Train ticket refund

cazzzie987

I bought train tickets from Virgin Trains, fast forward 6 months and they don't exist. I quick Google and it says they are LNER, I sent them there by recorded delivery for a refund before the lockdown. I waited patiently for 5 weeks then I decided to chase up the refund. They said they should have gone to Avanti, who I have never heard of. It took them 2 months, but apparently they sent them direct to them not recorded. 

My question is Avanti are saying they didn't get them, if they don't receive them am I able to take it further with LNER? I would have thought they would have been returned to me or at least emailed over to Avanti. LNER's service and communication has been shocking. 

Any advice would be appreciated thanks/ 

MoneySavingNovice

Where were you going and from where?   That way we can identify the correct company!

davidmcn

MoneySavingNovice said:

Where were you going and from where?   That way we can identify the correct company!

I presume it was Virgin West Coast (the franchise for which was taken over by Avanti).

OP, the problem is really yours for sending the tickets to LNER when it's got nothing to do with them. You can't really hold LNER responsible for the tickets going missing after they tried to be helpful by sending them on to Avanti.

MoneySavingNovice

davidmcn said:

MoneySavingNovice said:

Where were you going and from where?   That way we can identify the correct company!

I presume it was Virgin West Coast (the franchise for which was taken over by Avanti).

OP, the problem is really yours for sending the tickets to LNER when it's got nothing to do with them. You can't really hold LNER responsible for the tickets going missing after they tried to be helpful by sending them on to Avanti.

I'm not sure we know that until the OP actually replies.  If it is West Coast, then you are right in what you say...but there have been instances when LNER have wrongly transfered a claim to Virgin West Coast when it should be them,  hence the question.

cazzzie987

MoneySavingNovice said:

Where were you going and from where?   That way we can identify the correct company!

Newcastle to Edinburgh. Thank You.

cazzzie987

davidmcn said:

MoneySavingNovice said:

Where were you going and from where?   That way we can identify the correct company!

I presume it was Virgin West Coast (the franchise for which was taken over by Avanti).

OP, the problem is really yours for sending the tickets to LNER when it's got nothing to do with them. You can't really hold LNER responsible for the tickets going missing after they tried to be helpful by sending them on to Avanti.

  Never even heard of Avanti. I understand that, but they should have sent it back to me as requested, now i can't track it and i would have sent them signed for and also they can't tell me what address they were sent too! They also took two months to forward them, all in all bad service!

Hasbeen

Op you bought the tickets and sent them back 6 months later before the lockdown started.

Where they advance tickets single for use on one companies trains only? 

When did you request the tickets to be sent back to you from LNER?

Your post did not mention that you had asked them.

EDIT: Perhaps this site can offer further more expert advice.

https://www.railforums.co.uk/forums/fares-advice-policy.105/ 

MoneySavingNovice

cazzzie987 said:

MoneySavingNovice said:

Where were you going and from where?   That way we can identify the correct company!

Newcastle to Edinburgh. Thank You.

Assuming that you are referring Newcastle Upon Tyne you are correct that your claim is with LNER and not Avanti West Coast. 

LNER look over the what was Virgin East Coast which included the route from London Kings Cross to via Newcastle Upon Tyne to Edinburgh,  while Avanti West Coast took over the routes out to London Euston to Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow with others.

My advice would be to ignore the wrong advice given by LNER and get back to LNER and ask that to correctly refund you without further delay.  Inform them that as 2 months have passed since your claim, if they are unable to refund you that should issue a deadlock letter, in order that you can make a complaint to the Railway Ombudsmen.

www.railombudsman.org

A threat to complain to the Railway Ombudsman will normally be enough to get your money back from LNER.  Good luck

silverfairy

Were these tickets bought from LNER ( formerly Virgin East coast till June 2018) own website or bought from Virgin trains site (became Avanti  on 8 Dec 2019) ? As any routes can be bought on most other operator sites.I think refunds have to come back from the point of sale.Friend had to claim refunds from Rail Easy for the same journey, Newcastle to Edinburgh as that was the site they bought from.

cazzzie987

Hasbeen said:

Op you bought the tickets and sent them back 6 months later before the lockdown started.

Where they advance tickets single for use on one companies trains only? 

When did you request the tickets to be sent back to you from LNER?

Your post did not mention that you had asked them.

EDIT: Perhaps this site can offer further more expert advice.

https://www.railforums.co.uk/forums/fares-advice-policy.105/ 

Hi,

Advance tickets bought for single use (that day only)

March 

cazzzie987

silverfairy said:

Were these tickets bought from LNER ( formerly Virgin East coast till June 2018) own website or bought from Virgin trains site (became Avanti  on 8 Dec 2019) ? As any routes can be bought on most other operator sites.I think refunds have to come back from the point of sale.Friend had to claim refunds from Rail Easy for the same journey, Newcastle to Edinburgh as that was the site they bought from.

All it says is virgintrains.com on the email confirmation