Delay Repay if stranded needing a Taxi home?

Roy1234

A week ago I was caught up in the closure of New St station due to a major electrical problem.  From mid afternoon onwards until the end of service, all trains were cancelled.

My daily commute home is long, over 40 miles, and the only coach available was fully booked by the time I discovered the above.  My only option to get home was by a taxi, which after some delay as so many people were suddenly calling them, cost £75.

I think I may be entitled to the cost of a return journey (?) but even that will be less than a third of the taxi I was obliged to take, and for which I have submitted a receipt.  My question is, am I likely to get any extra amount reflecting the fact I was not simply delayed, but rather stranded?

MSE_Laura_F

Hi @Roy1234 , sorry to hear of what sounds like a stressful commute.

It's unlikely you'll be granted compensation for the taxi, but it's always worth trying.

Here's what the MSE train delays guide says about it:

You may struggle to claim for other losses
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/train-delays/#accordion-content-0206044856-9

If I take another form of transport because my train's cancelled, will the train firm pay?
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/train-delays/#0161026348

p00hsticks

Did you attempt to speak to any one at the station or via customer services on the phone about alternatives they were offering ?

Normally in these circumstances they should be laying on replacement bus services or taxis themselves.

You're on a much weaker footing if trying to claim expenses for things you've organised off your own bat - the train companies usually have running contracts with bus and taxi companies so it;s much cheaper for them to organise it all themselves

Roy1234

MSE_Laura_F - Thanks for the links, it does appear I have no automatic right.  I was unsure as a few months back I'd been similarly stranded but on a much smaller scale with last services cancelled from a more local station.  They'd implied that had I been able to prove my taxi cost I might have had something for it, but I couldn't do and so never got to test this vague offer.

p00hsticks - New St station was closed to incomers from mid afternoon onward, and so with a real problem getting home at all I didn't try going there or spending time on saturated phone helplines.  I needed to get home, whilst vast numbers of passengers who'd normally use this busy station were also competing for taxis.  They did not offer any rail replacement bus etc, on the face of it this was quite bad, but I guess they'd say that cancellation of all the trains leaving a major station in an unplanned 8 hour closure window would require more buses/coaches than could ever be obtained.  Which is why I wondered if, given such a catastrophic failure, I might be entitled to my taxi fare.  But I guess I'll have to wait and hope.

jon81uk

Phone your train operator and ask.

Recently I was going home from London, not as far and I did ask station staff "will I be able to claim a taxi if I get to the end of the Underground" and I was told yes.
I got the Uber receipt, called up Greater Anglia, they gave me an email address, I sent a photo of the train ticket and the Uber receipt and I got the £28.40 back as a bank transfer.

Now as you weren't able to ask upfront it might be different, but no harm in phoning them and asking.

yorkie2

Roy1234 said:

A week ago I was caught up in the closure of New St station due to a major electrical problem.  From mid afternoon onwards until the end of service, all trains were cancelled.

My daily commute home is long, over 40 miles, and the only coach available was fully booked by the time I discovered the above.  My only option to get home was by a taxi, which after some delay as so many people were suddenly calling them, cost £75.

I think I may be entitled to the cost of a return journey (?) but even that will be less than a third of the taxi I was obliged to take, and for which I have submitted a receipt.  My question is, am I likely to get any extra amount reflecting the fact I was not simply delayed, but rather stranded?

I would urge people not to book their own taxis and instead insist the train company provides an alternative; this may be a later train, a replacement bus, or taxis. Anyone who books their own taxi may not get the money for that back.

If the train ticket is left unused and you make your own travel arrangements, you can claim a refund on the cost of your ticket.