Advance ticket with a revised timetable - am I due Delay Repay?

[TYC2]

Hello all,

Travelled last week during the overtime ban on Southern. I'd bought an Advance ticket before the ban and revised timetables were announced, and my booked train was removed from the timetable entirely. I caught the following train for a total delay of 34 minutes on my booked arrival time, and duly submitted a Delay Repay request.

Southern have rejected my request today, because my train was not scheduled to run as part of the revised timetable.

My opinion is that as I held an Advance ticket for a specific train, even if they later revised the timetable, I'm surely due compensation based on that itinerary? I would actually agree with Southern's view if I had bought the ticket after the timetables were revised, but I didn't.

Would love if anyone could tell me whether I'm wrong or not.

Thanks!

 

[AdamWW]

Hello all,

Travelled last week during the overtime ban on Southern. I'd bought an Advance ticket before the ban and revised timetables were announced, and my booked train was removed from the timetable entirely. I caught the following train for a total delay of 34 minutes on my booked arrival time, and duly submitted a Delay Repay request.

Southern have rejected my request today, because my train was not scheduled to run as part of the revised timetable.

My opinion is that as I held an Advance ticket for a specific train, even if they later revised the timetable, I'm surely due compensation based on that itinerary? I would actually agree with Southern's view if I had bought the ticket after the timetables were revised, but I didn't.

Would love if anyone could tell me whether I'm wrong or not.

Thanks!

I believe that this is indeed the industry position at present. Delay Repay is based on what timetable they have chosen to offer by 10 pm the day before.

I would say there is a lot of merit in your view, but it doesn't seem to be how things work.

 

[TYC2]

Thanks for the merit - the position's what I'd feared, if nothing else it can add to the pile of issues with the 10pm exclusion...

I'm tempted to push though, if only to get a deadlock letter confirming in writing they believe it applies to pre-booked Advances too.

 

[Watershed]

The industry's position is that it can change the timetable as much and as often as it likes after you buy your ticket, and that only the timetable in place at 10pm the night before travel counts for the purposes of delay compensation entitlement. Of course, this is clearly a nonsensical and entirely unjustifiable position, but unfortunately that doesn't stop them from rejecting claims accordingly.

If you're unhappy with the rejection of a claim, you can raise a complaint. If it's not resolved to your satisfaction and/or 8 weeks pass, you can then take the matter to the Rail Ombudsman. However, we have seen enough Ombudsman cases to know that it's useless as it never seems to properly investigate, and instead simply takes operators' claims at face value.

You could try raising the matter with your MP, seeing as the Department for Transport is in charge of the likes of GTR (which operates the 'franchise' incorporating Southern-branded services). But most MPs are also not very interested in these sorts of issues, if they even understand the issue you're raising.

You might also consider raising it with London TravelWatch, who have been somewhat activate in campaigining on passenger rights issues. However, they can do nothing more than to lobby - they don't have any real powers.

The only option that would really bring the matter to a head would be to bring a legal claim against GTR. Of course, most people would not consider doing this given the cost and effort involved over what is likely to be a comparitively small sum.