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Douglas IOM - Delay Repay

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egg426

Member
Joined
8 Apr 2007
Messages
12
Location
Guildford
Hi,

I used Raileasy to buy two Chessington North to Douglas economy returns, as this seemed to be the only site that sells it. It gave me reservations for the 0807 from Euston to Liverpool, for last Friday (27/5). It was due in at 1015 to connect with the 1115 ferry.

The train arrived late at 1056, but the train manager said we would still be fine if we took a taxi. We made it to check-in at 1105, only to be refused and watch the ship sit there for another 10 minutes. The ferry staff went to book us onto the next one at 1900, but warned that we may be charged, and that we would have to give them our outward train tickets, which we needed to claim for the now 7h45 delay.

Back at Lime Street station, the staff at the Virgin information point said that they needed the original tickets when submitting a delay repay form, and that we had to try and persuade the ferry company to accept photocopies. They also said that one hour is not a valid connection between the train and the ferry, so we were technically only delayed by 41 minutes.

In the end, we managed to hold onto our tickets and get onto the next ferry free of charge, but now I need to persuade Virgin to refund the tickets. I can't find any official mention of the required transfer time, though I read on here recently that it was 45 minutes if using the bus or 30 minutes by taxi.

If it is longer than one hour, why did Raileasy book us onto the 0807? Why is there not more coordination, with both companies requiring my tickets?

Many thanks
 
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Solent&Wessex

Established Member
Joined
9 Jul 2009
Messages
2,747
Hi,

I used Raileasy to buy two Chessington North to Douglas economy returns, as this seemed to be the only site that sells it. It gave me reservations for the 0807 from Euston to Liverpool, for last Friday (27/5). It was due in at 1015 to connect with the 1115 ferry.

The train arrived late at 1056, but the train manager said we would still be fine if we took a taxi. We made it to check-in at 1105, only to be refused and watch the ship sit there for another 10 minutes. The ferry staff went to book us onto the next one at 1900, but warned that we may be charged, and that we would have to give them our outward train tickets, which we needed to claim for the now 7h45 delay.

Back at Lime Street station, the staff at the Virgin information point said that they needed the original tickets when submitting a delay repay form, and that we had to try and persuade the ferry company to accept photocopies. They also said that one hour is not a valid connection between the train and the ferry, so we were technically only delayed by 41 minutes.

In the end, we managed to hold onto our tickets and get onto the next ferry free of charge, but now I need to persuade Virgin to refund the tickets. I can't find any official mention of the required transfer time, though I read on here recently that it was 45 minutes if using the bus or 30 minutes by taxi.

If it is longer than one hour, why did Raileasy book us onto the 0807? Why is there not more coordination, with both companies requiring my tickets?

Many thanks

Mmm, this is bit of a tricky one. The section about the IOM in the Fares Manual says that passengers should allow 30 minutes to transfer by taxi or 45 minutes to transfer by bus between Lime Street and Liverpool Landing stage. This sounds about right. However, earlier on in the year I know the Steam Packet were going from Birkenhead instead. If this is still the case I think longer timescales should be allowed to get to Birkenhead, and then get to the boarding point. The rail journey planner information appears not to have reflected the change in boarding point for the boat - at least it certainly hadn't earlier in the year when I did it. This is probably where the problem lies.

Now, each "Rail Link" service where through ticketing is available is the responsibility of a TOC - in this case Virgin Trains. Virgin are then responsible for ensuring the information contained in the timetables, documents etc is accurate. The journey planner is STILL showing Liverpool Landing Stage as the boarding point, so if the Steam Packet are using Birkenhead still, then I suspect Virgin are at fault for not updating the timetables to allow enough time. Based on the original journey, the ticket sold by Raileasy would be a valid connection however whether the connection time is calculated back from boat departure time or check in closing time is unclear. The information given by Virgin at Lime St that 1 hour is not enough is not what is shown in The Manual.

 

egg426

Member
Joined
8 Apr 2007
Messages
12
Location
Guildford
The ferries are all leaving from Liverpool Landing Stage at the moment. Another snag is that you are meant to be at check-in 25 minutes before departure, so that leaves just 35 minutes for the actual journey. I wasn't sure if the 45 minutes refers to this journey or the time between the train arriving and the ferry departing.
 

sonic2009

Established Member
Joined
19 Jan 2010
Messages
5,048
Location
Crewe
I'd argue that it shows it on NRE that the 0807 is a valid connection, maybe contact raileasy also and chase this it up with them.
 
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