Advance tickets when train cancelled

[railpigeon]

I have an Advance ticket for CrossCountry this weekend and am planning ahead for potential disruption. The ticket was bought with TrainSplit and I have paid for an upgrade with SeatFrog.

If my train is cancelled, the National Rail terms & conditions for Advance tickets (8.4) says “special arrangements will be made to accommodate you on another train”.

Yet SeatFrog has the text per the photo.

Where have SeatFrog got this from, and what authority does it carry?

Many thanks.

 

[tram21]

This is correct and is the new official rules.

 

[railpigeon]

Ah. Do you know of any ‘official’ document or website on which this is published?

The SeatFrog website is a bit flimsy.

 

[tram21]

Ah. Do you know of any ‘official’ document or website on which this is published?

The SeatFrog website is a bit flimsy.

I don't but I've not looked. All I know is this guidance was posted on the wall of my local ticket office making all relevant staff aware. I've also heard it from staff.

I'm sure if you contact the TOC on social media they'll confirm it for you

 

[jfollows]

https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/changes-to-industry-arrangements-for-cancelled-trains.272698/ has some discussion plus Northern’s interpretation at post 42. Actual code of practice at post 54.

2. Principles
2.1 Mandatory principle
This section highlights the principle that must be fulfilled by the TOCs and Third-Party Retailers.
Retailers.
2.1.1 The customer must be allowed to travel on earlier or later services.
When a customer’s originally booked service is cancelled, an Operator must give the customer
the option to travel on either of the following: one of the two services immediately after their
original cancelled service, or one of the two services prior to their original cancelled service.

 

[railpigeon]

Thanks all, that’s very useful.

Happy to report that CrossCountry X’d back straightaway to confirm the same…

 

[MrJeeves]

Do you know of any ‘official’ document or website on which this is published?

If your service is cancelled prior to the day of travel, you'll receive an email from TrainSplit explicitly stating such and your right to take the previous or next two services.

Technically the rules which allow this are conditional on you receiving this email, but realistically that's ridiculous and most operators are just using it as a blanket rule.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Dec 2024 ==

Thanks all, that’s very useful.

Happy to report that CrossCountry X’d back straightaway to confirm the same…

±2 hours is definitely not the rule, but that could be more useful depending on the circumstances!

 

[railpigeon]

Good point. I sent a follow up to Cross Country…

 

[Bletchleyite]

Interesting, that's not what the rule actually is, it's two TRAINS either side. Though that of course raises questions like whether you're required to use an indirect connection or can take the two direct ones even if it's longer. With much of XC being hourly, though, in reality it's the same thing.

 

[railpigeon]

Latest…

 

[tram21]

We're not getting a particularly decisive answer here are we