Railcard: paid for 12 months' usage, but no trains to use it on. Partial refund available?

accorian

There must be hundreds of Railcard holders amongst MSE's user base, hence this query.

My wife and I pay each year for our Two Together 12 month discount card --  but the card hasn't been usable for over a month because of the coronavirus situation.

 Folks with motor insurance policies are getting refunds from  their insurers because it's impossible to make the most of the policy cover due to the virus lockdown and travel restrictions: you can't drive anywhere.

 As it's equally impossible to make the most of a Railcard, then how come there seems to be no news of partial refunds for Railcard holders who have paid in advance for 12 months' usage of something that isn't usable over that length of time?.

 

gettingtheresometime

As far as I'm aware Admiral are the only insurers to give their policy holders a flat £25 rebate regardless of how much their policy cost......and the cynic in me says that it was a marketing ploy. And a car would still be covered even if it stood still for 12 months for fire, theft or accident.

With regards to your railcard, surely you look at the overall saving you've made throughout the 12 months rather in one particular month...If we use ours once and it saves us more than it cost then I consider that a bargain

bagand96

There was another thread here recently, I believe ATOC have said there will be no rebates or extensions to Railcards.

pinkladyvenus

link to other thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/77098754#Comment_77098754

Emmia

I have a network South East card that I purchased last September - I've already got the cost of the card back (a few times over) in terms of discounts off train fares. In any case as I don't use the railcard every month even in normal times, I wouldn't expect or claim a discount or an extension... 

JD239

It's now 6 months since the lockdown started and the railcards have not been of use for the entire period. It is time for refunds or extensions. Clearly the "service" promised has not been delivered.

daveyjp

'Not been of use' would only apply if there had been no train services.

Trains have been running for many months allowing plenty of opportunity to take advantage of the railcard and have the service delivered.

Your personal circumstances may have prevented travel, but the trains were running.

Emmia

JD239 said:

It's now 6 months since the lockdown started and the railcards have not been of use for the entire period. It is time for refunds or extensions. Clearly the "service" promised has not been delivered.

Trains were running throughout the pandemic, as many people still needed to go to work, even at the height of lockdown. There may have been reductions in the timetable, and government advising against all but essential travel but the trains were still going so you could have used the card. I'm also not sure that holding a card, means that you are "promised a service". 

In any case, the pandemic hasn't (yet) lasted the full 12 months the railcard is valid for, so you could have got the cost back prior to Covid (as I did with my railcard which has just expired). Given the cost, you should have been able to get your money back by making only a handful of journeys. I use mine (a network railcard) mainly to travel to my home town from London (about 1 hour on the train), which I do  8 - 10 times a year. The  discount I get on this journey means I get my money back after about 3 trips by myself, and less than 2 trips if my husband is with me.  In the past, I've bought a 2 together card which was more than paid off in one return journey from London to Edinburgh.