'Cancellation' by Megatrain

[Eeek Bears]

Hi All

I booked megatrain tickets from London to Exeter and back for the Easter weekend. Yesterday I received 2 emails to say both bookings had been cancelled as they had sold the tickets 'in error'.

Having read through some previous threads on here and the Megatrain terms and conditions it seems as though the relevant fact is that the journey is regulated by the National Rail Conditions of Carriage (The clarifications and alterations to the National Rail Conditions of Carriage that Megatrain list on their site don't seem to apply to this situation).

So, my questions are:
a) Am I right in thinking that I am protected by the National Rail Conditions of Carriage?
b) Can the National Rail Conditions of Carriage be used to argue that they can't cancel my booking?

Any advice gratefully received!
Thank you!

 

[Swirlz]

From a quick read:

A) National Rail Conditions of Carriage do not apply in full. Some conditions are changed or removed.
B) They can cancel your booking providing that you receive a full refund inclusive of booking fee.

 

[Deerfold]

As a matter of interest how far ahead had you booked (i.e. how long between you booking and them cancelling?)

 

[maniacmartin]

You might find this thread about Megatrain cancellations interesting.

In essence, Megatrain tickets are not issued under the NRCoC and Stagecoach, not being a TOC in its own right, may be able to use a loophole under Scottish law to do this.

People have got Megatrain to pay the fare for a replacement ticket in the past, but it's an uphill battle.

 

[soil]

To summarise the linked thread:

* several pages of pointless speculation about whether Megatrain can do this legally
* final outcome: Megatrain back down when pushed, passenger ticket NOT cancelled, legal issues not addressed

 

[jkdd77]

Megatrain tickets are sold subject to the 'Ticketing and Settlement Agreement', which specifies that all tickets are sold subject to the NRCoC.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa...t_data/file/4143/sswt-franchise-agreement.pdf
(Clauses 13.6, 13.7 and 13.8 on page 90 make expressly clear that the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement applies to Megatrain tickets).

Condition 10 of the Megatrain conditions
http://uk.megabus.com/terms.aspx#megatrain
states that bookings are subject to the NRCoC except where expressly stated otherwise, (and claims to amend the NRCoC in certain areas, for example, on consequences for a forbidden BoJ, and refunds for late running).

Condition 64 of the NRCoC states that the contract for rail travel is governed by English law unless a ticket is bought in Scotland for travel wholly within Scotland, which is not the case here.

When a person purchases a ticket entitling them to travel on the railway, they enter into a contract with the TOC whose trains he or she has the right to use- in this case, SWT.

Condition 1 of the NRCoC makes clear that "where the company selling you the ticket is not one of the Train Companies on whose services you are travelling, the seller is acting as agent for the Train Company or Companies in whose trains you are entitled to travel."

Whilst the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1999 do not apply to any contractual term governed by a statutory or regulatory provision* they do apply to contractual terms other than those subject to such a provision.

(2) These Regulations do not apply to contractual terms which reflect–
(a)mandatory statutory or regulatory provisions (including such provisions under the law of any Member State or in Community legislation having effect in the United Kingdom without further enactment);

*These include relevant byelaws, the Penalty Fares Regulations, the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement, the franchise agreement, or the NRCoC)

Accordingly, contractual clauses which are not subject to the NRCoC, franchise agreement, or Ticketing and Settlement Agreement, would be covered by the UTCCR, which, amongst other things, declare terms giving a unilateral right of cancellation to the provider to be unfair and unenforceable.

If megatrain tickets are covered by the NRCoC and its associated obligations to honour the contract entered into (although they are), they would instead be subject to the even more stringent UTCCR.

Having carefully reviewed the megatrain terms and conditions, I see nothing that provides for a unilateral right of cancellation for either Megatrain or the TOC concerned, except in case of emergency or force majeure- and wanting to re-sell the ticket at a higher price hardly qualifies as force majeure:

In any event, courts do not look favourably on contractual terms providing for a one-sided, unilateral, and well-hidden right of cancellation even where the contract is not subject to the UTCCR- such a term is likely to be considered "onerous" as per Interfoto Picture Library Ltd. v Stiletto Visual Programmes Ltd http://casebrief.wikia.com/wiki/Interfoto_Picture_Library_Ltd._v_Stiletto_Visual_Programmes_Ltd.

To put simply, a passenger who changes his or her mind about travel cannot demand a refund on a Megatrain ticket already purchased simply because he or she dislikes the contract he or she has entered into- so too, Stagecoach South Western Trains Ltd and their agents, Megatrain, cannot simply cancel a contract because they regret entering into it.

 

[swj99]

Megatrain tickets are sold subject to the 'Ticketing and Settlement Agreement', which specifies that all tickets are sold subject to the NRCoC.........

..........To put simply, a passenger who changes his or her mind about travel cannot demand a refund on a Megatrain ticket already purchased simply because he or she dislikes the contract he or she has entered into- so too, Stagecoach South Western Trains Ltd and their agents, Megatrain, cannot simply cancel a contract because they regret entering into it.

Sounds right to me.

I couldn't get that last link to work, but here is another one that hopefully does.
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/1987/6.html

 

[34D]

A very informative and useful post. One question though:

If megatrain tickets are covered by the NRCoC and its associated obligations to honour the contract entered into (although they are), they would instead be subject to the even more stringent UTCCR.

Was this supposed to read "if megatrain tickets are not covered...."

 

[michael769]

I wonder if there might also be scope to argue a breach of The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008

5. Making an invitation to purchase products at a specified price without disclosing the existence of any reasonable grounds the trader may have for believing that he will not be able to offer for supply, or to procure another trader to supply, those products or equivalent products at that price for a period that is, and in quantities that are, reasonable having regard to the product, the scale of advertising of the product and the price offered (bait advertising).

So a complaint to either your local Tradings Standards officer and/or the Tradings Standards officer for Megatrain's base might be in order.

It might also be worth complaining to the ASA about the adverts which may breach CAP:

3.28 Marketing communications that quote a price for a featured product must state any reasonable grounds the marketer has for believing that it might not be able to supply the advertised (or an equivalent) product at the advertised price within a reasonable period and in reasonable quantities. In particular:

3.28.1 if estimated demand exceeds supply, marketing communications must make clear that stock is limited

3.28.2 if the marketer does not intend to fulfil orders, for example, because the purpose of the marketing communication is to assess potential demand, the marketing communication must make that clear

3.28.3 marketing communications must not mislead consumers by omitting restrictions on the availability of products; for example, geographical restrictions or age limits.

- they have been taking a stricter line on this sort of thing.

 

[yorkie]

From past experience, you will be able to get your travel arrangements honoured (perhaps on a different train) but you will need to do a lot of hard work, writing suitably worded letters to Megatrain.

When I say "from past experience" I don't just mean the thread linked to, but another case I was aware of (but the person who was successful did not update their thread to say so and did not want it to be revealed. It is better if people do post the outcome but if they don't want to then there's not much we can do)

They treat their passengers like crap (they need to ensure sufficient profits are made to pay for Scott Souter's constant rehabilitations and legal bills ) and only back down when you make it clear to them that you mean business. Good luck!

 

[jon0844]

Trying it on is sadly a common practice for businesses these days. They're fully aware of the rules and laws, but rely on the consumer being lazy and the authorities out to regulate and enforce the laws also being lazy, overworked or simply disinterested because they're working on 'bigger problems'. Of course, those bigger problems likely came about because the people were able to so easily get away with smaller things...

Look where that's got us with bigger things like banking and even immigration (as in our ability to keep tabs on people who can easily disappear after overstaying etc).

It does make me rather angry when I constantly read things like this and wish there was a decent name & shame website to expose all of these things, except I know that any such site would quickly be closed down by lawyers.

I have had countless problems with Yodel for home deliveries from Amazon, and when looking on the net can see that the company has used legal letters to intimidate and frighten those who reveal the many incidents of incompetence.

That only makes me want to make sure that the OP does take action and then comes back to tell us, and indeed anyone else they can, so businesses won't be able to get away with it in the future. Likewise, don't use their services again!!

 

[dzug2]

Likewise, don't use their services again!!

Trouble with that is that you are passing up on cheap travel opportunities

How much hassle is worth it is an individual choice

 

[jon0844]

But if you continue to give money to companies that will gladly screw you over, what incentive is there to stop?

I stopped flying with Ryanair through choice because I didn't like the way the company did things, trying to create new hoops to make me jump through. Many support the company by saying if you play the game, you get a cheap flight (but one day, they'll be caught out).

I stopped shopping at Tesco for a range of reasons, and it seems that my one man protest was somewhat bigger and last year they actually found sales falling.

I won't go back to pubs/restaurants where the food is bad or the service was poor just because I might get an email inviting me to enjoy some promotion.

That said, sometimes you might have no choice or the deal is far too good to resist. I did fly Ryanair two weeks ago (company bought ticket, mind) as it was the only way to get to Barcelona during the world's biggest phone conference/exhibition. I have also begun to shop at Tesco occasionally now it has the handheld scanners, and to buy petrol because it's cheaper and they do 99 octane SUL.

But I still try and do my best to vote with my wallet wherever possible and would really recommend others try and do so too. It can make a difference.

 

[Eeek Bears]

Hi All

Thank you very much for the replies, especially jkdd77 for all the useful links.
I sent Megatrain an email with the arguments laid out and they've backed down without a fuss. My booking will be honoured in full.

Good result for me, not so good I expect for other people in the same situation who have just accepted their cancellation.

Thanks again
A very relieved 'Eeek Bears'

 

[Airlink]

Funny how originally they cancelled the booking. Wonder if it had anything to do with engineering works planned at Reading that weekend, and extra demand for services from Waterloo? Or am I being cynical?

 

[Be3G]

But if you continue to give money to companies that will gladly screw you over, what incentive is there to stop?

I stopped flying with Ryanair through choice because I didn't like the way the company did things, trying to create new hoops to make me jump through. Many support the company by saying if you play the game, you get a cheap flight (but one day, they'll be caught out).

I stopped shopping at Tesco for a range of reasons, and it seems that my one man protest was somewhat bigger and last year they actually found sales falling.

I won't go back to pubs/restaurants where the food is bad or the service was poor just because I might get an email inviting me to enjoy some promotion.

That said, sometimes you might have no choice or the deal is far too good to resist. I did fly Ryanair two weeks ago (company bought ticket, mind) as it was the only way to get to Barcelona during the world's biggest phone conference/exhibition. I have also begun to shop at Tesco occasionally now it has the handheld scanners, and to buy petrol because it's cheaper and they do 99 octane SUL.

But I still try and do my best to vote with my wallet wherever possible and would really recommend others try and do so too. It can make a difference.

A bit off-topic although seeing as the OP's problem has been solved now I don't feel too bad about it – but I wanted to say that I wholeheartedly support this approach! I too stopped shopping at Tesco, despite the fact it's my nearest supermarket, and then was pleased to read that other people had done so too, for similar reasons to me. Lo and behold, Tesco announce that they're going to try to improve things to tempt people like me back. Similarly I tend to shy away from the big names in terms of banks, which I think is something people should consider particularly sincerely what with the uselessness and dishonesty of the major ones these days.

With train tickets there's not always much of an option to do this, but in cases like this thread, wallet-voting's worth doing if you ask me.