SWR not having Refunds.

[TrainTube]

I bought an anytime travelcard for fare zones 1-6 from Berrylands at 17:50 costing £18.10. My train to London was cancelled meaning I couldn't travel at all so I was forced to abandon the trip. My stations Ticket office was closed the day after so I checked online. I applied for a refund, sent proof that I bought the ticket and waited. Its been 12 days since and no reply. I recently went into Surbiton ticket office asking for a refund, and the woman at the till was pretty much useless, just handed me a card with the email on saying you had to go to the station on the day. I told her that the ticket office was closed and she just didn't give any answer. What should I do???

 

[ainsworth74]

To be honest as it's only been twelve days then I'd wait at least another few weeks before chasing it. TOCs can at least three to four weeks (others much much longer) to reply to correspondence.

 

[ainsworth74]

I believe that you can only get a refund from a ticket office if it's the same ticket office as the ticket was bought from and, I think, if you apply for that refund as soon as you become aware of an issue that causes you to abandon your journey.

 

[maniacmartin]

I believe that you can only get a refund from a ticket office if it's the same ticket office as the ticket was bought from and, I think, if you apply for that refund as soon as you become aware of an issue that causes you to abandon your journey.

The NRCoT is actually much more lenient about when you claim in this situation:

30.1. If the train you intended to use is cancelled, delayed, or your reservation will not be honoured, and you decide not to travel, you may return the unused Ticket to the original retailer or Train Company from whom it was purchased, where you will be given a full refund with no administration fee being charged.

This Condition applies to all Tickets, including Tickets (such as advance Tickets) that are otherwise non-refundable, and also applies if you have begun your journey but are unable to complete it due to delay or cancellations and return to your point of origin.

30.2. When applying for a refund under this Condition you will need to state the date, time and station where you would otherwise have started your journey from. You must write to the Train Company to notify them of your claim within 28 days of the date that you intended to travel.

 

[ainsworth74]

The NRCoT is actually much more lenient about when you claim in this situation:

I agree in regards to writing in to get a refund but I'm not sure about actually getting a refund from a ticket office as the NRCoT aren't 100% clear on timescales in the situation of getting the refund from a ticket office:

30.4. Where you have bought the Ticket from a Ticket office immediately before you intended to travel, you should be able to get this refund straight away by the same means with which you paid, from the Ticket office where you bought your Ticket.

You could certainly read that as meaning that at any time you can get a refund from the same ticket office you bought it from but equally it could also be read the way that I've always treated it (you should ask the ticket office the ticket was bought from as soon as you're aware of the issue).

But 100% you have twenty-eight days to write into the retailer to get a refund that's unarguable.

 

[londonbridge]

I believe that you can only get a refund from a ticket office if it's the same ticket office as the ticket was bought from.

Not necessairily. I was doing agency work on a night shift at Gatwick and was using a weekly Gatwick-zones 5/6 travelcard. The ticket expired on Monday so after finishing my shift on Monday morning, at Gatwick I bought a new ticket to run from the following day, so I had the old ticket to travel in on Monday night and the new one to come home on Tuesday morning. Went home, went to bed, later in the day I was woken by a phone call from the agency saying the client no longer needed me to go in for the remainder of the week. Went to my local station, explained the situation and was given a full refund-at this point of course it was still Monday so the ticket obviously hadn't been used.

 

[ainsworth74]

There is, of course, room for the rules to be one way and for helpful staff to act in another

 

[6Gman]

I believe that you can only get a refund from a ticket office if it's the same ticket office as the ticket was bought from and, I think, if you apply for that refund as soon as you become aware of an issue that causes you to abandon your journey.

On the only recent occasion I've needed a refund after abandoning a journey I was told it had to be from the same ticket machine!

Which was particularly annoying since that particular booking clerk was in the middle of issuing a complex ticket linked to an equally complex railcard. So I had to wait the thick end of 20 minutes!

 

[Kite159]

And why buy the anytime travelcard when the off-peak travelcard would do? (Buying at 17:50)

 

[TrainTube]

And why buy the anytime travelcard when the off-peak travelcard would do? (Buying at 17:50)

I thought off peak ends after 1750?!

 

[Kite159]

I thought off peak ends after 1750?!

Off-peak travelcards are valid from 09:30 to 04:29(?) the following morning, there is no evening peak restrictions for journeys solely within the zones

 

[TrainTube]

Off-peak travelcards are valid from 09:30 to 04:29(?) the following morning, there is no evening peak restrictions for journeys solely within the zones

My bad, I always thought there was evening peak from 1630 to 1900. Still of peak would have cost more than a tenner.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

My bad, I always thought there was evening peak from 1630 to 1900. Still of peak would have cost more than a tenner.

Some Oyster journeys are charged at the peak rate if you tap in between 16:00 and 19:00. And numerous Off-Peak Day or Off-Peak Period tickets have evening peak restrictions out of London. But Off-Peak Travelcards are only not valid between 04:30 and 09:29.