GTR abandoned journey refund

[Rail101]

I hope this is the appropriate forum for this question...

Today I was travelling with Southern but due to delays and cancellations I decided to abandon my journey and return to my station of origin.

I had an off-peak (day) return paper ticket purchased from a TVM at said origin station.

I originally sought a refund via the ticket office. They told me to go online and do it via delay repay. Southern's abandoned journey option takes you to their site about refunds and tells you to go the ticket office. I phoned them up and they told me to claim delay repay of 2 hours+ which obviously I wasn't because I didn't travel. After a while explaining this to them they told me to go to the ticket office. I went back and they told me they couldn't help me as they didn't have an option on their system to refund for that reason.

I don't want to post it because that would cost me a signed for letter as otherwise no guarantee it would even reach them.

Can anyone advise on how I can obtain my refund please?

 

[Stargull]

Which station is this? You definitely should be claiming a refund from the company that sold you a ticket, not delay repay.

 

[AlterEgo]

This is an elementary function of ticket offices - refunding tickets bought at the station!

If GTR don't acquiesce do a chargeback on your card.

Buy online next time, far easier to get a refund in these circumstances. The forum site does it in something like two or three clicks.

 

[contrex]

I went back and they told me they couldn't help me as they didn't have an option on their system to refund for that reason.

This happened to me with GWR after a failed journey Bristol to Cardiff in December 2022. The train couldn't get through the Severn Tunnel and reversed back from Pilning to a crossover and returned to Bristol TM, where the ticket office guy said they couldn't refund me as I had 'used the ticket for travel'. I had a claim for 'Refund Reason: Service Cancelled or Disrupted' rejected twice. The upshot was a phone adviser told me to claim max delay repay (=full refund) as that was "the only way their system could do it". He said he'd put a note on the file of my claim. I did get a cheque in the post for the full fares for my wife and me. I have since heard this is how GWR like to deal with tickets that have been technically used, because their refund system doesn’t like processing refunds for tickets have have been validated, and it avoids it having to be escalated a long way up the chain. Maybe GTR need telling this?

Details on this thread:

[RESOLVED!] GWR: delay repay or refund?

Partner and I attempted to go from Stapleton Rd to Cardiff Central today. 2 x Off Peak Day Return with old-fogey railcards. £20.50 total. Took the 11.10 Stapleton Rd - Filton Abbey Wood, to await the 11.37 to Cardiff. This was severely delayed, arrived 12.20. Someone announced on the PA that a...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[Sonic1234]

Make a complaint to Southern enclosing a photo of the ticket. They'll probably send you a rail voucher which you can exchange for cash at a ticket office.

 

[WesternLancer]

Make a complaint to Southern enclosing a photo of the ticket. They'll probably send you a rail voucher which you can exchange for cash at a ticket office.

Yes my advice to the op would now be to ask customer services in writing to help resolve this. Not waste any more time being passed between ticket office staff and delay claim system and call centre people.

That then creates an easily auditable written trail if it needs to be escalated bro ombudsman.

Surely not a delay repay claim at all.

 

[Rail101]

Thanks for all the responses and advice previously. I tried to contact Southern through their site but it wouldn't let me submit a complaint — classic really. So I found the email address I've previously used and sent an email. They've come back saying go back to a ticket office or send them the tickets in the post by freepost.

Now the complicating factor is that because of the time that has now passed, I have unfortunately lost the outbound portion of my ticket. I still have the return.

I assume because of this there's nothing I can do? Also not convinced that the tickets would even arrive given how poor the postal service is and I'd have no way of tracking it.

It's quite jarring because obviously I went to the ticket office twice.

Understand saying buy tickets online but it was a last minute decision to take the journey, the TVM was right there and I prefer paper tickets still.

The ticket was £14 so although it's annoying, it's not the absolute end of the world. I would obviously still like my money back as I should be entitled to though

 

[Sonic1234]

They've come back saying go back to a ticket office or send them the tickets in the post by freepost.

If you're concerned about it getting lost in the post, send the ticket at a Post Office and ask for a proof of posting. You won't have tracking, but it should be enough when dealing with a business to show you've sent it. Myself, I've not found the postal service to be unreliable. Very slow at times, but things do seem to get there.

Surprised they aren't happy with a photo of the ticket, usually this is enough.