ian959
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On what grounds?
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Eurostar left us stranded at St Pancras {24/10/15)....
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On what grounds?
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VauxhallandI
Established Member
That they didn't receive the service they paid for?
Received a email back saying they have refunded the £170 taxi fare back to my card. Will check today. Also said they will offer me 50% off a return journey, maybe they want to leave me stranded in another country this time.
Then they say there was a misunderstanding someone at the station contacted us instead of you etc, why there was a delay in responding. Which is not true again. No explanation why the train manager misinformed or why the control room would not help. Or how this situation occurred.
I have emailed back asking all this.
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Paid by credit card.
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Gray1404 has provided good advice, it doesn't mean I will be following what he says. But he has tried to help. It's good to have different views.
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Valid point they didn't get me back to Leicester. I didn't get what I paid for. Not including what they did in between.
Then they say there was a misunderstanding someone at the station contacted us instead of you etc, why there was a delay in responding. Which is not true again. No explanation why the train manager misinformed or why the control room would not help. Or how this situation occurred.
I have emailed back asking all this.
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Paid by credit card.
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Gray1404 has provided good advice, it doesn't mean I will be following what he says. But he has tried to help. It's good to have different views.
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Valid point they didn't get me back to Leicester. I didn't get what I paid for. Not including what they did in between.
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I think thats an unfair remark. While I appreciate that Eurostar have not behaved well in this affair, I think you should accept what has been a genuine attempt by them to make amends both by refunding your taxi fare and as a gesture of goodwill providing you with 50% off a return journey. If I were you I would just leave it at that.
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I don't think it's an unfair comment to make. I know what we experienced in that cold station. They have not at all tried to sort this out, I have been doing everything. We just didn't get delayed we got dumped at the station at night, I waited before I posted on this forum. It's only with the help of people on this forum I carried on. How can I trust them after what they did. I know my custom is nothing to them but considering it was something serious why didn't they give a contact number to discuss it with someone in a senior position.
Like someone said earlier if it was the other way round. They would have me in court by now. I will keep updating like I said so this can maybe help someone else in future.
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StarCrossing
Member
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Do Eurostar have a history of taking passengers to court? What offences are they typically charged with?
I'm glad you got your money back. It doesn't sound good if "control" (whatever that means) were still there but refused to help. Were there many other passengers in the same situation?
No I don't know, I was just giving an example, that if it was the other way round. The Eurostar control room at St Pancras. We were the only family there.
I agree that Eurostar haven't handled your situation well - neither on the day nor in their subsequent dealing with you. I think that you are doing the right thing in seeking to speak with someone senior in their customer services department - if only to help them understand how the situation impacted you and to avoid it happening again in the future.
That said, I think that you have to bear some responsibility too. As an adult travelling by myself I try my best to avoid last connections of the day since one late train means that I'm out of options. If I was travelling with young children there is no way I would even consider it - even if it meant losing out on part of a day's holiday.
Secondly, travel insurance is incredibly cheap and covers you in the event of missed connections (as long as you were on time). I haven't heard any mention of insurance in any of your posts so far.
StarCrossing
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Thanks for the reply. I realised that's what it was. I guess I was wondering who exactly was in there and what powers they had to help you. Of course we'll probably never know. Good luck!
But most (cheap) policies only give a token cover where you can provide evidence of the reason for the delay. My current policy covers
I have highlighted the only possible option; even then the OP wasn't delayed by 12 hours because they caught a taxi at their own expense.
My policy also covers missed departure of a journey to or from the UK. It doesn't cover a missed connection on arrival because that would be treated as delay.
Thanks for the reply. I do understand your second paragraph and it may help some parents when deciding to book holidays etc if they have been reading this thread.
But I don't agree with it. I did everything I could considering I was travelling with children, we were going to arrive at st pancras at 21:00. I purchased civ tickets in case we miss a connection. If we hadn't been told by Eurostar that they would assist at Lille, or the train manager saying they were trains still running. We would have arranged something in France. We had a rest day Sunday And back too school on Monday. Also I double checked the timings with the train manager and also the time we were arriving in Leicester, and make sure that there was another train after too.
I would never imagine that the train manager would do this.
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Can you give some examples of insurance companies whose policies would cover the OPs circumstances please. I am sure they would be of interest to a good few on here.
Thanks. Colleagues of the control room said he could have done a lot.
Okay, I accept that you did what you could do. I still wouldn't personally have been aiming for a 21:00 connection with children, but you know your kids better than I ever could.
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I don't have the policy details to hand, but my last set of travel insurance (through Allianz) offered up to £500 towards accommodation if delayed for six hours or more, and (I think) £200 towards 'catching up' costs if there was a missed connection. It was a couple of years ago so the current cover may be different.
If you ask if I would do it again. No I would not.
In all big businesses that employ lots of people, at times this will fall down. As will a rail service which relies on lots of external factors to ensure that they can run their trains on the rails. This time it fell down for you and wasn't handled well. I think they have done well in offering you what they have. Given the issues that E* are facing at the moment with people on the French side of the tunnel causing issues this may have led to you not being dealt with in a timely fashion both on the night and via your complaint.
Have you in court how? For not making your train? Please don't get dragged down to other posters obsession with complaining and compensation and the press. From experience its pretty hard to board a UK/Europe bound E* without the correct ticket so all of that is just bluster from other posters.
You can probably look up E* performance and I am sure that its not as bad as you have experienced so take the discount and have a nice weekend in Brussels with your family(but don't leave it late to come back) I'm sure your next experience wont be as bad. And Brussels is beautiful
Thanks for the reply. I could understand the above if I was delayed but I wasn't. And they have not paid the taxi fare back like they said they would. Nightmare this. Will update when I have more news.
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gray1404
Established Member
OK so Eurostar have refunded the taxi fare. Was your actual booked Eurostar train cancelled or was it merely delayed? How late were you arriving back at your final destination?
I ask this because I have had a look at Eurostar's compensation policy here: http://eurostarhelp.force.com/faq/u...ion-policy-in-case-of-delays-or-cancellations
You will see on the table on the website that there are differing compensation amounts depending on the length of the delay: -
Length of delay E-voucher value
60-119 minutes 50% of the value of the affected ticket
120-179 minutes 100% of the value of the affected ticket
180-239 minutes 150% of the value of the affected ticket
240 minutes or more 200% of the value of the affected ticket
Train was cancelled and you travelled on a later train 100% of the value of the affected ticket
E-vouchers are issued in the same currency you used to pay for your ticket.
I am wondering if you are actually due more compensation then what you have been given. I know they have said 50% of your next return journey, but if your current trip is anything to go by, I am wondering if you might be due more as detailed above as an e voucher?
I ask this because I have had a look at Eurostar's compensation policy here: http://eurostarhelp.force.com/faq/u...ion-policy-in-case-of-delays-or-cancellations
You will see on the table on the website that there are differing compensation amounts depending on the length of the delay: -
Length of delay E-voucher value
60-119 minutes 50% of the value of the affected ticket
120-179 minutes 100% of the value of the affected ticket
180-239 minutes 150% of the value of the affected ticket
240 minutes or more 200% of the value of the affected ticket
Train was cancelled and you travelled on a later train 100% of the value of the affected ticket
E-vouchers are issued in the same currency you used to pay for your ticket.
I am wondering if you are actually due more compensation then what you have been given. I know they have said 50% of your next return journey, but if your current trip is anything to go by, I am wondering if you might be due more as detailed above as an e voucher?
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It can take up to 5 working days for a refund to be credited to your account/credit card.
bb21
Emeritus Moderator
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Very good point. It is worth submitting a claim for this journey I think as the delay would have been over 2 hours most definitely.
I think Clip made a good point about this being a one-off and not to blow things out of proportion, however I was actually wondering that considering the gravity of the situation (the passengers being left to fend for themselves despite having a through booking, and potentially stranded had they not got £170 on them), whether additional compensation would be due. By that I mean over and above the refund of a proportion of the fare paid. Of course there is no guarantee that they would entertain such a request, but if you don't ask, you don't get.
While this matter may very well be a one-off, I think fundamentally Eurostar failed in their duty of care towards the OP and her family. Sometimes mistakes have consequences, and I don't think it can get much worse under normal circumstances than a passenger getting stranded. I don't entertain the idea that the train manager lied. Why would he do so? I am interested in why control did nothing to help them, but not being there myself meant that I don't really know what was said at the time.
I don't think requesting additional compensation is unreasonable in this case, although be very clear what you are after and be realistic, and if their offer matches your expectation, don't then inflate the price which some people have done before. Whichever way you look it, there were some serious failings on that day and if they refuse to issue additional compensation, it might be a good case to take to the passenger bodies.
Journey was delayed, was due back in Leicester at 23:27, Didn't arrive till 4:30am, 5 hours delayed. On top of that what happened.
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Thanks to gray1404 have been looking into this. They must have changed the compensation this week because when I booked my tickets and when the incident happend, This is the compensation charter......
Discounted / complimentary travel*
Partial refund (PRR)**
Delays upon arrival of 60-119 minutes
Free one-way journey, or 50% discount on a return journey
OR
25% if your original booking was one-way, or 12.5% of the total fare if your original journey was a return
Delays upon arrival of 120-299 minutes
Free return journey
OR
50% if your original booking was one-way, or 25% of the total fare if your original journey was a return
Delays upon arrival of over 300 minutes
Free return journey, plus a refund of the leg if the delayed journey was a one-way or 50% of the total if it was a return
That's what I have been saying all along Eurostar have not taken this incident seriously, then they don't even offer me the minimum compensation that I am entitled to.
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Sometimes you have to do things you perhaps don't like. When my son was very young and we were flying to Sweden, we had to take care to book the most appropriate flight to take into account travel time to the airport and from the airport, fitting around sleeping times, feeding etc.
Even now he's 3 and a half, he still needs to go to bed pretty early but sometimes it's just not possible or feasible - and the only alternative is not to travel.
Cost is a factor. The best flights are often the most expensive, thus you have to force yourself up at an ungodly hour to make a trip affordable, or get a late flight back with the inconvenience of arriving home very late, or even in the small hours.
You still assume that if things go wrong, you'll be given some sort of assistance. I guess you could say that you should have your own 'plan B' but sometimes even that doesn't work out, like trying to book a hotel and discovering that a major event means they're all sold out or silly money.
Not everyone has a credit card, or can afford to write that money off when the transport operator says the bill you're asking to be paid is not reasonable.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Kids are resilient and will generally fall asleep anywhere, so it's not really something I'd worry too much about. Slightly older kids would probably see it as an adventure while the adults faff about and get stressed.
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Sitting up all night in a railway station or airport is an unpleasant experience but is not going to kill anybody.
Write it off no, but one is very ill-advised to travel internationally without any access to a couple of hundred quid of emergency funds (or more if taking a long-haul flight). Watch any airport programme and you see those people who don't getting caught out time after time. If you can't afford that (and aren't willing to take the cheaper option of camping out in the station or airport or similar if it comes to it, as well as leaving a LOT of leeway on all your connections), you can't afford the trip.
Should you be left stranded? Of course not, but it's the real world, and sometimes it is necessary to pay up and sort it out later.
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Hence why you should have a plan B, but how far you can go depends on a number of factors that we can't even begin to discuss here.
I'd shove everything on a card and be okay, I'm sure. But I wouldn't look down on those who end up trying to sleep in an airport or railway station and say 'hey, you should have planned for this'.
Clearly if something happened that affected, say, the whole train then you'd be even more stuck trying to book a room or get taxis.
And St Pancras might be open 24 hours (as is the Starbucks and possibly one of the Costa coffees) but I am not sure I'd much like to try and sleep there to be honest. Chances are staff might also seek to move you along too.
I'd shove everything on a card and be okay, I'm sure. But I wouldn't look down on those who end up trying to sleep in an airport or railway station and say 'hey, you should have planned for this'.
Clearly if something happened that affected, say, the whole train then you'd be even more stuck trying to book a room or get taxis.
And St Pancras might be open 24 hours (as is the Starbucks and possibly one of the Costa coffees) but I am not sure I'd much like to try and sleep there to be honest. Chances are staff might also seek to move you along too.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
I think the point is that those who have decided[1] not to put in place backup arrangements shouldn't get too upset if they do have to sleep (or sit up all night) in a railway station or airport, rather than that people shouldn't make choices according to their budget and resilience. For example I certainly put far more resilience into organising a Scout trip then I do organising one for myself.
[1] It is a decision, because if it is unaffordable to do so there is the option of deciding not to make the journey.
But then some people wouldn't be able to travel, which seems a bit unfair.
I know life is unfair, but you would expect not to be left stranded and have to organise anything (at your own expense, even if able to claim back later) in such a situation as this.
It's sadly not unheard of for people to be left stranded, as staff have gone home or just gone out of sight, late at night just when people possibly need their attention most.
I'm talking about more than Eurostar here, of course.
I paid for a service and paid good money for it. If the Train manager (not used this word before) had not lied to us we would have made arrangements before we got to St Pancras.
I informed Eurostar staff at Lille we need assistance also the Train manager. We were lied to. At no time since this incident have I been given an explanation. Like a poster above said in big organisations things can go wrong. That's fine. So as a big organisation you would make sure this would not happen again, you would explain what went wrong and what is being put in place to avoid situations like this again. Ie. It could be once the control room get notified of a situation like this again they would have a procedure in place as there is always someone in the control room, even when trains are not running.
So its not about if you can't afford a plan b don't travel etc. And maybe read Eurostar's customer charter which made me at the time of booking feel like I would be safe and in good hands.
I informed Eurostar staff at Lille we need assistance also the Train manager. We were lied to. At no time since this incident have I been given an explanation. Like a poster above said in big organisations things can go wrong. That's fine. So as a big organisation you would make sure this would not happen again, you would explain what went wrong and what is being put in place to avoid situations like this again. Ie. It could be once the control room get notified of a situation like this again they would have a procedure in place as there is always someone in the control room, even when trains are not running.
So its not about if you can't afford a plan b don't travel etc. And maybe read Eurostar's customer charter which made me at the time of booking feel like I would be safe and in good hands.
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gray1404
Established Member
I would submit an online claim for an e voucher. The information on the site implies the voucher will be issued in 5 minutes.
Also, I would write to the credit card company and dispute the charge made by Eurostar, bearing in mind that for transactions over £100, the credit card company is joinly liable. I would dispute it on the basis you did not receive the service that you paid for. That you were left stranded and had to abandon your journey. i.e. ditch the train and had no choice but to get a taxi.
You could also write a forma complaint to Eurostar or take it to Passenger Focus (although you may decide not to do this if you are able to receive a evoucher for the full value of the fare).
Also, I would write to the credit card company and dispute the charge made by Eurostar, bearing in mind that for transactions over £100, the credit card company is joinly liable. I would dispute it on the basis you did not receive the service that you paid for. That you were left stranded and had to abandon your journey. i.e. ditch the train and had no choice but to get a taxi.
You could also write a forma complaint to Eurostar or take it to Passenger Focus (although you may decide not to do this if you are able to receive a evoucher for the full value of the fare).
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Ideally, and my posts do not intend to excuse Eurostar's failures. But an important life lesson is never, ever to rely on anybody else doing what they said they would for your final backup plan. Always ensure it is as much within your control as possible.
As for affording to travel, many people can't afford the ticket price, let alone contingency. But I am firmly of the view that if, on the spot, you can't find[1] a means of sorting out a problem where nobody can help you, and you aren't willing to take the hit of a night (or more) in a station or airport, you can't afford to travel.
Ryanair are a classic here. If you can't afford to be told "flight's cancelled, next one's in a week", don't choose the weekly destinations or ensure you have a means of paying for food and accommodation even if that involves claiming it back (either from Ryanair or your insurance) later.
It shouldn't be like that, but it is, and one must plan to deal with bad things that happen in life whether they are right or wrong.
[1] It might involve borrowing on a credit card, say, but the point is that it exists.
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LeylandLen
Member
Just a quick question for poster Satmann .. was the taxi that took you to Leicester a Black cab or a mini-cab ? Its just that I would have thought TOCs like Eurostar would have a permanent agreement with a taxi company on standby to take people home as required after delays such as yours ? The taxi driver would charge Eurostar direct instead of charging the passenger? Can you now pay London taxi fares by card now? (As you can guess I am not a user of taxis up here in Lancashire)
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