Compensation

[Mach2]

My wife and I booked off-peak return tickets Hedge End to Chester return via London to travel last July 2022 using Senior Railcards. The tickets were valid 5 Jul 22 to 14 Aug 22 Outward journey 15 July was no problem. We booked to return etd Chester 12.35 pm 18 Jul 22 and reserved seats for that journey. After a wait the train was cancelled. No rebookings for the same service the next day were available. Booked seats for next day, 20 Jul 22, turned up at Chester, same performance, a wait then train cancelled. Booked seats for next day, 21 Jul 22, turned up at Chester uneventful journey home, albeit 3 days late.

I had a total of 15 tickets and seat reservations and found it impossible to navigate the Avanti website so wrote to Avanti West on 22 July 2022 with all details including ticket, booking and seat reservation receipts.

Got a reply by email dated 8 June 2023, yes 2023, saying received my letter 6 June 2023!! Asked for copies of tickets and my address. Full details of address, email address and telephone numbers were on my letterhead. The text of my letter contained ticket numbers, booking references and seat reservation references.

All tickets photographed in a single shot and submitted.

Response - they claim only one ticket submitted (there are two in the photograph) and the others are seat reservation receipts. The seat reservation receipts state they require a valid travel ticket to be issued! They want a ticket showing the date and time of travel whereas the tickets say valid for one month and I evidenced the attempted travel and final travel dates with advance seat reservation receipts for which I had to produce a valid travel ticket.

Is it always like this? I didn't incur ant accommodation charges but I now have it in mind to claim a few out of pocket taxi fares.

 

[Watershed]

Welcome to the forum.

What did you originally ask for when you contacted Avanti - Delay Repay?

It's a little bit unclear why you decided to wait until the next day to travel when your booked train was cancelled. There are around 1-2 trains per hour on each of the sections of the journey from Chester to Hedge End, so it's not as if you were stranded as a result of one particular train being cancelled.

What did the taxi fares relate to?

 

[AlterEgo]

Just to clarify, you had Off Peak Returns - and your train was cancelled. Why did you have to wait until the next day to travel? You could have travelled on the next available train.

What are the taxi fares for exactly?

 

[Haywain]

so wrote to Avanti West on 22 July 2022 with all details including ticket, booking and seat reservation receipts.

Got a reply by email dated 8 June 2023, yes 2023, saying received my letter 6 June 2023!!

Did you really write to Avanti in July last year and not follow up not receiving a reply?

 

[Mach2]

There were no other trains at that time in July 2022, I think it was heat buckled some lines Accommodation was not a problem for me but taxis to and from Chester station daily didn't come cheap.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Jun 2023 ==

Did you really write to Avanti in July last year and not follow up not receiving a reply?

The only address I could find on their website was the FREEPOST address. I did search again in November 2022 to send a reminder and found that Avanti West Coast Ltd (Reg'n 14445025) was not incorporated until Oct 22 and Veolia Firstgroup Ltd (Reg'n SC748348) also in Oct 2022. I looked again when they emailed me on 8 Jun 2023 to find both Avanti West Coast Ltd and Veolia Firstgroup Ltd were both dissolved last month. Part of the problem last July was buckled rails.

 

[AlterEgo]

When you asked the railway how you would get home, what alternative transport did they offer? This was the heatwave last year if I recall.