Clarification on refund/compensation for cancelled train

fatboyslick

I recently had to catch a later train as the one I was booked on was cancelled.

This naturally meant I arrived at my destination a good hour later than I should have. When I tried to claim for this I wasn’t able to. 

Essentially the train provider was saying that because I agreed to travel and the train I did catch wasn’t late, I didn’t qualify.

While I agree I chose to travel but due to the cancellation I arrived much later than my original train was supposed….surely this qualifies as being late??!

Wonka_2

Did you buy direct from train company - and single journey/ticket ? If so what happens if you do an online DelayRepay claim ? Surely that will recognise the original ticket time/cancellation/subsequent late arrival ? 

fatboyslick

Hi

It was a return ticket via Trainline. And it was Avanti.

The cancelled trains do not show up automatically and you have to manually input it but they respond to say that if you have travelled on a different train, you can only claim  compensation for the train you actually travelled on 

Wyndham

I think you have to make the claim for the train you should have travelled on, rather than the one you actually did. Can you do that through delay repay? Stick with 'I couldn't travel on this train' rather than adding any information about when you actually did travel.

Avanti refunds are really bad - it's almost like they don't want to pay out! Good luck, and do let us know how you get on.

MSE_James

The issue here might be if the train was cancelled on the day, or whether the cancellation was known in advance

Wonka_2

fatboyslick said:

Hi

It was a return ticket via Trainline. And it was Avanti.

The cancelled trains do not show up automatically and you have to manually input it but they respond to say that if you have travelled on a different train, you can only claim  compensation for the train you actually travelled on 

Ok - my experiences are with LNER/GWR and it’s always been easy whether cancellation/missed connection/genuine delay - good luck and hope others can give good advice 

Veteransaver

Generally as long as you bought the ticket before the cancelled trains scheduled departure, delay repay should honour the claim.
You can also claim if you have a season ticket, you just have to declare that the train you intended to catch was cancelled. 

MilesT6060842

Personally I just try and avoid Avanti as much as possible, to reduce the need to make delay claims.

Many of the possible journeys you might want to make on Avanti are also possible on LNWR/WMR (same company) although a bit longer with changes (and may need to use XC for some legs, and XC also have some reliability issues). Research what other operators are available for the journey and make your choice.

LNWR/WMR also tends to be a bit cheaper in my experience, especially for trips booked later, and also has some better split ticket opportunities. It's better to make the second leg (outbound) of a split a time/operator flexible ticket (ditto first leg return). 

Wyndham

MilesT6060842 said:

Personally I just try and avoid Avanti as much as possible, to reduce the need to make delay claims.

Many of the possible journeys you might want to make on Avanti are also possible on LNWR/WMR (same company) although a bit longer with changes (and may need to use XC for some legs, and XC also have some reliability issues). Research what other operators are available for the journey and make your choice.

LNWR/WMR also tends to be a bit cheaper in my experience, especially for trips booked later, and also has some better split ticket opportunities. It's better to make the second leg (outbound) of a split a time/operator flexible ticket (ditto first leg return). 

Depends where you are - if you want to get from the North West to Scotland, it's either Avanti or Transpennine - and they are nearly as bad, unfortunately!

MSE_James

Veteransaver said:

Generally as long as you bought the ticket before the cancelled trains scheduled departure, delay repay should honour the claim.

The rail industry now has a concept of 'published timetable of the day' which is what is scheduled as of 10pm the night before.  I suspect that's why the OP can't find their train in the system.