Delay repay on single advance split tickets

[hillyview13]

I bought 4 advance single hard copy tickets direct from Redruth railway station ticket office to go to Salisbury (I asked for 'split' tickets with the split at the changing station as this was most convenient for me being the cheapest way, restricted to certain trains that suited me, with only one change and a longer overall journey time).

On the way up, Redruth to Exeter St David's and Exeter St David's to Salisbury was fine, plenty of time for train connection and platform change and only minor delays of 5 minutes or so. However, travelling back on Monday 3 July, there was an incident on the first train, Salisbury to Exeter St David's which meant I missed my connecting train with GWR where I had a seat reserved.

The SWR train ended up being delayed over 1 hour and had to skip some stops. I was due to have 45 minutes at Exeter for the change of trains. The next direct train due to arrive in Exeter was predicted to be full with standing only and I was advised by train enquiries staff to instead get on the next train to Plymouth, change there and catch the next train to Redruth rather than wait for the next and slightly later direct train (so increasing the number of trains and changes by one).

I was told I didn't need to buy another ticket. All the next suitable trains I could get were delayed arriving in Exeter anyway. I got on the slightly delayed Plymouth train and had a seat and room for luggage. Arrived slightly delayed (for that train) in Plymouth, changed platform and got the next direct train to Redruth which was also predicted to be full and standing only. I did luckily get a seat but luggage racks were full and obstructing the corridor (including mine at the beginning).

I arrived at my final destination over 30 minutes later than if I'd been able to get the train that I had a ticket and seat reservation for. It was a stressful, tiring, unpredictable and more active journey (not because staff were working to rule per se but due to this hopefully isolated incident on the first train) with no opportunity to get additional refreshments (no catering on trains which I knew in advance and I had some with me but no opportunity to utilise facilities at Exeter train station which I was expecting or 'chill').

So what do I claim on Delay Repay as these are 2 Advance Single tickets? Just the whole cost of the single ticket with SWR as over 1 hour delayed to my connection? Or the cost of both single advance tickets and whole journey delayed by over 30 minutes and who from - SWR? I'm a bit confused so any advice appreciated.

 

[Haywain]

Your overall delay was of 30+ minutes, and you claim against SWR submitting both tickets in support of your claim. The compensation you receive should be 50% of the total cost of the tickets.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Welcome to the forum!

To start with the obvious bit - you can't claim for your trip out to Salisbury as you weren't significantly delayed on that. I know you're not suggesting that you would do that but it's worth trying to be complete.

On your trip back on 3 July, it was all one journey so by the rules you claim on the basis of how late you were at your final destination - but also by the rules you can claim for the cost of all the tickets you used on that journey. And you claim from the company who first delayed you such as to cause a problem. If I've read things right, that means claiming from SWR as their train being delayed by more than an hour on the way to Exeter meant that you missed your booked GWR service from Exeter.

So
- claim from SWR
- for a delay of more than 30 minutes
- calculate the Delay Repay against the total cost of your travel on 3 July
- send them pictures of all your tickets for 3 July

I should warn that many train companies struggle with the idea of making refunds for split tickets. So the first answer you get from the railway may be wrong. So be prepared to send in an appeal for them to get it right second (or third) time - and don't throw away your tickets until you've got them to give the right answer!

 

[hillyview13]

Your overall delay was of 30+ minutes, and you claim against SWR submitting both tickets in support of your claim. The compensation you receive should be 50% of the total cost of the tickets.

Thank you

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 4 Jul 2023 ==

Welcome to the forum!

To start with the obvious bit - you can't claim for your trip out to Salisbury as you weren't significantly delayed on that. I know you're not suggesting that you would do that but it's worth trying to be complete.

On your trip back on 3 July, it was all one journey so by the rules you claim on the basis of how late you were at your final destination - but also by the rules you can claim for the cost of all the tickets you used on that journey. And you claim from the company who first delayed you such as to cause a problem. If I've read things right, that means claiming from SWR as their train being delayed by more than an hour on the way to Exeter meant that you missed your booked GWR service from Exeter.

So
- claim from SWR
- for a delay of more than 30 minutes
- calculate the Delay Repay against the total cost of your travel on 3 July
- send them pictures of all your tickets for 3 July

I should warn that many train companies struggle with the idea of making refunds for split tickets. So the first answer you get from the railway may be wrong. So be prepared to send in an appeal for them to get it right second (or third) time - and don't throw away your tickets until you've got them to give the right answer!

Thank you for the welcome

Thank you for your response and advice especially re. potential appeal.

Yes - I wasn't suggesting claiming for the outward journey, just the homeward journey.

I suspected that SWR (or any train company) might struggle with the idea of refunding split tickets, especially as one ticket says GWR and it might not be instantly obvious that it's one ticket as part of a longer journey. I don't have a separate itinerary or online booking but I do have a separate GWR hard copy receipt showing the details and purchase of all 4 tickets which shows 4 booking references and 4 ticket numbers. On the online claim, can I insert both references/numbers from the delayed journey tickets or do I just pick one e.g. the SWR one? I have retained both tickets from 3 July to photograph and attach.

In addition, I'm assuming there is a national database that all train companies can access to see the arrival times of all trains at each destination? Do you know if the general public can view this database as it's sometimes difficult to accurately record what time you arrive at your destination in the 'desperation' to get off (although I did specifically record my time on this occasion and know I was over 30 minutes late at the final station)?

Following the delay, I was a bit concerned that I'd bought the split tickets in an 'incorrect' manner leaving me unable to claim properly for the complete journey.

Many thanks

 

[Watershed]

I suspected that SWR (or any train company) might struggle with the idea of refunding split tickets, especially as one ticket says GWR and it might not be instantly obvious that it's one ticket as part of a longer journey. I don't have a separate itinerary or online booking but I do have a separate GWR hard copy receipt showing the details and purchase of all 4 tickets which shows 4 booking references and 4 ticket numbers. On the online claim, can I insert both references/numbers from the delayed journey tickets or do I just pick one e.g. the SWR one? I have retained both tickets from 3 July to photograph and attach.

It's not necessary to buy all the tickets in one transaction, or even from the same retailer or at the same time. Clearly, it makes the administration easier, but it's not strictly necessary.

SWR are one of the better TOCs for claiming Delay Repay with split tickets. Their online form asks you whether you used a combination of tickets and if so, allows you to enter all the relevant details.

In addition, I'm assuming there is a national database that all train companies can access to see the arrival times of all trains at each destination? Do you know if the general public can view this database as it's sometimes difficult to accurately record what time you arrive at your destination in the 'desperation' to get off (although I did specifically record my time on this occasion and know I was over 30 minutes late at the final station)?

Yes, there are several such systems and SWR won't struggle to see when the GWR service arrived. There's public access to most of them through sites such as Realtime Trains, Recent Train Times and Charlwood House Rail (others are also available - those are just my preferred ones).

Following the delay, I was a bit concerned that I'd bought the split tickets in an 'incorrect' manner leaving me unable to claim properly for the complete journey.

There's no 'incorrect' manner of buying split tickets per se - as mentioned above, you don't necessarily need an overall itinerary or receipt. It can certainly be helpful but it's not mandatory.

The main things to remember are that if you're just using normal singles or returns, the trains you use must call at each station where you change from one ticket to the next. You also need to allow the minimum connection time (MCT) at each station where you change trains - if you don't allow enough time for changes, you'll only be entitled to Delay Repay based on the connection you 'should' have been able to catch. Furthermore, the entitlement to take the next train if you miss your booked train on an Advance only applies if you allow the MCT.

The MCT is 5 minutes at most stations, but it varies from 1 to 15 minutes depending on the size of the station and the ease of changing trains - you can see the exact MCT for any given station at BR Times.

 

[hillyview13]

It's not necessary to buy all the tickets in one transaction, or even from the same retailer or at the same time. Clearly, it makes the administration easier, but it's not strictly necessary.

SWR are one of the better TOCs for claiming Delay Repay with split tickets. Their online form asks you whether you used a combination of tickets and if so, allows you to enter all the relevant details.


Yes, there are several such systems and SWR won't struggle to see when the GWR service arrived. There's public access to most of them through sites such as Realtime Trains, Recent Train Times and Charlwood House Rail (others are also available - those are just my preferred ones).


There's no 'incorrect' manner of buying split tickets per se - as mentioned above, you don't necessarily need an overall itinerary or receipt. It can certainly be helpful but it's not mandatory.

The main things to remember are that if you're just using normal singles or returns, the trains you use must call at each station where you change from one ticket to the next. You also need to allow the minimum connection time (MCT) at each station where you change trains - if you don't allow enough time for changes, you'll only be entitled to Delay Repay based on the connection you 'should' have been able to catch. Furthermore, the entitlement to take the next train if you miss your booked train on an Advance only applies if you allow the MCT.

The MCT is 5 minutes at most stations, but it varies from 1 to 15 minutes depending on the size of the station and the ease of changing trains - you can see the exact MCT for any given station at BR Times.

Thank you so much for your comprehensive reply.