National Rail / Cross Country refusing a refund of train tickets purchased < 24 hours ago

RockandGrohl

Hi guys,

Had a mix up with flight arrival times back to the UK and looks like I cannot get a train back from the airport as I arrive late on Sunday evening on Feb 5th.

The tickets I booked are for 7pm, and there's no trains available after I arrive back in the country.

I tried to get a refund as now I have to drive to the airport, but it's looking like because I bought an "advanced ticket" I am totally unable to receive a refund. I've rang some customer support lines and it's just not available. They said it's "in the terms and conditions", which are of course buried in a separate link and not presented to you in clear terms upon booking.

What can I do here to get my money back? The customer support reps are standing firm, they will not allow me to receive a refund. Surely this contravenes some Sale of Goods act? Thank you.

Wonka_2

Depending on the train company and the specific ticket type there's a fair chance that an 'advance ticket' is non-refundable but it depends on the small print of the specific ticket/operating company and whether you bought it direct of via Trainline.com (or similar)

Even if non-refundable there's a chance you could change the date/time for a much smaller fee or, in the current climate of strikes/cancellations keep hold of it and hope the train doesn't run so you can claim a full refund

RockandGrohl

Wonka_2 said:

Depending on the train company and the specific ticket type there's a fair chance that an 'advance ticket' is non-refundable but it depends on the small print of the specific ticket/operating company and whether you bought it direct of via Trainline.com (or similar)

Even if non-refundable there's a chance you could change the date/time for a much smaller fee or, in the current climate of strikes/cancellations keep hold of it and hope the train doesn't run so you can claim a full refund

Thanks!

I'm looking again at the T&C's and I think I've spotted an error.

It doesn't actually state tickets are non-refundable:

https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/terms-and-conditions

There's lots of provisions for various aspects of travel that is non-refundable, but there actually aren't any entries stating that people who buy Advanced Tickets aren't entitled to a refund, look:

CrossCountry Advance Ticket Offer Terms and Conditions for Tesco Colleague Benefit Scheme

5. Advance train tickets are booked for a specific date and service. Advance train fares are valid only on the date and train shown on the ticket and are non-refundable.

This is the only reference to advanced train fares being non-refundable, but the Terms & Conditions as of today's date state they are for Tesco Colleague Benefit Scheme - there are no general provisions for the public.

RockandGrohl

There is a link to terms & conditions being set by Trainline, however that then states:

"trainline is therefore not responsible for any delays, cancellations, or other disruptions to train services and we do not set any of the terms and conditions, including eligibility for refunds, of the various ticket types."

Wonka_2

RockandGrohl said:

There is a link to terms & conditions being set by Trainline, however that then states:

"trainline is therefore not responsible for any delays, cancellations, or other disruptions to train services and we do not set any of the terms and conditions, including eligibility for refunds, of the various ticket types."

But as you book on the Trainline site it tells you the T&C of each ticket type before you accept/purchase i.e. which train company, permissable routes and whether refundable/amendable

MSE_James

The basic idea behind advance tickets on railways in Britain is that you trade flexibility (including the right to a fee-free refund if you no longer wish to travel on the booked train) for a lower price.  

RockandGrohl

MSE_James said:

The basic idea behind advance tickets on railways in Britain is that you trade flexibility (including the right to a fee-free refund if you no longer wish to travel on the booked train) for a lower price.  

Perhaps, but this isn't stated anywhere on the purchasing pages, neither on the T&C's that they provide you.

Wonka_2

RockandGrohl said:

MSE_James said:

The basic idea behind advance tickets on railways in Britain is that you trade flexibility (including the right to a fee-free refund if you no longer wish to travel on the booked train) for a lower price.  

Perhaps, but this isn't stated anywhere on the purchasing pages, neither on the T&C's that they provide you.

But as per my comment above it's stated clearly before accepting to purchase the ticket. Given that there are a plethora of ticket types across TOC's all with their own specific T&C's it's unreasonable to expect that there is a summary of all available to view.

If you do a dummy ticket purchase you'll see the T&C's of the individual ticket chosen before clicking 'Buy' - this allows you to choose the appropriate ticket type for your needs

echo82

Perhaps, but this isn't stated anywhere on the purchasing pages, neither on the T&C's that they provide you.

It is I'm afraid. I've just done a couple of random journey searches on the Trainline, and when you select a ticket, under the continue button, there is an obvious "Advance Single" box, the first line reads "Specified train only. No refunds".

Clicking through to seating preferences has a link to "View ticket conditions" which states the same thing - this is also repeated on the delivery screen.

The payment screen also has a link stating you agree to Trainline's T&Cs and the carrier's conditions of carriage. Clicking the link to The Trainline T&Cs state (section 7.2) "If your ticket is changeable, but not refundable (e.g. Advance Tickets)", and clicking the carrier's conditions of carriage links through to the National Conditions of Travel which also clearly state Advance tickets are non-refundable.

CrossCountry's website uses the trainline interface, so works exactly the same. Not tried it on the app, but I'd be amazed if it didn't work the same way.

RockandGrohl

Wonka_2 said:

RockandGrohl said:

There is a link to terms & conditions being set by Trainline, however that then states:

"trainline is therefore not responsible for any delays, cancellations, or other disruptions to train services and we do not set any of the terms and conditions, including eligibility for refunds, of the various ticket types."

But as you book on the Trainline site it tells you the T&C of each ticket type before you accept/purchase i.e. which train company, permissable routes and whether refundable/amendable

I didn't purchase on the Trainline site. I purchased on National Rail, who then directed me to Cross Country, which is where the purchase was made. On the Cross Country site where the purchase is made, there is no mention of this. It links you to the T&C's, which do not apply to me.

RockandGrohl

Wonka_2 said:

RockandGrohl said:

MSE_James said:

The basic idea behind advance tickets on railways in Britain is that you trade flexibility (including the right to a fee-free refund if you no longer wish to travel on the booked train) for a lower price.  

Perhaps, but this isn't stated anywhere on the purchasing pages, neither on the T&C's that they provide you.

But as per my comment above it's stated clearly before accepting to purchase the ticket. Given that there are a plethora of ticket types across TOC's all with their own specific T&C's it's unreasonable to expect that there is a summary of all available to view.

If you do a dummy ticket purchase you'll see the T&C's of the individual ticket chosen before clicking 'Buy' - this allows you to choose the appropriate ticket type for your needs

But it's not. This is the T&C's on the purchasing page. This should give you the T&C's for the ticket you are purchasing. On that link "Our T&C's" the only provision it makes for stating this type of ticket is non-refundable is for people who purchased under some Tesco employee scheme. I did not purchase under this scheme, therefore the tickets are not applicable to me. If they wished to state this they could've done so in Section 5 of the General T&C's, but there is no mention there of refundability.