GTR delay repay - constantly being rejected incorrectly.

[bubieyehyeh]

I've submitted/re-submitted a delay repay claim three times now.

The 1st time they claim the delay wasn't long enough even though I gave the train times, but they gave no details, I'm assuming they think you can get from one side of clapham junction to other in 1 minute. My subsequent re-submits were both rejected because they claimed they don't have a train leaving at that time, but this southern train is in the timetable every weekday.

Any idea how I should get this resolved, since giving full details of the three trains used and the two changes doesn't seem to help.

Have they recently outsourced checking to a new bunch of poorly trained personnel?

 

[Clip]

What was your journey and subsequent delay

 

[AlterEgo]

What was your journey and subsequent delay

Yes, please do elaborate, OP.

I have suffered spurious rejections by GTR a few times now (and in fact I have another phone call to make to them this lunchtime!), so I can hopefully offer some insight into their warped logic.

 

[bubieyehyeh]

Littlehaven to West brompton, changing at Horsham and Clapham Junction.

Two submission rejected since they don't seem be able to find the 9.43am train from Littlehaven to Horsham. No idea why.

The 2nd leg train left late, arrived late, meaning I just missed a overground train at clapham, causing a delay.

I think the first rejection was they thought it was possible to catch a train from platform 1 at clapham which left 1min after my train arrived at platform 12.

 

[Clip]

What day & date is this meant to have taken place on as I cant find a timetabled 0943 either on a saturday or a weekday.

 

[Iggy12a]

I find http://www.recenttraintimes.co.uk/ a very useful website to obtain actual arrival and departure times of trains within the last three months. You can prove in black and white when your train arrived at Clapham Junction and when your planned connection departed. You would still need to argue over the time taken to cross between platforms.

 

[AlterEgo]

I find http://www.recenttraintimes.co.uk/ a very useful website to obtain actual arrival and departure times of trains within the last three months. You can prove in black and white when your train arrived at Clapham Junction and when your planned connection departed. You would still need to argue over the time taken to cross between platforms.

You don't need to argue at all. If the minimum connection time is fouled then delay repay is payable.

 

[flymo]

What day & date is this meant to have taken place on as I cant find a timetabled 0943 either on a saturday or a weekday.

It is there M-F on Table 183 of the May - Dec NRTT. No idea if it was there in the older one

 

[bubieyehyeh]

Journey was 9th May.

 

[bubieyehyeh]

Took me a while to work out how to use that website, eventually found how to select a specific date.

However oddly when I put in 9/5/17->9/5/17 it didn't find the 943 train, but it did when I selected 9/5/17->10/5/17 so perhaps there is some bug in the time system which is why the GTR staff are having issues.

I'll resubmit with the links. Hopefully they won't come back and say they don't have internet access.

 

[Clip]

It is there M-F on Table 183 of the May - Dec NRTT. No idea if it was there in the older one

Strange that as I couldn't find it on rtt for random days .

 

[bubieyehyeh]

Many thanks for the advice.

I send GTR a email with links to recentraintimes for the trains I had used, and pointing out the three incorrect rejections. Got a reply in a matter of hours, agreeing I was due a 15min delay payment, but said they were refunding the full ticket price via a cashable voucher for the incorrect rejections.

That was nice, put I'd prefer they got simple claims right first time, or emailed to ask for more information if needed.

The 250 character limit for description is a real limitation on southern delay repay site, which I complained about, but they didn't comment about that.

 

[A Challenge]

I thought most forms like that were 1000?

 

[adrock1976]

I thought most forms like that were 1000?

I noticed London Midland's webpage for Delay Repay is also 250 characters maximum. Perhaps this is a Govia thing?

I hope they can understand that owing to a rugby match at Coventry Arena, my train to Nuneaton was delayed by 10 minutes, causing me to miss the 16:09 ex Stansted Airport - Birmingham, which also caused me to miss the 17:15 ex London Euston - Glasgow Central (last direct train as it was a Saturday), and also miss the 22:04 from Glasgow Queen Street to Barnhill.

As I arrived at Glasgow Central at 23:17, I was unable to complete my journey.

I had to edit it down so as it would fit within the 250 character limit.

 

[bb21]

When you have a case not simply explained within the character limit, you need to send them an appropriate email to Customer Services rather than use the standard form.

 

[bubieyehyeh]

Yes but with email claims means you dont seem to be able choose your preferred refund method, you get rail vouchers in my experience.

 

[bb21]

Yes but with email claims means you dont seem to be able choose your preferred refund method, you get rail vouchers in my experience.

If you did not specify the payment method then you might receive vouchers.

If you did then it should be honoured where appropriate.

 

[bubieyehyeh]

If you did not specify the payment method then you might receive vouchers.

If you did then it should be honoured where appropriate.

I was told in the email reply that a "manual claim" meant they could not pay me in the way I requested.

 

[najaB]

I was told in the email reply that a "manual claim" meant they could not pay me in the way I requested.

That is, to put it mildly, poppycock. They can cut a cheque just as easily as make up RTVs.

 

[bubieyehyeh]

Just got a reply to another delay repay claim, and it has been declined since they can't find the train yet again.

This is the apparent ghost train: http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/L09991/2017/06/02

I'm not sure why they can't find these trains, this was a simple journey with just one change!

Have they outsourced the checking?

 

[bubieyehyeh]

That is, to put it mildly, poppycock. They can cut a cheque just as easily as make up RTVs.

I assumed it might well have been. I asked for payment by paypal, which should have been possible since they had my email address!

 

[arb]

I've just had Great Northern incorrectly reject a Delay Repay claim of mine - the first time it's ever happened to me. They've changed the date I claimed for (which was correctly included in the auto-acknowledgement mail) to a different date, and then said there was no train at the given time on that wrong date.

I have to admit, though, that it's a nice touch for their rejection mails to include the instructions for how to resubmit just in case they've got it wrong!

 

[gray1404]

For manual claims with GTR I believe on can request either a RTV or a cheque. So if having to email again request a cheque.

 

[Deepgreen]

GTR also continue to bleat that 'e-vouchers' are not available at the moment - have they ever been?! The apology has been there for as long as DR has existed as far as I can tell.

Either correct the problem or remove the option - don't just leave the 'temporary message there ad infinitum! Feeble.

 

[bubieyehyeh]

GTR also continue to bleat that 'e-vouchers' are not available at the moment - have they ever been?! The apology has been there for as long as DR has existed as far as I can tell.

Either correct the problem or remove the option - don't just leave the 'temporary message there ad infinitum! Feeble.

They did have them a while back, the ticket purchase website has updated twice since. I say updates rather than upgrade, since I preferred the version that looked like the current hull trains one. However them seem to have been not available since the update that added the massive map to the ticket booking site, and required you to re-register.

 

[gray1404]

Have you received the voucher from them yet? If so is it cashable? I ask this because in similar circumstances (ie. Incorrectly rejected claim) they were meant to send me a cashable voucher, but they didn't. They sent me an old style one that could not be cashed in.

 

[najaB]

They sent me an old style one that could not be cashed in.

Scotrail sent me 'old style' vouchers in the past but they were cashable at any Scotrail station within 28 days of receipt - maybe GTR are the same.

 

[gray1404]

No the GTR ones that are cashable have different wording on the back of them to the ones that arn't cashable.

 

[bubieyehyeh]

Have you received the voucher from them yet? If so is it cashable? I ask this because in similar circumstances (ie. Incorrectly rejected claim) they were meant to send me a cashable voucher, but they didn't. They sent me an old style one that could not be cashed in.

The voucher (green) arrived yesterday, the covering letter says they are cashable at GTR ticket offices. However the back of the voucher says they aren't cashable so I'm not sure.

I'll find out later when I try to cash it in.

 

[bubieyehyeh]

I did manage to cash the voucher at a GTR station, the staff member initially said it wasn't cashable, so I showed them the covering letter. He then said "so the rules must have changed". He asked to take a photocopy of the letter, which I said was fine.