Compensation question

[_james_]

I claimed for a delayed journey with Chiltern railways on 06/04/2013.

I sent the form back by 1st class post on 26/04/2013, but they claim not to have received it until 13/05/2013 so after the deadline, I should have sent it sooner but I was 7 days within the 28 days when I sent the form.

When I phoned I asked if it could have been waiting in a backlog as I know companies often have a backlog of post but they have dismissed this suggestion.

Is there anything I can do, or do I just have to accept that I cannot claim for compensation and hope this isn't Chiltern trying to dodge paying compensation to me?

 

[bb21]

I guess you did not get any proof of post?

 

[_james_]

All I have is the online postage saying it needs to be posted by the end of the day, I guess this is a good lesson for the future that I should have sent it Recorded or Special Delivery to get proof of delivery.

 

[postye]

You dont need to send via recorded or special delivery, any post office will provide a proof of posting certificate if asked

 

[_james_]

As I don't have this I guess this means I cannot progress further, I am glad it wasn't alot of money though.

Southern are so much easier you can claim online, I have now been paid twice for their delays by claiming online.

 

[rwuk]

All I have is the online postage saying it needs to be posted by the end of the day, I guess this is a good lesson for the future that I should have sent it Recorded or Special Delivery to get proof of delivery.

"Online Postage" - does that mean you used the Royal Mail website to purchase and home print a "stamp" for this? If that's the case, the fact that it's dated - and with that postage wouldn't have been received at all by them if you'd sent it any later than that date - might be sufficient evidence that you put it into the post in good time for it to be received, i.e. within the deadline?

 

[paddington]

"Online Postage" - does that mean you used the Royal Mail website to purchase and home print a "stamp" for this? If that's the case, the fact that it's dated - and with that postage wouldn't have been received at all by them if you'd sent it any later than that date - might be sufficient evidence that you put it into the post in good time for it to be received, i.e. within the deadline?

No, you could just pay for it and not send it.

If you got proof of post, you could get six 1st class stamps for postal delay

If you used special delivery with consequential loss then Royal Mail will pay out the rail compensation if Chiltern doesn't receive it in time (but hardly worth it for £8.50)

 

[ModernRailways]

If you paid for it then surely it will be on your bank statement, in which case you can prove you sent it then?

Same goes for any purchase, it is up to the company to prove you didn't send it on time. Keep at them, they will pay up eventually!

How long was your delay for? If it was over the 1 hour (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that is mentioned in the NRCoC then they have to give you 20% back anyway. I'm no expert and I may (or may not) have gotten everything wrong here.

 

[bb21]

Excuse me if I seem ignorant. When you print postage at home, do you have to put the letter in the post box on the same day? What happens if you put the letter in the post box the day after?

 

[postye]

Excuse me if I seem ignorant. When you print postage at home, do you have to put the letter in the post box on the same day? What happens if you put the letter in the post box the day after?

When using print at home you have to post by the end of the following working day.
If not it should be picked up by the sorting machines and flagged up as a revenue isssue and the item should then be surcharged on delivery

 

[455driver]

If you paid for it then surely it will be on your bank statement, in which case you can prove you sent it then?

All that will prove is that he paid postage for something, it wont show where the letter was sent.

 

[W230]

Same goes for any purchase, it is up to the company to prove you didn't send it on time. Keep at them, they will pay up eventually!

I would suggest it's up to the customer to prove they did send it in time. Surely one of the conditions of delay/repay?

Also, i'm not sure how realistically a company could prove that they didn't receive it. Obviously they could say they didn't receive something, or actually not receive something, but to prove they didn't receive something would be very difficult indeed.

 

[Wolfie]

I would suggest it's up to the customer to prove they did send it in time. Surely one of the conditions of delay/repay?

Also, i'm not sure how realistically a company could prove that they didn't receive it. Obviously they could say they didn't receive something, or actually not receive something, but to prove they didn't receive something would be very difficult indeed.

I agree with you BUT it would be the easiest thing in the world, following this logic, for a TOC to claim that all delay/repay claims it received were out of time. What, if any, monitoring is put in place to avoid this?

Several years ago I had exactly the same issue as the OP with Chiltern.....

 

[ModernRailways]

I've had this issue with National Express East Anglia. They apparently received y letter one day late, I had sent it via First Class post just two days after travelling and according to them it took them 4 weeks to receive it.
I didn't have proof of postage only the transaction on my bank account. A nice polite letter, but advising them of the contract we held and two weeks later I received a letter accompanied by another letter. One held the Vouchers and another was basically them apologizing.