Delay repay - what am I able to claim?

[DelayRepayQ]

Hi all, would appreciate any advice on this query.

I travelled between Leicester and Stockport a few weekends ago, using two separate advance singles - Leicester to Sheffield (EMR); Sheffield to Stockport (TPE). The Leicester to Sheffield train was late so I ended up missing the train I was booked on at Sheffield.

My understanding was that I could use the next TPE service to Stockport, but as it wasn't for another hour and I needed to be in Stockport earlier, decided to buy a ticket for the EMR train (half an hour earlier).

Wondering if anyone has any advice on what I can claim? Technically I was only 30 minutes later into Stockport, but at the expense of a new ticket. Thanks in advance!

 

[Watershed]

Buying a new ticket for part of the journey makes this a slightly more complicated situation than it might otherwise be.

In my view, you are entitled to claim a refund of the Sheffield to Stockport TPE Advance, from the retailer you bought it from (e.g. Trainline, TPE, EMR). Advance tickets are normally non-refundable, but they become refundable if you don't use them due to disruption (e.g. a delay, cancellation or missed connection), which was the case here.

Separately, you can claim Delay Repay from EMR for the delay to your arrival in Stockport. You would submit both the Leicester to Sheffield Advance, and the new ticket you bought from Sheffield to Stockport, telling them about the original TPE connection at Sheffield that you missed. This should give you between 25 and 50% of the cost of your tickets back, depending on exactly how late you arrived in Stockport.

 

[DelayRepayQ]

Thanks very much

 

[yorkie]

If you bought both original tickets in the same transaction, you are in a strong position to refund the unused ticket. Present the alternative ticket as evidence.

However, you are arguably forfeiting your rights to claim Delay Repay; if you claim DR on a ticket you are refunding, this can be considered fraud. There was no delay on the replacement ticket.

The alternative course of action would be to email Customer Services explaining what happened and asking them to decide on a suitable amount of compensation at their discretion; an appropriate compromise would be Delay Repay on the entire original tickets, and they may or may not provide further compensation for the additional ticket.

If I was in this position, I'd both ask the company that delayed me (EMR in this case) to enable re-routing to avoid an hour's delay, and/or (if a favourable reply was not received, or no time to get an answer) ask the Guard on the train that you wanted to be re-routed on (in this case, also EMR). Given that the company causing the delay is the same as the company who you wanted to be re-routed on, it would be absurd if the answer was "no".

I am very confident you would have been permitted to use the original tickets, and claim Delay Repay based on the revised time of the EMR train.

 

[saismee]

If you bought both original tickets in the same transaction, you are in a strong position to refund the unused ticket. Present the alternative ticket as evidence.

However, you are arguably forfeiting your rights to claim Delay Repay; if you claim DR on a ticket you are refunding, this can be considered fraud. There was no delay on the replacement ticket.

They shouldn't be claiming delay repay on the ticket being refunded. The journey taken consisted of Leicester to Sheffield (EMR), and Sheffield to Stockport (EMR). The Sheffield to Stockport (TPE) wasn't used, so could be refunded.
As they had separate tickets, they should be able to claim delay repay on the first portion (Leicester to Sheffield on EMR), but not the refunded ticket. The Sheffield to Stockport wouldn't be eligible for any refund (unless the second EMR service was delayed as well).

The alternative course of action would be to email Customer Services explaining what happened and asking them to decide on a suitable amount of compensation at their discretion; an appropriate compromise would be Delay Repay on the entire original tickets, and they may or may not provide further compensation for the additional ticket.

Delay repay across both tickets wouldn't be as much as half delay repay plus refunding the unused ticket, unless they are given compensation for the additional ticket. As far as I see it, the second EMR service isn't eligible for any compensation as it was a separate itinerary with the correct departure and arrival times.

 

[yorkie]

They shouldn't be claiming delay repay on the ticket being refunded. The journey taken consisted of Leicester to Sheffield (EMR), and Sheffield to Stockport (EMR). The Sheffield to Stockport (TPE) wasn't used, so could be refunded.
As they had separate tickets, they should be able to claim delay repay on the first portion (Leicester to Sheffield on EMR), but not the refunded ticket. The Sheffield to Stockport wouldn't be eligible for any refund (unless the second EMR service was delayed as well).


Delay repay across both tickets wouldn't be as much as half delay repay plus refunding the unused ticket, unless they are given compensation for the additional ticket. As far as I see it, the second EMR service isn't eligible for any compensation as it was a separate itinerary with the correct departure and arrival times.

Your post broadly says what I said, in different wording, except you do make the potentially valid point that DR could be claimed on the first ticket, on the basis that it was used for a journey to Sheffield.

We don't actually know for certain that the delay into Sheffield was sufficient for a claim on the basis of a journey to Sheffield, as there is insufficient information in the original post to confirm this.

Furthermore, technically that's perhaps dubious, as it's redefining what the journey is, and you can't have it both ways for the purpose of DR and a refund. However, under the circumstances, it would seem reasonable. In practice it likely wouldn't be detected as a potential issue.