Appealing a Thameslink Delay - Repay claim

[WesternLancer]

Hi all - anyone know how to do this - i can't find info on their website ref Appeals and the auto reply they sent me rejecting my claim only has an option for re-submitting the claim on the basis I submitted the wrong train info (I didn't).

Tried to claim for part of a longer journey (thus quite expensive) as the T-Link leg delayed at St Pancras on eve of 15 Sept southbound to Brighton (I was seeking to get the 19.50 St Pancras to Brighton)

On arriving at the platform it was clear much thameslink disruption at that time 19.40 onwards, and info screens were a moveable feast. I got the first southbound I could to Gatwick and waited there for the next train south to Brighton (1W32 Gatwick Express)

Thameslink claim a late running earlier T-Link train arrived at St P that I could have got on and arrived in Brighton only 2 minutes late. But there was no such train (or if there was I think it was terminated at Three Bridges in any case)

So there was no such train available to me and I want to appeal on this basis - but not clear how you do this on the T-Link D-R website....

For context this is what T-Link say (must be automated as reply came within c5 mins of claim being made by me)

our records show that the delay was 2 minutes. This is below the minimum threshold that entitles you to Delay Repay compensation. We used the following information to calculate your delay: ........ The intended leg from 19:50 LONDON ST PANCRAS, scheduled to arrive at BRIGHTON at 21:13 could not be taken because the train was cancelled. The alternative leg from 19:30 LONDON ST PANCRAS left 34 minutes late, scheduled to arrive at BRIGHTON at 20:48, arrived 27 minutes late. Total journey delay: 2 minutes.

This alternative leg mentioned was not shown on any info screens at St P or at Gatwick that I could see so the option to travel on it was not one I was aware of, and I am not convinced the service ran. Had I followed the info on screens I think I would have been even later at Brighton than the 28 mins late I am claiming for and thus would be owed a higher D-R sum!

 

[Hadders]

IIRC if you resubmit the claim a free text box opens up where you can add an explanation of what happened.

 

[WesternLancer]

IIRC if you resubmit the claim a free text box opens up where you can add an explanation of what happened.

Thanks Hadders, that was what I expected but when I did that (resubmitted claim) I saw no free text box...

I will try again (really time consuming process - taken me longer to grapple with than the actual delay incurred!)

 

[MrJeeves]

Thanks Hadders, that was what I expected but when I did that (resubmitted claim) I saw no free text box...

I will try again (really time consuming process - taken me longer to grapple with than the actual delay incurred!)

Your best bet is to resubmit the claim, then DM them on Twitter with your full name, email, old claim ID and the new claim ID and they can pass on any comments you have to the delay repay team for consideration in your claim.

I've done this a number of times, typically when I've claimed on keyGo and then they say I have no ticket!

 

[WesternLancer]

Your best bet is to resubmit the claim, then DM them on Twitter with your full name, email, old claim ID and the new claim ID and they can pass on any comments you have to the delay repay team for consideration in your claim.

I've done this a number of times, typically when I've claimed on keyGo and then they say I have no ticket!

Thanks - I don't use Twitter as it happens, but I could follow this advice but contact them via their customer service on line contact point (tho I see even that is designed to force you down categories of complaint that this will not fall into....)

I'm annoyed that had I stayed on the T-link train I was on, and changed into or waited for the next one from St P - I'd have been at least a further 3 mins later at destination and then into a higher compensation tier.

I am convinced that T-Link were turning back Brighton destination trains at Three Bridges that evening in order to get services back on schedule, around the time I was travelling, yet they are telling me a service ran through to Brighton that I saw no evidence of, because if I had seen it I'd have been happy to travel on it.

Does anyone have access to any running info for that evening on the Brighton line that may show what actually did run?

 

[MrJeeves]

Would RTT not show it?

Edit: ah, from too long ago. http://timetablehistory.com/ should show it though

 

[elaine66]

if I'm reading it right, they ran it fast from London Bridge to Brighton, so it didn't stop at Gatwick.

 

[WesternLancer]

Would RTT not show it?

Thanks - it was 15 sept and that is now not showing on RTT now - I made my own log of the trains I caught from RTT the next day (this was quite tricky as a lot of delayed stuff was going south and then seemed to get destination stopped short whilst en route so actually being 100% sure of the train I got was not simple), but I didn't make a log of a train I didn't catch, and did not appear to encounter, as you can imagine.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Sep 2023 ==

if I'm reading it right, they ran it fast from London Bridge to Brighton, so it didn't stop at Gatwick.

Interesting - maybe that is an explanation. Thanks for linking to that info

But down on the platform screens at St P (where I was by 19.35 IIRC) they do not show departures that far ahead for me to know one was coming at 20.04 (only shows the next 3 or 4 trains due in) nor were there any announcements to say passengers for Brighton should remain on the platform for a later non stop train, so I acted on instinct to get the 1st southbound train on the Brighton line - which was one to 3 Bridges - to a logical interchange point, either East Croydon or Gatwick and I opted for changing at Gatwick once I was on board.

I thought I was taking steps to get to my destination faster! Unless they were going to give information to advise passengers on what to do how would I have known there was a better option. I wonder if they would refuse an appeal based on the fact I should have had some 6th sense to await an unadvertised fast train skipping all scheduled stops.

 

[35B]

Thanks - it was 15 sept and that is now not showing on RTT now - I made my own log of the trains I caught from RTT the next day (this was quite tricky as a lot of delayed stuff was going south and then seemed to get destination stopped short whilst en route so actually being 100% sure of the train I got was not simple), but I didn't make a log of a train I didn't catch, and did not appear to encounter, as you can imagine.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Sep 2023 ==


Interesting - maybe that is an explanation. Thanks for linking to that info

But down on the platform screens at St P (where I was by 19.35 IIRC) they do not show departures that far ahead for me to know one was coming at 20.04 (only shows the next 3 or 4 trains due in) nor were there any announcements to say passengers for Brighton should remain on the platform for a later non stop train, so I acted on instinct to get the 1st southbound train on the Brighton line - which was one to 3 Bridges - to a logical interchange point, either East Croydon or Gatwick and I opted for changing at Gatwick once I was on board.

I thought I was taking steps to get to my destination faster! Unless they were going to give information to advise passengers on what to do how would I have known there was a better option. I wonder if they would refuse an appeal based on the fact I should have had some 6th sense to await an unadvertised fast train skipping all scheduled stops.

As the link from @elaine66 shows it didn't stop at East Croydon either, it's hard to see what else you could have done.

 

[WesternLancer]

As the link from @elaine66 shows it didn't stop at East Croydon either, it's hard to see what else you could have done.

Yes, thanks - exactly - if I had known what they had planned I'd have waited for that train, but in the context of the disruption apparent to me what I did seemed the obvious thing to do.

Really frustrating that T-Link D-R interface makes no mention of Appeals (so presumably intentionally leads people to think they don't exist), and provides a less than ideal customer service interface to raise matters. This can not be unintentional.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Sep 2023 ==

IIRC if you resubmit the claim a free text box opens up where you can add an explanation of what happened.

Hi - just done a second resubmission (there were 2 of us travelling so this is for the second person's claim) and no free text box on the 'resubmit claim' section and I looked carefully (apart from the box where they ask for your original claim ref number so they can be matched which you type the number into) so with no ability to explain 'my side of what happened to cause me a delay' it's hard to see how the re-submit claim process will generate a different outcome to the original claim. However, I note from my T-Link D-R account page (which unhelpfully does not show your claim reference number, that is only on the e-mail acknowledgment of the claim!) that the re-submits are classed as 'referred' so assume not going back for immediate auto decision.

However, hard to know who anyone it is referred to can make a decision on it without any ability to tell them what the issue is.

It's a very poorly designed process, completely non customer friendly, pretty unintuitive also even for a basic claim.

I guess I need to see how these 2 resubmitted claim play out before raising it with customer services.

 

[WesternLancer]

UPDATE 5 Oct 2023
Just been e-mailed by Thameslink to say my claim (or 2 claims as 2 of use travelling together) has been approved - which is good.

Interesting, as this was via the 'Resubmit claim' process without any ability for me to add further explanatory information, but I assume that the case has been reviewed and perhaps someone has felt, on the balance of probabilities, that I was indeed late as I stated in my claim.

I have been paid for delay of 28 mins which was what I claimed. This is a satisfactory outcome.

Had I needed to Appeal further I was intending to do so via customer services as could not see any route to do so via the Delay Repay claim process (although it is possible had I had a 2nd rejection the e-mail might have explained any further options I had and how to pursue them).

Thanks to all up thread who had offered advice and useful links which is much appreciated.