Greater Anglia refuse to pay taxi fare

Kiko4564

On the 23/09/2022, I got a train from Birmingham to London Euston, intending to travel onto Norwich using a combination of Advance tickets (splitting at Chelmsford), I got the tube onto London Liverpool Street only to find that my train had left without me. I went to the ticket office there and was told to take the next Colchester train and ask the staff to arrange a taxi for me, they said that they couldn't do so as they did not receive a call from Liverpool Street, forcing me to pay my own fare. What recourse do I have?

[Deleted User]

Do you mean you were late for the train i.e. it went on time? Trains don't wait for someone who has a ticket so not sure what you are trying to say here?

onashoestring

Why were you late - did earlier delays in your journey result in you missing the train ? In this case you are entitled to claim delay repay from the train company that caused the delay . 

Voyager2002

Kiko4564 said:

On the 23/09/2022, I got a train from Birmingham to London Euston, intending to travel onto Norwich using a combination of Advance tickets (splitting at Chelmsford), I got the tube onto London Liverpool Street only to find that my train had left without me. I went to the ticket office there and was told to take the next Colchester train and ask the staff to arrange a taxi for me, they said that they couldn't do so as they did not receive a call from Liverpool Street, forcing me to pay my own fare. What recourse do I have?

What was the reason why the ticket office staff at Liverpool Street suggested that a taxi would be provided?

Under normal circumstances, if you miss your train then it is your problem, even if the train you miss is the last one of the day.

dil1976

I have a feeling the staff said, well you can get a train to Colchester then get a taxi. So they were just recommending a way to get to Norwich rather than implying that's what the route is that their ticket will cover

p00hsticks

onashoestring said:

Why were you late - did earlier delays in your journey result in you missing the train ? In this case you are entitled to claim delay repay from the train company that caused the delay . 

would that still apply if, as the OP says, they had split tickets ?

onashoestring

p00hsticks said:

onashoestring said:

Why were you late - did earlier delays in your journey result in you missing the train ? In this case you are entitled to claim delay repay from the train company that caused the delay . 

would that still apply if, as the OP says, they had split tickets ?

Yes if sufficient connection time was allowed between Euston and Liverpool Street - I have read that there is a definitive list of the minimum  connection time that should be allowed between London stations but I have not been able to find it . 

https://v3.trainsplit.com/blog/split-ticketing-delay-repay

outtatune

Was this the last train of the day? Usually if you miss a connection because of a delay in an earlier leg you get the next one and claim compo via delay repay.

daveyjp

Without full journey details, all legs with dates, expected time of service and actual times, it isn't possible to offer meaningful advice.

Kiko4564

Deleted_User said:

Do you mean you were late for the train i.e. it went on time? Trains don't wait for someone who has a ticket so not sure what you are trying to say here?

Correct, I was late for the train despite having caught the first train intended and even arrived at Euston in good time i.e. over 30 minutes, the Tube made me late.onashoestring said:

Why were you late - did earlier delays in your journey result in you missing the train ? In this case you are entitled to claim delay repay from the train company that caused the delay . 

See above. In which case, does that mean that I'm not entitled to claim at all? If so, then can I still claim a 100% refund of my Chelmsford to Norwich ticket given that the member of ticket office staff on duty instructed me to take the Colchester train, get off there, and ask the station staff to book me a taxi, therefore negating the need for a ticket between Chelmsford and Colchester? Meaning that I abandoned my journey instead of waiting for the next train (first thing in the morning) as advised by the station staff at Colchester.Voyager2002 said:

Kiko4564 said:

On the 23/09/2022, I got a train from Birmingham to London Euston, intending to travel onto Norwich using a combination of Advance tickets (splitting at Chelmsford), I got the tube onto London Liverpool Street only to find that my train had left without me. I went to the ticket office there and was told to take the next Colchester train and ask the staff to arrange a taxi for me, they said that they couldn't do so as they did not receive a call from Liverpool Street, forcing me to pay my own fare. What recourse do I have?

What was the reason why the ticket office staff at Liverpool Street suggested that a taxi would be provided?

Under normal circumstances, if you miss your train then it is your problem, even if the train you miss is the last one of the day.

Because they accepted that I missed the train due to circumstances beyond my control i.e. due to problems on the Underground.dil1976 said:

I have a feeling the staff said, well you can get a train to Colchester then get a taxi. So they were just recommending a way to get to Norwich rather than implying that's what the route is that their ticket will cover

Not true, they specifically said to approach the station staff at Colchester and ask them to arrange one free of charge. I felt obliged to travel at least as far as Chelmsford given that I had an Advance ticket which did not permit break of journey as far as there, then another ticket to Norwich, which I felt would've automatically entitled me to road transport home if present. The station staff at Colchester were unable to help and didn't even need to see my tickets, since they made it clear that they wouldn't help me either way i.e. even if I did have Advance tickets.p00hsticks said:

onashoestring said:

Why were you late - did earlier delays in your journey result in you missing the train ? In this case you are entitled to claim delay repay from the train company that caused the delay . 

would that still apply if, as the OP says, they had split tickets ?

I believe so, according to NRCOT and possibly Avanti's Passenger Charter, although I haven't inspected the latter. I have however read the former.onashoestring said:

p00hsticks said:

onashoestring said:

Why were you late - did earlier delays in your journey result in you missing the train ? In this case you are entitled to claim delay repay from the train company that caused the delay . 

would that still apply if, as the OP says, they had split tickets ?

Yes if sufficient connection time was allowed between Euston and Liverpool Street - I have read that there is a definitive list of the minimum  connection time that should be allowed between London stations but I have not been able to find it . 

https://v3.trainsplit.com/blog/split-ticketing-delay-repay

Given that the connection was on my booking itinerary for my ticket from Birmingham New Street to Chelmsford, I would call that a sufficient connection time, especially since I used the tube as prescribed by the ticket. Two things went wrong: my train ran about 15 minutes late, and the Tube went wrong as a result of a signal failure causing further delays.outtatune said:

Was this the last train of the day? Usually if you miss a connection because of a delay in an earlier leg you get the next one and claim compo via delay repay.

Correct. I couldn't be bothered to wait at Colchester all night, nor could I refuse to take the next train since I feared my ticket would expire being an Advance not allowing break of journey. Had I broke my journey at London Liverpool Street without (at least attempting to) abandon my journey and return to Birmingham New Street (which I wasn't willing to do since I don't live there), then my decision would've potentially forced me to make my own way home at my own expense instead of being able to travel.

daveyjp said:

Without full journey details, all legs with dates, expected time of service and actual times, it isn't possible to offer meaningful advice.

On 23/09/2022, I expected to leave Birmingham New Street at 2110 hours, arrive at London Euston at 2240 hours, take the tube from Euston (not Euston Square) to London Liverpool Street via Oxford Circus, wait 17 minutes (so arriving at Liverpool Street at about 2313 hours), board the next Norwich train at 2330 hours, and arrive in Norwich at 0133 hours, from where I intended on getting a minicab home. Instead I arrived at Euston at about 2255 hours, took the next tube to Liverpool Street (via Oxford Circus, not from Euston Square), which ended up stuck for what felt like a good 20 minutes between Euston and Oxford Circus at a Tube station (can't remember the name), ended up at Liverpool Street too late for my train to Norwich, and went to the ticket office where my Chelmsford to Norwich ticket was stamped and I was initially told to wait for the next Norwich train.

When I pointed out that this would be first thing tomorrow and I didn't want to wait until then, the ticket office clerk said something like "oh ****", then went to consult with a Supervisor, who advised that I would need to immediately board the next train to Colchester, and ask the station staff to book me a taxi home, which would be provided at Greater Anglia's expense given that TfL was at fault.

yorkie2

Using a combination of tickets is absolutely fine, but the key issue here is that you did not allow sufficient time to do the transfer from Euston to Liverpool St.

I strongly advise that - unless anyone knows the system inside out - everyone who wants to take advantage of cheaper fares does NOT do their own 'manual' splitting and instead uses an accredited ticket splitting site.

The split ticketing site I use does not charge a booking fee (it passes on around 90% of the savings), offers a free seat selector, a through itinerary which is clear and easy to understand (and makes it absolutely clear what your rights are, so no-one could refuse a taxi, and if they did you could use the evidence to get recompense); where e-tickets are available it will issue all tickets on one PDF document, which is very handy for expenses, delay repay claims etc.

I know some people moan at such sites taking a small cut of the savings and therefore do it all themselves, but then you have to manually check it's a valid itinerary and you are on your own in the event of disputes. It's worth letting split ticket providers retain a small cut of the savings for peace of mind and convenience.