Abandoning a journey because of a delayed train (hypothetical)

[SirAlf]

I hope I've posted this in the right place

What should I do if I plan a journey to get me to a sport event but because of a delayed train it becomes apparent that I'm not going to get there in time? Obviously I could abandon my journey midway, get the next train back in the direction of home

But... could I then claim a full refund from the TOC?

Example would be for a rugby league match on a Sunday in Whitehaven, my route (probably from Sheffield, maybe from Hazel Grove) could involve several changes with short connection times and not many alternative trains, so quite a bit of scope for missing a connection and missing the match

My ticket would probably be an Off-Peak Return

Thanks in advance for your advice

 

[CyrusWuff]

This is covered by Condition 30 of the National Rail Conditions of Travel:

30. Your right to a refund if your train is disrupted and you choose not to travel

30.1 If the train you intended to use is cancelled, delayed, or your reservation will not be honoured, and you decide not to travel, you may return the unused Ticket to the original retailer or Train Company from whom it was purchased, where you will be given a full refund with no administration fee being charged.

This Condition applies to all Tickets, including Tickets (such as advance Tickets) that are otherwise non-refundable, and also applies if you have begun your journey but are unable to complete it due to delay or cancellations and return to your point of origin

30.2 When applying for a refund under this Condition you will need to state the date, time and station where you would otherwise have started your journey from. You must write to the Train Company to notify them of your claim within 28 days of the date that you intended to travel.

 

[Silver Cobra]

You can definitely claim for a refund on a journey where you have travelled part of the distance but as a result of disruption you abandon and return to your origin. I did this back in 2017 for a journey from Glasgow Queen Street to Oban, when the train I was on was delayed by just over an hour outside of Helensburgh, resulting in the guard announcing it would be terminated at Crianlarich. I alighted at Helensburgh Upper and took the first service back to Queen Street, then sent a refund claim to GWR (I bought the ticket as part of a bigger order through their website). They issued the refund within a week of making the claim.

The only thing to bear in mind is you need to request the refund from the TOC or retailer you purchased the ticket/s from. So for instance, if you purchase a ticket from LNER to travel on a Northern service but abandon your journey due to disruption, you request the refund from LNER rather than Northern.

 

[SirAlf]

Thank you for your replies CyrusWuff and Silver Cobra

Now I might be overthinking this but in my example I would abandon my journey partway through not because the railway couldn't me to my destination, but because they couldn't get me to my destination *on time*

So for example in going to Whitehaven I might get as far as Carlisle or Barrow and then abandon the journey because a delay meant that the next train to Whitehaven would get me there sometime in the second half of the match when I planned to be there for kick-off

The railway might take the view that they *could* get me to my destination (albeit with a probable delay repay) whereas my viewpoint is that once I couldn't get there on time my journey becomes pointless

Does this make any difference?

 

[Belperpete]

I take it that you have a valid itinerary for the complete journey? In which case, I would submit a copy of that itinerary with your claim.

Several years ago I was travelling from KX to a meeting in Bradford. We got as far as Grantham (I think), where my train was terminated due to a failed train ahead. There was considerable disruption, and it soon became clear that I was not going to make the meeting. I would probably have had to start back pretty much as soon as I got to Bradford. I therefore abandoned my journey and returned to KX. No problem with obtaining a full refund.

 

[SirAlf]

Thank you all for your help. I can now go ahead and book my trip, hopefully all will go to plan but its nice to know my options should things go wrong