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Advised train cancelled due to strike action but it appears to have ran - no refund.

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Korkyb
Korkyb Posts: 634 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
edited 6 August 2021 at 10:56PM in Public transport & cycling
Hi all

My daughter and a few friends traveled by train from Aberdeen to Edinburgh for the weekend 16th to the 18th July. Tickets were bought on the Scotrail Website.

While they were in Edinburgh they heard that the trains back to Aberdeen on Sunday might be affected by Scotrail strike action.

They phoned National Rail Enquiries on 0345 7114141 and were advised that their train wasn't running and that there were no other trains that they could get home on but that they could claim a refund retrospectively. They were told that they would have to find an alternative route home. (evidence of this call being made is on her mobile).

They therefore booked the last few seats on a bus to get back home. (a journey home which took almost twice as long as the train would have).


My daughter (who had bought the tickets) followed the (Scotrail) refund process and today received an email reply saying that the train she was booked on was a "Cross Country" train as opposed to Scotrail and therefore was not affected by strike action and actually did in fact run.

I've checked Raildar and from what I can see the train does look as if it did run (1813hrs Edinburgh to Aberdeen on 18th July).

I'm just wondering if she has any comeback with regards the financial loss she and her friends have incurred.

I can appreciate that the strike action probably caused a fair amount of confusion about what services were running but it seems unfair that a customer who has acted reasonably should be out of pocket.

Thanks for any advice!



Was it really "everybody" that was Kung Fu fighting ???

Comments

  • Just a suggestion but go to train station next time and ask, National Rail might well be unaware of all the details.

    Unless you can prove that NRE specifically told them that there was no train running then you'd have to accept the hit.
  • MalMonroe
    MalMonroe Posts: 5,783 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 8 August 2021 at 6:03PM
    I don't think your daughter and friends will be entitled to any refund from Scotrail because instead of phoning National Rail they could have just checked the Scotrail website which actually has a section called 'check your journey'. Or even phoned Scotrail, where the tickets were issued.

    https://www.scotrail.co.uk/plan-your-journey/check-your-journey

    Presumably all the information was on the website on the day and, as the train was running, it wasn't Scotrail's fault so they won't make any refunds. 

    She could try getting a refund from National Rail enquiries, if she can prove the content of the phone call she made to that number. If it wasn't recorded, I don't think they will refund either. 
    Please note - taken from the Forum Rules and amended for my own personal use (with thanks) : It is up to you to investigate, check, double-check and check yet again before you make any decisions or take any action based on any information you glean from any of my posts. Although I do carry out careful research before posting and never intend to mislead or supply out-of-date or incorrect information, please do not rely 100% on what you are reading. Verify everything in order to protect yourself as you are responsible for any action you consequently take.
  • MalMonroe
    MalMonroe Posts: 5,783 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Just a suggestion but go to train station next time and ask, National Rail might well be unaware of all the details.

    Unless you can prove that NRE specifically told them that there was no train running then you'd have to accept the hit.
    No need to even go to the station, just go to the appropriate website. 

    However, you WOULD really expect National Rail to have full details, given the name. 
    Please note - taken from the Forum Rules and amended for my own personal use (with thanks) : It is up to you to investigate, check, double-check and check yet again before you make any decisions or take any action based on any information you glean from any of my posts. Although I do carry out careful research before posting and never intend to mislead or supply out-of-date or incorrect information, please do not rely 100% on what you are reading. Verify everything in order to protect yourself as you are responsible for any action you consequently take.
  • yorkie2
    yorkie2 Posts: 1,595 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    NRE is a very poor service; it's run by operatives who are generally not based in the UK and don't really understand the UK railway network.

    Next time I'd ask the relevant train company directly (or ask at a staffed railway station)
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0 Newbie
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    edited 8 August 2021 at 10:21PM
    MalMonroe said:
    Just a suggestion but go to train station next time and ask, National Rail might well be unaware of all the details.

    Unless you can prove that NRE specifically told them that there was no train running then you'd have to accept the hit.
    No need to even go to the station, just go to the appropriate website. 

    However, you WOULD really expect National Rail to have full details, given the name. 

    Appropriate website not being Scotrail, given the service wasn't run by Scotrail which it would make clear on the ticket.
  • Korkyb
    Korkyb Posts: 634 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    edited 9 August 2021 at 6:32PM
    Thanks all

    I should have said that I actually checked the website the morning that they were due to travel & that indicated that the service / train was not running.

    Of course I didn't take a screenshot which would have been useful with hindsight.
    Was it really "everybody" that was Kung Fu fighting ???
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