The Trainline.com e-vouchers

mahonsk

In January this year, I purchased train tickets for my Wife and I, via thetrainline.com from Ashford to Paris and then on to St Jean Pied de Port by Eurostar and SNCF. They were non-refundable tickets. We were planning to walk the 800 km Camino de Santiago across Spain over about 7 weeks. 

Travel was due on the 5th May 2020, but as a result of Covid 19 travel is not allowed and all of the hostels and hotels across Spain are closed. 

On thetrainline.com website they state that Eurostar are offering e-vouchers, to be redeemed by 30th September 2020, BUT, that travel can take place as “FAR IN ADVANCE AS YOU LIKE”.

On this basis of as far in advance as we like, we made alternative plans to walk in May 2021. 

Now, in correspondence,  thetrainline.com say that the e-vouchers have to be used by 31st March 2021; contrary to their own published advice. They say this is Eurostar policy and that I have to contact Eurostar directly to sort this out. 

I have written to thetrainline.com several times now and they will not budge. The representative I am talking to will not even escalate this despite my request for him to do so. 

It is my belief that my contract is with thetrainline.com as it was them whom I paid and they who made arrangements. On the basis of the information they placed on their own website, I made plans, which they now effectively say I have to change. We cannot really reasonably be expected to walk across Spain for 7 weeks in winter, when most of the Alburges/hostels are closed anyway.  

I hold thetrainline.com liable and feel they should be resolving this, not me. I appreciate these were non refundable tickets and, had I wanted to cancel/change the dates, then I would probably have lost out financially. But I didn’t. Covid 19 happened, which is nobody’s fault, but the train line.com did make a huge error mistake. Even as I am writing this, their website is STILL giving disinformation, several days after I brought it to their attention and I have alerted them of this a number of times as well. 

Is there an Industry body that I can refer this to? Has anybody had a similar issue recently? Does the train line.com even care?

Thank you