Delay Repay

[David Sinnett]

Can I claim if my usual train was cancelled even though the next would have got me in only 15 mins later and an alternative, which I did take, was an express getting me in 15 mins earlier than normal?

You may ask why claim? It's not the receiving of a couple of pounds but the feeling of punishing the TOC for not running a proper service.

 

[Bletchleyite]

No. It is based on delay to your journey as you made it.

Neil

 

[David Sinnett]

Ah OK. So if I turn round and go home I can claim but if I get on the next train I can't.
Anyone using a service where frequency is more regular than 30 minutes will never claim unless its a really bad day.

 

[talldave]

I don't think you can claim if you go home; unless you bought your ticket from Southern and just claim a refund for not travelling.

The delay repay scheme is unfairly biased towards intercity travel. I was recently 24 minutes late on a 32 minute journey due to a train failure - ie: my journey time was almost doubled - but I can't claim anything.

 

[John @ home]

my usual train was cancelled

I don't think you can claim if you go home

This is incorrect. If a train is cancelled and the passenger chooses not to travel then a full refund is available. The train company is not allowed to charge an administration fee in these circumstances.

This right is not part of the Delay Repay scheme, but arises from conditions 26(a) and 26(b) of the National Rail Conditions of Carriage [pdf].

 

[talldave]

This is incorrect. If a train is cancelled and the passenger chooses not to travel then a full refund is available. The train company is not allowed to charge an administration fee in these circumstances.

This right is not part of the Delay Repay scheme, but arises from conditions 26(a) and 26(b) of the National Rail Conditions of Carriage [pdf].

Understood, although in the context of the thread topic - you can't claim through delay repay.

 

[yorkie]

Can I claim if my usual train was cancelled even though the next would have got me in only 15 mins later and an alternative, which I did take, was an express getting me in 15 mins earlier than normal?

You don't say which Train Company this is, but those TOCs which participate in Delay Repay require your journey to be delayed by 30 minutes or more.

TPE will pay out for a delay of 15 minutes but it's not technically Delay Repay.

If you arrive 15 minutes early or 15 minutes late, you would not be eligible.

You may ask why claim? It's not the receiving of a couple of pounds but the feeling of punishing the TOC for not running a proper service.

If you wish to "punish" the TOC, you can choose not to travel and you will receive a refund. You can then instead take another mode of transport.

The refund will not be subject to an administration fee, but if you are on the return portion of a return ticket, then it would probably be more yourself ho you'd be punishing as many returns are not much more than a single, so the refund value would be small.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Ah OK. So if I turn round and go home I can claim but if I get on the next train I can't.

You can claim if you were unable to make the desired journey (for season tickets) - I guess that counts as a 120 minute delay i.e. full refund for the theoretical return journey (no point claiming this for a normal return ticket - you just get a full refund via normal channels). You can claim if you made the journey and the *journey*, not a specific train was delayed.

You cannot claim if, for instance, a delayed train caused you to get to your destination earlier - that would be a nonsense. It is not your role to hit the train company in the pocket for bad performance. Delay Repay is simply a refund for a service offered (a train journey per the specified timetable) which was not fully delivered or not delivered at all.

Neil

 

[David Sinnett]

"Delay Repay is simply a refund for a service offered (a train journey per the specified timetable) which was not fully delivered or not delivered at all"

Understood. Point of the question was whether a specific train cancellation would be looked on as 'service not delivered' when there was a following train less than 10 minites later. A cancellation is a cancellation.

 

[Flamingo]

At the risk of damaging your ego, it is not your place in the scheme of things to punish the rail company. There are sanctions in place against TOC's or Network Rail in the event of services having to be cancelled or delayed if it is deemed to be their fault, and there is a system of compensation in place for passengers who are inconvenienced past a certain point which is deemed to be reasonable by the DfT, and ultimately their masters, an elected parliament. TOC's themselves, in the spirit of Customer Service or Public Relations often give compensation outside or in excess of the minimum required.

If you think either of these schemes are not adequate, I'm sure your MP would be delighted to take time out of their busy day to read your proposals, but as regards you "socking it to THE MAN", it's not your role to do so.