Delay repays of an open return ticket

[CTSleo]

Is there any validation for the delay repay for an open return ticket?

For example, I was planning to travel from Birmingham New Street to Selly Oak this morning (1043-1053), but before I travel, I noticed that there was a disruption, so I decided to take the train several hours later.
Can I still claim for the delay repay?

In general, does this mean I can still claim delay repay even though I completely changed my plan rather than taking the next available train?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Several cancellations this morning, but might it be argued that you could have arrived Selly Oak at around 1146 (instead of 1053, this had the 1043 departure from New Street actually been running). So, maybe you're due 25% 'Delay Repay' on the price of your £4.10 Anytime Day Return ticket? Anyone agree/disagree?

 

[CyrusWuff]

You can only claim Delay Repay where you've actually travelled and been delayed en route.

If you abandoned your journey (and returned to the origin station where you abandoned after boarding) due to delays or cancellations you need to claim a refund from the retailer that sold the ticket.

In both cases, you have 28 days in which to apply.

 

[redreni]

If you've just re-sequenced your day but the journey itself took no longer than it usually would, then I don't think that's what delay repay is intended for. I suspect if the TOC were to check (which they're much more likely to do if you were using an barcorde or Smartcard ticket) and saw you'd travelled later in the day, it would look like delay repay shopping.

It looks indistinguishable from a hypothetical scenario in which you always intended to travel in the afternoon, but you've become aware that there was disruption earlier on and decided to claim against a train you didn't take.

I appreciate you may have been inconvenienced by not being able to travel in the morning without facing uncertainty, inconvenience and delay, but if I chose to postpone travel to avoid the disruption, I would not personally claim delay repay in this situation.

 

[Magdalen Road]

Why is there an abandoned journey option on the GTR delay repay form then?

 

[CTSleo]

So in order to claim the delay repay (also to save money, because anyway I need to travel, but I don't mind which time), it is actually better if I stay in the station until the issue has been solved?
And I realise that this might be a potential loophole, as other comments mentioned, there always can be a hypothetical scenario in which I did not intend to travel but use delay repay to claim against a train I didn't take. This probably works very well when the ticket was not scanned at all... just like I have heard people say they asked for refunds if their tickets were not scanned during the whole journey...

 

[redreni]

Why is there an abandoned journey option on the GTR delay repay form then?

Incompetence?

Or maybe a banana skin where if the customer picks that option, they automatically reject it and tell them to claim a refund?

 

[agk2126]

Why is there an abandoned journey option on the GTR delay repay form then?

Not sure if this applies to any other TOCs, but GWR once instructed me to claim Delay Repay (instead of a refund) for an abandoned journey. This involved the Night Riviera last December, which got cancelled at Plymouth and never continued to Penzance.

I was (and still am) confused, but the emailed instructions were (a) to apply for Delay Repay for the tickets, and, strangely, (b) after getting approved for the full value of the tickets, to appeal the Delay Repay approval and request a refund for the sleeper supplements. Odd two-step process. Maybe that's a special case?

 

[yorkie]

Is there any validation for the delay repay for an open return ticket?

For example, I was planning to travel from Birmingham New Street to Selly Oak this morning (1043-1053), but before I travel, I noticed that there was a disruption, so I decided to take the train several hours later.
Can I still claim for the delay repay?

Not if you don't make the first available journey.

If there was no train for several hours, there would be replacement buses or acceptance on service buses, surely?

In general, does this mean I can still claim delay repay even though I completely changed my plan rather than taking the next available train?

If you change your travel plans, claim on the basis of the new plans.

 

[pelli]

Why is there an abandoned journey option on the GTR delay repay form then?

Or maybe a banana skin where if the customer picks that option, they automatically reject it and tell them to claim a refund?

In the Thameslink online delay repay form, if you select "Abandoned Journey" then you get the message "If you chose not to travel or returned to your origin as you were unable to complete your journey, we recommend applying for a refund from the retailer you purchased your ticket from" and are prevented from proceeding with the claim:

This is much better than not showing "abandoned journey" as an option, leading to passengers selecting e.g. "Train Cancelled" as the cause of their journey abandonment and unwittingly proceeding with an incorrect claim.

 

[AlterEgo]

And I realise that this might be a potential loophole, as other comments mentioned, there always can be a hypothetical scenario in which I did not intend to travel but use delay repay to claim against a train I didn't take. This probably works very well when the ticket was not scanned at all... just like I have heard people say they asked for refunds if their tickets were not scanned during the whole journey...

That isn't a loophole. That is fraud.

 

[Bletchleyite]

just like I have heard people say they asked for refunds if their tickets were not scanned during the whole journey...

This is rife, and (as per another thread) it's sadly likely the result will be walk-up tickets ceasing to be refundable from the day of validity with effect from some time next year.

 

[agk2126]

This is rife, and (as per another thread) it's sadly likely the result will be walk-up tickets ceasing to be refundable from the day of validity with effect from some time next year.

Agree that this type of fraud is probably rampant and certainly time- and resource-intensive to detect.

Probably worth another thread, but I hope less extreme measures can mostly protect against fraudulent refund requests. Some combination of grace periods (e.g. refunds available with no questions asked) after walk-up ticket purchases, no refunds permitted for Advance tickets after scheduled departure, and for abandoned journeys, perhaps a requirement that a refunded ticket be scanned by someone or something (ticket barrier, station agent, on-board guard, etc) to demonstrate the passenger attempted and abandoned the journey.

Some fraudulent requests would still slip through the cracks. And a few legitimate claims would be initially rejected, and might need to be appealed. Still, these three measures might help resolve the tension between fraud prevention and providing refunds to eligible and honest passengers who experienced a disruption.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Some fraudulent requests would still slip through the cracks. And a few legitimate claims would be initially rejected, and might need to be appealed. Still, these three measures might help resolve the tension between fraud prevention and providing refunds to eligible and honest passengers who experienced a disruption.

To make it clear, refunds will still be possible in the event of a journey abandoned due to disruption. This is potentially open to abuse in itself, though (find and claim to be planning to travel on a disrupted train to get a refund) and is probably in practice undetectable if not done often, unlike Delay Repay fraud where you did travel and a scan would evidence that you didn't do what you said you did.

If anyone does want to discuss that further, here is the relevant thread:

Forthcoming changes to National Rail Conditions of Travel

Update 23 Oct 2025: Proposed new wording posted here. Update 24 Oct 2025: Copy of NRCoT and Comparison table posted here. I am reliably informed, by multiple sources, that changes are going to be made to the NRCoT over the next few months. Posting in this section as most of the changes...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[CTSleo]

Then I think next time I will stay at the station and wait for the next available if I want to claim for the delay repay.