megabus for a tenner

Daisies14

Hi k3lvc.
I am home. I was in London visiting family. The return journey would have taken me back to see them again and then I would have bought a single journey to come back to Manchester.
I don't often buy a return as it tends to be cheaper buying 2 singles but as I was buying the ticket on the day of travel and the single would have only been a pound cheaper than the return I opted to buy the return with the intention of buying a single to complete my journey back to Manchester.
Hope I've explained that ok.

discat11

Sorry Daisies, as I've said before I don't think you have a case legally for any sort of refund or consideration.

I would suggest writing to the train operator and asking if they might consider a free return journey a fair goodwill offer, however there are under no obligation to provide it.