TrainPal Price Match Promise rejected

[nbhgarcia]

Good day everyone! I am new here and found this forum because I wanted to try TrainPal's Price Match Promise but has been repeatedly rejected.

I booked a London Victoria to Eastbourne for 2 adults using Two Together Railcard on 2nd November 2025 (Sunday) 21:46 - 23:25 via TrainPal. At first this ticket costed 10.28 GBP. For some reason, after paying for this, it didn't show up among my upcoming bookings. So upon asking customer support, they said that it was cancelled and I was due a refund through my credit card.

When I attempted to book the same ride, it was now 12.90 GBP! But still went ahead to book it.

Then upon check yet again after a few minutes or less than an hour, price went back to 10.28 GBP. To which the customer support basically said, they cannot do anything about it.

Upon checking Southern App, they offered the same tickets for 10.60 GBP. I tried submitting the screenshot of this to TrainPal's Price Match claim tab but I always receive this reply from them

"
Dear customer,

Thank you very much for your Price Match Promise submission.

We have reviewed the documents you submitted to support your request. However, we regret to inform you that we are unable to approve your claim for the following reason(s):

- Different sites, must be consistent with the original order [need to inform the pax the correct site, PC, App]


Trainpal works hard to always offer the most competitive prices, and we stand by our Price Match Promise. However, for a claim to be valid under this promise, it must comply with all relevant terms and conditions. You can find more information on the App."

What am I doing wrong? I don't understand their reply that much.

 

[hexagon789]

Good day everyone! I am new here and found this forum because I wanted to try TrainPal's Price Match Promise but has been repeatedly rejected.

I booked a London Victoria to Eastbourne for 2 adults using Two Together Railcard on 2nd November 2025 (Sunday) 21:46 - 23:25 via TrainPal. At first this ticket costed 10.28 GBP. For some reason, after paying for this, it didn't show up among my upcoming bookings. So upon asking customer support, they said that it was cancelled and I was due a refund through my credit card.

When I attempted to book the same ride, it was now 12.90 GBP! But still went ahead to book it.

Then upon check yet again after a few minutes or less than an hour, price went back to 10.28 GBP. To which the customer support basically said, they cannot do anything about it.

Upon checking Southern App, they offered the same tickets for 10.60 GBP. I tried submitting the screenshot of this to TrainPal's Price Match claim tab but I always receive this reply from them

"
Dear customer,

Thank you very much for your Price Match Promise submission.

We have reviewed the documents you submitted to support your request. However, we regret to inform you that we are unable to approve your claim for the following reason(s):

- Different sites, must be consistent with the original order [need to inform the pax the correct site, PC, App]


Trainpal works hard to always offer the most competitive prices, and we stand by our Price Match Promise. However, for a claim to be valid under this promise, it must comply with all relevant terms and conditions. You can find more information on the App."

What am I doing wrong? I don't understand their reply that much.

I wouldn't be so sure you are doing anything wrong, you may find this thread enlightening reading:

Dubious TrainPal adverts

Trainpal seems to be blanketing Social Media with various dubious adverts dressed up as "secret hacks" or "top tip" type videos whilst using accounts which, from their account name, appear to have no connection to TrainPal (but clearly must do). The tips and hacks are often themselves somewhat...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[MrJeeves]

I thought Trainpal also had their price drop promise, where they'll refund the difference if your tickets drop in price between when you order and when you travel. They claim they do this automatically.

Do they not, in fact, actually do this? Shock horror.

Price Hunter Terms and Conditions

1. For UK train bookings, if Price Hunter detects a price drop, it will automatically exchange your tickets and refund the difference. For EU train bookings, Price Hunter will alert you to any price drops before your departure date. After your trip, you can manually claim the price difference on the booking details page. Please note that the price difference is available for 15 days and cannot be claimed after this period.

2. The price difference will be refunded to the original payment method used for the booking.

3. Price Hunter is only currently supported for trains in the UK and Italy.

4. Price Hunter cannot be used for bookings that have been changed or refunded.

5. Price Hunter cannot be used for additional services such as bicycles and insurance that have been booked.

6. Price Hunter cannot be used for split ticket bookings on Italy trains.

7. Price Hunter will stop monitoring UK train bookings for price changes 15 minutes before departure.

8. The total amount of ticket price reductions that can be monitored and refunded through Price Hunter is limited each day, and is on a first-come, first-served basis.

9. Price Hunter is enabled by default for users. If you want to disable it, you can do so on the feature introduction page.

10. For UK train bookings, Price Hunter may change your ticket's Aztec code or seat number. Please double-check these details to ensure your travel plans are not affected.

11. You'll also receive a refund if there's a price drop due to a sale by the train operating company (TOC).

12. After booking on the TrainPal app and until the day your train is scheduled to depart, we automatically check the price of your exact train on TrainPal once every 24 hours.

 

[Merseysider]

Trainpal are such an unreliable outfit that they're actually banned from being promoted / advertised etc on Reddit.

You are also welcome to view their 1.6 star rating on Trustpilot.

In other words, enjoy watching Hell freeze over before they provide decent customer service.

 

[Mark J]

Trainpal are such an unreliable outfit that they're actually banned from being promoted / advertised etc on Reddit.

You are also welcome to view their 1.6 star rating on Trustpilot.

In other words, enjoy watching Hell freeze over before they provide decent customer service.

If Trainpal are as bad as made out, then how come they haven't had their licence/permissions to sell UK rail tickets revoked?

Surely all resellers of UK Train tickets have to follow some kind of code of conduct.

I agree that Trainpal is an utter Circus of an App.

However, if people are being routinely ripped off, then some kind of action can surely be taken against them.

 

[Watershed]

If Trainpal are as bad as made out, then how come they haven't had their licence/permissions to sell UK rail tickets revoked?

Surely all resellers of UK Train tickets have to follow some kind of code of conduct.

I agree that Trainpal is an utter Circus of an App.

However, if people are being routinely ripped off, then some kind of action can surely be taken against them.

The industry accreditation body, RDG, is only really interested in the technical side of things, for example ensuring correct accounting - i.e. that the TOCs receive the right amount for ticket sales and refunds, and that industry sales conditions are upheld (e.g. Advances generally not being refundable). They take very little interest in anything beyond that, such as advertising or customer service levels.

The industry advertising 'regulation' body, ASA, gives the appearance of regulating adverts but compliance is effectively optional, especially for foreign companies.

 

[redreni]

If Trainpal are as bad as made out, then how come they haven't had their licence/permissions to sell UK rail tickets revoked?

Surely all resellers of UK Train tickets have to follow some kind of code of conduct.

I agree that Trainpal is an utter Circus of an App.

However, if people are being routinely ripped off, then some kind of action can surely be taken against them.

The industry accreditation body, RDG, is only really interested in the technical side of things, for example ensuring correct accounting - i.e. that the TOCs receive the right amount for ticket sales and refunds, and that industry sales conditions are upheld (e.g. Advances generally not being refundable). They take very little interest in anything beyond that, such as advertising or customer service levels.

The industry advertising 'regulation' body, ASA, gives the appearance of regulating adverts but compliance is effectively optional, especially for foreign companies.

Hence my point that this sort of thing should lessen confidence not only in the retailer concerned, but in the accreditation body as well. Although, in my case, I'm not sure that's possible.

 

[Haywain]

Hence my point that this sort of thing should lessen confidence not only in the retailer concerned, but in the accreditation body as well.

Outside of this forum and a relatively small number of people in the rail industry, I doubt many people have any idea about accreditation or the accreditation body. Therefore they will be unable to reduce their confidence in that body.