I was delayed on my way to Paddington on a GWR intercity service the other day and I noticed the guard announced that passengers could claim delay repay only if they had 'tickets with fixed times on them'. A friend of mine has also told me that a different guard had told them they were not eligible for delay repay as they had an open ticket - does anyone else have experience of GWR doing this or any idea of where this has come from?
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GWR Misleading on Delay Repay Entitlement
- Thread starter Wymondham
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RailUK Forums
No idea where it has come from, perhaps they were thinking of automatic delay repay. GWR were absolutely fine with my flexible ticket delay repay last week and have already approved it, so it at least isn't being practiced.
Snow1964
Established Member
There is a world of difference between not eligible, and eligible but won't happen automatically.
Delay repay applies whenever more than 15 late at destination with GWR, but might need to claim it manually if your ticket wasn't linked to a specific train, just the route. Same if connection is late, doesn't automatically know you end up on a later connection
The guard was clearly wrong in her/his announcement
Delay repay applies whenever more than 15 late at destination with GWR, but might need to claim it manually if your ticket wasn't linked to a specific train, just the route. Same if connection is late, doesn't automatically know you end up on a later connection
The guard was clearly wrong in her/his announcement
Yes I agree they are wrong, I was meaning to answer the OPs questions of where it could have possibly come from, as it is certainly not official.
Unfortunately it's pretty common for staff to get compensation entitlement wrong. I remember once being told I was only entitled to a refund "if the line is closed" and many staff use the word refund in place of compensation as that's the common way to put it.
StarCrossing
Member
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I don't think I've ever heard a delay repay announcement on GWR that wasn't incorrect in some way! I was on a train on Tuesday that arrived over 2 hours late and we were told we'd all get 100% delay repay. However, my journey was delayed by a lot less than 2 hours, and that's what's relevant for delay repay.
More invented nonsense from the front line, like a sort of delay repay doggerel. Of course none of this is correct and all of it harms the customer. Please do complain about this to GWR and consider cc'ing your MP.
I've heard so many different guards get Delay Repay announcements wrong, from suggesting that people may be entitled to a 'refund', to saying it should be claimed from the retailer. I'm glad they're informing passengers of their rights but it's vitally important to get the details right - especially since a rejected claim just frustrates people even more, and mistakenly claiming a refund can lead to fraud accusations down the line.
It would honestly just be best if the TOCs gave staff a script or automated announcement they can use, to avoid any possibility of incorrect advice being given.
It would honestly just be best if the TOCs gave staff a script or automated announcement they can use, to avoid any possibility of incorrect advice being given.
Snow1964
Established Member
GWR seem to have improved, got delayed on 3 of 6 GWR trains yesterday, and on all the delayed ones, guards made announcements advising please retain tickets, and if over 15 minutes at final destination can claim delay repay. No mention of refunds. Think the wording was same so guessing instructions have been issued.
Announcements are now clear has to be claimed, based on final destination even if connecting.
However now discovered even though we had 2 travelling with return (split) tickets, got to claim separately for outward and return delays, as their claim form can't handle both directions.
Just checked with their WhatsApp customer service (and copying here to advise others), need to enter full ticket value in both outward and return claims, and select return in both.
Announcements are now clear has to be claimed, based on final destination even if connecting.
However now discovered even though we had 2 travelling with return (split) tickets, got to claim separately for outward and return delays, as their claim form can't handle both directions.
Just checked with their WhatsApp customer service (and copying here to advise others), need to enter full ticket value in both outward and return claims, and select return in both.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
You have always had to do that and it is how all the systems work. You can't however in total claim more than the value of the ticket (this used to be possible but no longer is), so if you've had one two hour claim there's no point submitting the other one as they'll check and notice it based on the ticket number.
StarCrossing
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They've still been making incorrect announcements on my journeys this week. I think you just got lucky rather than there being a uniform improvement.
Funny that staff use the word refund all the time, yet when a passenger asks for a refund due to a delay or cancellation suddenly the idea that they may need compensation instead goes out of the window with some agents.
I'd be tempted to go further and centralise it into a single industry body. For the vast majority of cases they'll have sufficient data to decide on a case themselves. They can have a standard script for both the easy claims and the ones with more complicated details. The format of announcements can be standardised possibly with just pre-recorded text. Passengers will get a more consistent experience across the rail network when things go wrong, and we can curtail the nonsense which appears to be going on.
The 61016 announcement is very well standardised: the only variation I've noticed is the emphasis on the number. Something similarly standardised for delay repay would be good imo (though only to be played when the train is actually delayed!)
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