Cancelled train - ticket not accepted on alt route

Terz

Hoping someone can help point me to the best way to make a claim from Avanti. Delay Repay doesn't work for having had to buy a new ticket with a different operator.

Purchased ticket - advance single standard premium 28/1 13:30 Euston - Glasgow Central (due 18:00)

Due to weather issues on 27/1 it was v busy on 28/1 but my train was scheduled. It left at 14:00 but 10 minutes out stopped due to a fatality on the line ahead.  Train returned to Euston arriving around 15:10.

At Euston told several times (on train, at Assisted lounge, by Avanti and station staff) that all trains for rest of the day were to be cancelled.  Only option to get to Glasgow was go to Kings X and get train to Edinburgh changing to a train to Glasgow from there.  I was told my ticket should be accepted. 

Got a taxi to Kings X (I have a disability and had assistance booked as I use crutches and can't walk far).  On arrival at Kings X checked at LNER ticket counter to be told ticket was NOT accepted and he'd had loads of people asking same and told them all the same. 

I bought a new ticket Kings X - Edinburgh earliest possible train was 16:30. Thankfully assistance was rebooked and the lady helping me confirmed that LNER had not been accepting tickets from Avanti as there were so many delays and cancellations everywhere.

On arrival in Edinburgh I booked train Edinburgh - Glasgow 21:45 was earliest possible.

Finally arrived at Glasgow Queen St at 22:51.  Taxi driver from Glasgow home told me he'd had several passengers who had travelled up changing route as I had done and some had been able to use Avanti ticket, some we're told, like me, that it wasn't accepted.  All had been given a bus replacement service from Edinburgh to Glasgow.  Clearly information was poor and inconsistent at Euston and LNER.

Delay Repay only lets me claim for my Avanti tickets so how do I try and claim for the new journey I had to book and pay for separately?  I'm thinking maybe it will need to be in writing? The complaints form on Avanti doesn't have a category for this, just things like cleanliness of train, complaint about staff, etc.

Any help with where/how to start a claim would be welcome!

daveyjp

I assume the dates should be 27/12 and 28/12?

Train operating companies don't have to accept other operators tickets.

This isn't a delay repay claim.

For the Avanti ticket you need to claim a full refund from the retailer you bought the ticket from as the journey was abandoned.

Mark_d

Avanti should give you a full refund for the cancelled service.  That's the end of their responsibility.  I don't think it can reasonably be expected that they'll additionally pay for a replacement journey.

Terz

daveyjp said:

I assume the dates should be 27/12 and 28/12?

Train operating companies don't have to accept other operators tickets.

This isn't a delay repay claim.

For the Avanti ticket you need to claim a full refund from the retailer you bought the ticket from as the journey was abandoned.

The dates I gave for travel (28/1) and weather adding issues to travel (27/1) are correct in my post.

I bought my ticket from Avanti - but I didn't abandon the service they told us to get off the train and that nothing would run at all and we would have to find another way home. They also told us to go to Kings X and then transfer at Edinburgh - as stated in my post.

I booked a couple of months ago to get a cheaper ticket and paid a lot more to buy a ticket on the day - do Avanti not have any responsibility for my extra costs of getting home?  Some people didn't have to pay anything extra to take the route I did but it cost me a lot of money which doesn't seem fair.

lincroft1710

Terz said:

daveyjp said:

I assume the dates should be 27/12 and 28/12?

Train operating companies don't have to accept other operators tickets.

This isn't a delay repay claim.

For the Avanti ticket you need to claim a full refund from the retailer you bought the ticket from as the journey was abandoned.

The dates I gave for travel (28/1) and weather adding issues to travel (27/1) are correct in my post.

So was your journey in January 2023?

Terz

Mark_d said:

Avanti should give you a full refund for the cancelled service.  That's the end of their responsibility.  I don't think it can reasonably be expected that they'll additionally pay for a replacement journey.

I don't expect to travel for free - I do expect my extra cost to be covered though.  As I mentioned in my other reply I booked a couple of months in advance and ended up paying last minute prices. It's quite a jump in cost.  Especially as some people didn't pay a penny extra and were even provided with a bus replacement service from Edinburgh to Glasgow I would expect Avanti to do something for me.

I was also told at both Euston and Kings X that if I hadn't been able to travel home same day that Avanti would have been required to put me in a hotel at their cost.  This info came from station staff at both stations, Avanti staff and LNER staff.

If they do that why wouldn't they cover my extra cost to get home same day which was much cheaper than any London hotel?

Terz

lincroft1710 said:

Terz said:

daveyjp said:

I assume the dates should be 27/12 and 28/12?

Train operating companies don't have to accept other operators tickets.

This isn't a delay repay claim.

For the Avanti ticket you need to claim a full refund from the retailer you bought the ticket from as the journey was abandoned.

The dates I gave for travel (28/1) and weather adding issues to travel (27/1) are correct in my post.

So was your journey in January 2023?

Dammit the date correction was right!  December 27th and 28th.  I'm so busy trying to prep for Hogmanay I missed that.

Terz

daveyjp said:

I assume the dates should be 27/12 and 28/12?

Train operating companies don't have to accept other operators tickets.

This isn't a delay repay claim.

For the Avanti ticket you need to claim a full refund from the retailer you bought the ticket from as the journey was abandoned.

Lincroft1710 just pointed out it was the month you were correcting not the day!  I missed that and you are right it was 27th and 28th December and not January.

lincroft1710

Terz said:

Mark_d said:

Avanti should give you a full refund for the cancelled service.  That's the end of their responsibility.  I don't think it can reasonably be expected that they'll additionally pay for a replacement journey.

I don't expect to travel for free - I do expect my extra cost to be covered though.  As I mentioned in my other reply I booked a couple of months in advance and ended up paying last minute prices. It's quite a jump in cost.  Especially as some people didn't pay a penny extra and were even provided with a bus replacement service from Edinburgh to Glasgow I would expect Avanti to do something for me.

I was also told at both Euston and Kings X that if I hadn't been able to travel home same day that Avanti would have been required to put me in a hotel at their cost.  This info came from station staff at both stations, Avanti staff and LNER staff.

If they do that why wouldn't they cover my extra cost to get home same day which was much cheaper than any London hotel?

As you chose not to use the alternatives Avanti were able to provide, I think you will find they have no liability for the extra costs you incurred in making your own way home.

Terz

lincroft1710 said:

Terz said:

Mark_d said:

Avanti should give you a full refund for the cancelled service.  That's the end of their responsibility.  I don't think it can reasonably be expected that they'll additionally pay for a replacement journey.

I don't expect to travel for free - I do expect my extra cost to be covered though.  As I mentioned in my other reply I booked a couple of months in advance and ended up paying last minute prices. It's quite a jump in cost.  Especially as some people didn't pay a penny extra and were even provided with a bus replacement service from Edinburgh to Glasgow I would expect Avanti to do something for me.

I was also told at both Euston and Kings X that if I hadn't been able to travel home same day that Avanti would have been required to put me in a hotel at their cost.  This info came from station staff at both stations, Avanti staff and LNER staff.

If they do that why wouldn't they cover my extra cost to get home same day which was much cheaper than any London hotel?

As you chose not to use the alternatives Avanti were able to provide, I think you will find they have no liability for the extra costs you incurred in making your own way home.

I'm not sure where you get the idea I chose not to use the alternatives Avanti provided!  

I did exactly as Avanti told me to. They were explicit that they were not providing any service themselves and that I should make my way to Kings X and take a train to Edinburgh then on to Glasgow from there.  Nothing I did was not what they suggested except I didn't walk or take the underground from Euston to Kings X but took a taxi instead.

amanda1024

From Avanti’s website:

“Under the Consumer Rights Act, you may be able to claim extra compensation if you incur costs as a result of our failure to provide the expected service. 

If you think this applies to you, please get in touch with our Customer Resolutions Centre and tell us what happened so we can look into it. We examine each claim on a case-by-case basis and aim to get back to you within 20 working days.”

This sounds like a situation where you’d *potentially* have a case so I’d suggest contacting them on the link above and explaining everything that happened, including what you were told by Avanti staff and receipts from the extra tickets you had to buy.