A delay repay query

[theonlywayisup]

New to the forum and directed here from Moneysavingexpert.......I do hope I have found the correct part to post and could do with some help on how to proceed with a delay repay query.

I travelled on the Birmingham New Street - Cross Country - service on 8 July 2018 to Exeter St Davids. We were told at Taunton that the brakes had failed and were forced to swap trains.

We arrived approximately 40 minutes late into Exeter, originally due 15:39.

Can anyone help with a couple of queries:

1. The ticket had to be surrendered at Exeter to leave the platform, can I use my online booking reference for a claim?

2. The delay was over 30 minutes, under 59 but the service (as far as I can see) is showing as terminated at Taunton albeit I did arrive at the destination under 59 minutes late. How do I show the service was late rather than cancelled?

Many thanks.

 

[Haywain]

1. Yes, you can use your confirmation for the claim.

2. It's the delay to your arrival time that is important here, which was caused by the termination of the service. It is your arrival time that you need to show* not that of the train service.

*I am not familiar with the CrossCountry claim process, but some only ask for the level of delay to be shown and the service you were travelling on rather than the exact arrival time.

 

[theonlywayisup]

Thank you. How do I evidence the arrival time - I tried a few historic rail times websites and they all give the termination at Taunton.

 

[Grinner]

Did you not change trains in Taunton? Your original post said "We were told at Taunton that the brakes had failed and were forced to swap trains." In which case then the service did indeed terminate at Taunton, and you need to identify the train you transferred onto. But you don't really need to "evidence" your arrival time, just stating what time you arrived as seen on your watch (say) is fine.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

New to the forum and directed here from Moneysavingexpert.......I do hope I have found the correct part to post and could do with some help on how to proceed with a delay repay query.

I travelled on the Birmingham New Street - Cross Country - service on 8 July 2018 to Exeter St Davids. We were told at Taunton that the brakes had failed and were forced to swap trains.

We arrived approximately 40 minutes late into Exeter, originally due 15:39.

Can anyone help with a couple of queries:

1. The ticket had to be surrendered at Exeter to leave the platform, can I use my online booking reference for a claim?

2. The delay was over 30 minutes, under 59 but the service (as far as I can see) is showing as terminated at Taunton albeit I did arrive at the destination under 59 minutes late. How do I show the service was late rather than cancelled?

Many thanks.

What type of a ticket did you have? If it's a paper ticket, your claim may be rejected as you are usually supposed to ask at the barrier to keep the ticket, and then produce a picture of your ticket (or post the original) for the claim. You will now be unable to do this, unless you happened to have taken a picture of the ticket before surrendering it.

If there are any complications which the online form doesn't cater for, I would simply write an email to CrossCountry and explain exactly what happened there. They will have access to rail industry delay records and so will be able to verify the delay.

 

[221129]

That train was definitely terminated at Taunton

 

[theonlywayisup]

Did you not change trains in Taunton? Your original post said "We were told at Taunton that the brakes had failed and were forced to swap trains." In which case then the service did indeed terminate at Taunton, and you need to identify the train you transferred onto. But you don't really need to "evidence" your arrival time, just stating what time you arrived as seen on your watch (say) is fine.

We were told the brakes had failed. Two trains were then provided, one going direct to Exeter (not stopping at Tiverton) and another for the Tiverton pax.

I wasn't told what the replacement train was other than a replacement train.

Thank you for letting me know I don't need to evidence the delay.

Yes, it was a paper ticket. The barriers were not manned (I could not see any staff) and as already running late I wasn't going to hang around to find a member of staff to exit the station (I had a taxi booked and the clock was ticking) - this could be my downfall I guess?

Thanks for the help so far.

 

[theonlywayisup]

Just as an update, I emailed Cross Country advising of the cancellation, lack of ticket and overall delay, I sent off a copy of the booking reference and had an email back from them to say they are refunding 50% of the fair direct back to my bank. It did take them a while and they are saying another 10 working days for the refund, but at least they are doing it.

Thanks for your help.