Flexi-Season Ticket - How to get an 'activated' journey reset if train is cancelled?

Gentoo365

I have a First Great Western Flexible season ticket. The ticket gives 8 journeys and each one is 'activated' as you go though the barriers as you enter the station. Before the barriers there isn't much info on the train status (they just say the time they are due or expected, not if there is a major issue).

So twice I have gone though the barriers and then seen on the platform announcements that the trains are cancelled, with a load of people waiting around. Website saying that the trains 'should be back running by 9:00 which is too late for me to get to the office. So I decided to exit the station and WFH.

The problem is that I have not used those journeys and there does not seem to be any way to 'cancel' them. The only options online are to ask for a refund on the whole flexible season ticket or apply for delay repay. I do not want any of these I just want to be able to use the journey on a different day (so have the 2 unused journeys put back as unused on my flexi season ticket).

The ticket office on the station said they cannot help as the flexible season ticket was bought online. The 'contact us' on the FGW website say that general enquiries may take 4 weeks, but refunds must be requested within 28 days. I want to use the journeys this month. 

Is there any solution to this? or have I just lost those journeys (costing me c£50 each).

In future I will make sure I ask someone if the trains are operating before going though the barriers or check online.

jon81uk

What would you do if it was a standard single or return ticket?
As far as I know the only option is delay repay, you can't just get a refund for the ticket cost. Although I am not sure if going through the barrier really counts as using a ticket or not.
If the ticket is unused then you could apply for a refund as per here Unused ticket refunds | Great Western Railway (gwr.com)
But more likely as you did "use" the ticket then its delay repay and that depends on the length of the delay, but more than 60 minutes should get you 50% of 1/8th of the ticket cost (ie the single journey).
Delay Repay | Great Western Railway (gwr.com)


I've signed up for journey check for my commute so get an email each morning and therefore I know before I leave the house if there are delays. For FGW you sign up here Great Western Railway JourneyCheck - Train times and live real time delay/cancellation/disruption information.

But you can also check here Check Train Journeys | Journey Planner | Great Western Railway (gwr.com) and Live Train Times and Journey Updates | Great Western Railway (gwr.com)

Gentoo365

Thanks.

The issue is that the refund rules seem to apply to the whole '8 ticket monthly pass' and are based on if you don't use some of them. Usual season ticket type rules apply where they work out the cost of what you did use, and if it is less than the ticket you can get a refund 

However I just want to move those 'activated' tickets to a different day in the month. i.e. as I did not actually take a train (due to cancellation and delay) have them re-available.

Maybe the rule is you can't, but that seems unfair and illogical. Especially as you have to pass the barrier and activate to get to the main waiting area, and any ongoing event can turn from 'delay' to 'cancellation'. Also it makes sense that if the trains are all messed up, some people decide to travel on different days (or not travel).

A paper ticket for example can be refunded at the station, or moved to a different day. 

Either way, the bit that annoys me is that they require that all requests as the made in 28 days, but they take 4 weeks to respond to a basic enquiry. So by the time I get an answer from them on how I request it, it may be too late.

Other lesson learned is always buy at a station ticket office so they can help at the station. The online customer service is far too slow.

TBagpuss

It sounds very frustration and it may be worth making a complaint if the staff can't give you the answer.

To prevent it happening again, could you check National Rail Enquiries Live Departure boards for your station before you enter? (https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ldb.aspx) This gives you the same information as is on the station departure boards so would allow you to turn round before going past the barrier.
(Can also be very handy to screenshot for proof of delays or cancellations if you want to make a claim) 

Also - while they don't advertise it, GWR do have a customer service phone line 0345 700 0125. Last time I called it took a while to get through but they were quite helpful when I did, and it may solve the 28 day issue.