Refund refused on GroupSave - Slightly Unfair.

[Flash20]

Can anyone advise me. On Sunday 9th August I intended to purchase a return GroupSave ticket online for travel that day; On purchasing the ticket I had realised I had only got a GroupSave single. Realising the errors of my way I subsequently purchased a return ticket for the same journey. With no ticket office being open at the time of travel, I intended to make a claim for a refund when I returned later that evening - this I did. Today I received notification that I would not be eligible for a refund as this would have to be done by 23:59 the previous evening. As I didn't possess the ticket then I am unsure where I stand. The wrong ticket was a Groupsave Single and the correct one was a GroupSave return. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Haywain]

You stand exactly where the revised refund rules intend you to stand. All you can do is appeal to the better nature of the retailer and hope for the best because you have no entitlement to a refund under industry rules.

 

[Watershed]

You are still entitled to a refund on or after the day of travel if there are "exceptional circumstances" and it can be shown the ticket wasn't used.

Accidentally buying the wrong ticket and subsequently buying the correct ticket as a replacement might count as "exceptional circumstances" but I admit that it is not entirely clear-cut.

If the retailer in question won't provide a refund then you have to consider whether it is worth taking further.

For future reference, retailers are allowed to offer refunds within 15 minutes of purchase if you buy your ticket on the day of travel. Not every retailer is choosing to offer that flexibility but I know that several are. If you notice a mistake within that time it is worthwhile requesting a refund quickly to maximise the chances of getting one.

 

[Flash20]

Thanks for the reply. The difference between realising what I had done and purchasing the new ticket was four minutes.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Thanks for the reply. The difference between realising what I had done and purchasing the new ticket was four minutes.

What was the time-gap, between buying a GroupSave Single, to your realising it was a Single not a Return?

Post 1, you told us:
"Sunday 9th August I intended to purchase a return GroupSave ticket online."
And:
"With no ticket office being open at the time of travel, I intended to make a claim for a refund when I returned later that evening".
So your claim, for refund of your inadvertently-bought Single ticket, was much longer than the nominal 15 minute grace-period.
Was there a particular reaaon you didn't try to claim a refund through the online seller?

 

[Tetchytyke]

With no ticket office being open at the time of travel, I intended to make a claim for a refund when I returned later that evening - this I did.

The difference between realising what I had done and purchasing the new ticket was four minutes.

The question is when you asked for the refund. If you had asked for the refund immediately you may have benefitted from a grace period. As you did not, you did not. The rules are that you can only a refund a ticket up until 23.59 on the day before travel, unless there are extenuating circumstances.

You will need to go back to the retailer explaining exactly what happened and request that they exercise their discretion to allow a refund. They may do, they may not.

My only other observation is that you are still entitled to a refund if your train was delayed or cancelled and you chose not to travel because of that delay or cancellation.

 

[Haywain]

My only other observation is that you are still entitled to a refund if your train was delayed or cancelled and you chose not to travel because of that delay or cancellation.

Having bought another ticket and then travelled, it would not be advisable for the OP to attempt to obtain a refund on that basis.

 

[Flash20]

Thanks for your advice. The rules look a little ambiguous, if you buy a ticket on the day of travel how can you ask for a refund the day before?

 

[Haywain]

Thanks for your advice. The rules look a little ambiguous, if you buy a ticket on the day of travel how can you ask for a refund the day before?

Many online retailers offer an option to correct a purchasing error within 15 minutes on the day of purchase, but not subsequently.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Thanks for your advice. The rules look a little ambiguous, if you buy a ticket on the day of travel how can you ask for a refund the day before?

You can't. Apart from extenuating circumstances and if applicable the grace period, tickets bought on the day of travel are not refundable. Most retailers do seem to make this clear.

 

[Flash20]

I would have been more than happy to upgrade the single to a return but online there was no option.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I would have been more than happy to upgrade the single to a return but online there was no option.

Refunding it via the 15 minutes grace (assuming your retailer offered it) and rebooking would be the way to fix this error for free - generally grace period refunds are fee free. Some booking offices will do that excess but it's not one you're entitled to.

 

[Haywain]

I would have been more than happy to upgrade the single to a return but online there was no option.

There was no option because the recognised way of doing it is what is generally termed as 'refund and rebook'. Unfortunately, you appear to have only done the second half of that.

 

[Flash20]

No booking office was available, no offer from the retailer to do this.

 

[Bletchleyite]

No booking office was available, no offer from the retailer to do this.

Which retailer was it?

 

[Haywain]

No booking office was available,

The booking office would not have been able to refund tickets bought online. We can't comment on the retailer without knowing which retailer it was.

 

[Flash20]

GWR

 

[Bletchleyite]

It doesn't appear from reading their website that GWR offer a grace period. Maybe worth switching to a retailer that does e.g. the Forum site.

 

[Haywain]

It doesn't appear from reading their website that GWR offer a grace period.

I agree - if they do it is far from obvious.

 

[yorkie]

Can anyone advise me. On Sunday 9th August I intended to purchase a return GroupSave ticket online for travel that day; On purchasing the ticket I had realised I had only got a GroupSave single. Realising the errors of my way I subsequently purchased a return ticket for the same journey. With no ticket office being open at the time of travel, I intended to make a claim for a refund when I returned later that evening - this I did. Today I received notification that I would not be eligible for a refund as this would have to be done by 23:59 the previous evening. As I didn't possess the ticket then I am unsure where I stand. The wrong ticket was a Groupsave Single and the correct one was a GroupSave return. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the reply. The difference between realising what I had done and purchasing the new ticket was four minutes.

If you had bought it through the forum's ticketing site (or Trainsplit itself or any of the other brands of Traisnplit), it would have allowed a refund within that time window.

Did GWR not allow that? If so, this is mean-spirited of them, and I would suggest you consider using an alternative retailer in future.