Delay Repay - Leeds to Glasgow Central

[Buzby]

I used the Forum site to buy tickets for the above return journey. The outbound service was uneventful, but the return was where things fell apart. I was using Advance Singles with a split at Carlisle. (Northern as far as Carlisle, and TPE to Glasgow). My 1518 Leeds departure left on time but was held at Skipton for 10 minutes before being cancelled and everyone being de-trained due to a points failure outside Settle. The train went off into a siding and passengers left baking on P3 where we waited an hour for the following Carlisle service to arrive.

The following Northern train was slightly held up but with NR on-site the points were operated manually and we arrived in Carlisle at 1805. As the last TPE of the day had already departed, the only trains home were by AWC and, due to a fire at Milton Keynes were all running up to an hour late (although this is an irrelevance for me) but I got to Glasgow at 2010.

Using Northern’s DP portal, I uploaded my tickets and timings for the Leeds to Carlisle section due to the Northern delays - but almost 2 weeks later they advise my claim was unsuccessful as only part of my journey was listed. I was invited to update it today and resubmit. This I did, and was surprised to receive the following rejection barely a hour later:

Travel Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2025
Departing: 15:18 from LEEDS to GLASGOW CENTRAL
Decision: Unsuccessful

We have checked the journey that you have claimed for and our records show that this service was operated by another train operator (TransPennine Express). Therefore, we are unable to process your claim.
What happens next?
The train operator, TransPennine Express, will be in touch with you directly with further information about any compensation that may be due.

This is incredible - the service that failed was Northern, and since TPE did not provide me with any conveyance, their transfer of responsibility is mind-blowing! I have no doubt that my first rejection was automated, but the speed of the second was most likely human - and wrong. As there’s £20 at stake I’m not planning to roll over. What should I do next?

 

[_toommm_]

Follow the link in the email to re-re-submit it. If it's unsuccessful again, phone them up, and get a human to verify it. I've had to phone them before and it took a long time (about half an hour from the phone being answered) but it got approved.

 

[Ben Rhydding]

I recently had a delay repay claim against Northern. They blamed Trans Pennine for the delay which was due solely to the cancellation of a Northern train. I tried Northern customer relations who just repeated that it was a Trans Pennine issue. Northern referred my claim to Trans Pennine who contacted me, asked for further detail and concluded, quite reasonably, that it was Northern`s liability. I reported Trans Pennine`s findings to Northern who refused to communicate with me any further. I went to the Rail Ombudsman who secured a settlement whereby Northern offered a free return ticket in lieu of the £4 to which I had originally been entitled.

The whole thing took about five months. Why bother? More for education than anything.

 

[AlterEgo]

The ingrained incompetence of delay repay validation now is a scandal. Waste as much of their time as possible.

 

[Buzby]

Well - despite replying to Northern saying it was their train that abandoned its passengers at Skipton… I received this copy letter from them.

Dear TransPennine Express,
We have received a delay repay claim from a customer but upon further investigation it would appear the train in question was operated by your company. Please find below the details of the claim received for you to action.
We have informed the customer that we have rejected the claim on this basis and that we have passed the details to you to take further action and make contact with the customer. Please raise the claim on your system and handle accordingly.

As @Ben Rhydding noted above, it looks as though I need to tell TPE it’s nothing to do with them and involve Rail Ombudsman as Northern are just having a laugh.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

@Buzby. I'd probably go back to Northern, one more time, but if you then still don't get the matter satisfactorily resolved and need to refer the matter to the Rail Ombudsman as @Ben Rhydding has suggested, you can e-mail them at <info@railombudsman.org> or send them a snail-mail letter to 'FREEPOST - RAIL OMBUDSMAN'. See link below for the various other possible contact methods...

Contact

Contact us page

www.railombudsman.org

 

[yorkie]

This is incredible...

It's normal behaviour for Northern (and various other train companies do this too) and does not surprise me at all.

the service that failed was Northern, and since TPE did not provide me with any conveyance, their transfer of responsibility is mind-blowing! I have no doubt that my first rejection was automated, but the speed of the second was most likely human - and wrong. As there’s £20 at stake I’m not planning to roll over. What should I do next?

Put in an appeal, and state that if you are unsuccessful you require a "deadlock letter"; if unsuccessful, raise a complaint with the Rail Ombudsman.

Train companies know that most people won't bother appealing.

 

[Buzby]

Quick update - Northern passed the claim on to TPE, who in turn asked me for my bank details. I provided these but added my issues were on the Northern segment. I missed TPEs train because of the 2+ hours delayed arrival at Carlisle (and there was no TPE trains north until the next day).

TPE have - incredibly - said I’m due a full refund and are processing it! Apart from defying logic, I’m looking forward to my next rail trip as the random nature of refunds make this better than the Lottery!