Arriva Trains - Do I have grounds to complain?

nobile

After a 10 hour flight, I arrived at a very wet & windy Manchester Airport on Saturday night- and boarded an Arriva Train with my 2 children (9 & 11) to get home.

We had 2 changes to make - and had no problems with the 1st 2 trains. Our final journey (2 hours) was via a bus supplied by Arriva (as stated in our tickets).

However upon arriving at Hereford Station at just after Midnight, myself and 8 other passengers discovered that there was NO bus waiting to pick us up.

Station was now closed...and there was no member of staff to speak to other than the driver/conductor (who were eager to get into their taxis to get home).

It took approx an hour...lots of phone calls and preventing the Arriva staff from going home before taxis arrived to take us home.

The Arriva staff say no bus was ever booked - which explains why no bus arrived to pick us up....

I am still furious - furious at having to wait for an hour in freezing cold conditions with 2 exhausted young children outside in the rain....they returned back to school with colds :mad:

Do I have grounds to complain, or even demand compensation? I also purchased insurance when I bought my tickets online.

Any advice & guidance would be appreciated

dmg24

How much later did you arrive home than stated on your tickets?

RadoJo

What does the insurance cover? What are Arriva Train's terms of service? Most train companies have a sliding scale depending on how long you have to wait which defines the refund you are entitled to, and this might be enhanced by your insurance, depending on the coverage.

helloecho

Absolutely - go for it. Many train companies will offer a rull refund of that portion of the journey (ie. half the cost if it was a return ticket) in rail vouchers for delays of over 2 hours, and you should get the cost of the taxi. Be explicit that the rail replacement bus was NOT in service whatsoever. The insurance may also offer additional compensation. But by all means get onto them... I'd suggest a phone call, as train companies can take weeks to reply to emails.

nobile

Just to clarify some of the points that you have raised.

1) I didnt have to pay for the Taxi - we were told that would be taken care of.

2) We were delayed by about an hour - but the issue is that it was outside in the wet, windy, freezing conditions with 2 kids. Had there been a waiting room, my kids wouldnt have been as distressed (And I wouldnt be so stressed out!)

Remember, we were left outside in an unknown town at Midnight Saturday.

3) Our tickets were quite cheap (approx. £18 total!) - purchased some 2 months back, using a family railcard - so its not really a refund/partial refund I want.

I'll have to read the T&C's of the Insurance - not quite over the jetlag (or anger!!!)

dmg24

Don't worry about thanking me ...

From their Passenger Charter:

We will as a minimum provide compensation for you, to the value of 20% in National Rail travel vouchers for holders of single tickets and 10% if you hold a return ticket if your journey on Arriva Trains Wales is delayed by a period of 30 minutes to one hour. You will receive compensation of 100% for holders of single tickets and 50% in the case of a return ticket if your journey on Arriva Trains Wales is delayed by more than one hour. Compensation will be in National Rail travel vouchers. If you are delayed for more than two hours we will consider increasing the level of compensation.

Sounds like they will give you a National Rail voucher for £9.

Your travel insurance is unlikely to pay out for a one hour delay.

pinkshoes

Not all rail stations have a waiting room, so you shouldn't really expect this, and although 1 hours wait is annoying, it's not SO bad, and at least they provided you with Taxis, which I presume dropped you off on your doorstep rather than the train station?

I've often had to wait over an our at isolated stations for a connection!! (before i bought a car....)

Butlers1982

they returned back to school with colds

Well definately sue them then.:mad: