Refund on unused tickets

[farleigh]

Apologies for a simple question but I am struggling.

Went to Bexhill station to catch the train to Hastings around 18:30 on Saturday 27th August.

Bought 4 x Adult Single @ £3.80 each.

There was disruption and we had a table booked in Hastings so we took a taxi instead. The ticket office was closed.

Went to obtain a refund today but the Ticket Office said they could not give a refund and we should apply for Delay Repay. I am not sure this is correct.

I looked for the train on Real Time Trains but it said there were no departures around 1800 from Bexhill on Saturday.

I am not sure if I am making a simple mistake but I would be grateful for any help.

Thanks in advance

 

[miklcct]

The ticket office has again given you an incorrect advice.

As there was a disruption and you couldn't travel, you should contact the original retailer for a fee-free refund.

 

[Benjwri]

I looked for the train on Real Time Trains but it said there were no departures around 1800 from Bexhill on Saturday.

RealTimeTrains seems to have had some kind of issue there. Other sources, such as Open Train Times, show the service ran but 33 minutes late, although not applicable here. You did the right thing in going to the ticket office, delay repay is only for if you travelled on your ticket, and you should've been given a full refund according to Southern's Website:

If you bought a single or return ticket from us and you don’t use it because your train is cancelled or delayed, you can return the unused ticket to us for a full refund. We won’t charge you any administration fee.

The only thing I can think of is that the member of staff you talked to thought you used the ticket. I would try again and make sure they know the tickets are unused, or if you don't want to go to the ticket office use their online refund form.

 

[farleigh]

Thank you both for your help.

I revisited Bexhill train station and there was a different member of staff who was happy to provide a refund with no quibbles.

Sorry to put you both to trouble but I doubted myself as the first member of staff was adamant that I could have a refund but there would be an admin fee. I did mention what had happened to the second member of staff and he said it was probably because the ticket machine was not working this morning.

Anyway - problem solved. Thanks again

 

[AlterEgo]

Sorry to put you both to trouble but I doubted myself as the first member of staff was adamant that I could have a refund but there would be an admin fee. I did mention what had happened to the second member of staff and he said it was probably because the ticket machine was not working this morning.

Sheer laziness and appalling service. Totally incorrect of them to suggest applying for delay repay when you told them clearly you didn’t travel; this can get you into big trouble. If the machine was broken then they should just told you so. And of course the admin fee stuff is just nonsense.

This does not even meet the minimum of my very low expectation of what a ticket office should do.

 

[farleigh]

Sheer laziness and appalling service. Totally incorrect of them to suggest applying for delay repay when you told them clearly you didn’t travel; this can get you into big trouble. If the machine was broken then they should just told you so. And of course the admin fee stuff is just nonsense.

This does not even meet the minimum of my very low expectation of what a ticket office should do.

Thank you for your comments AE.

I was sure he was wrong but then started to doubt myself. When you say it can get you into big trouble, presumably that would be because the Delay Repay claim could be considered fraudulent.