Is West Midlands Railway Wrong (Delay Repay)?

[VT 390]

West Midlands Railway have rejected my appeal for delay repay with the same reason given as the first time, that WMR are not responsible for the delay and that they have passed it on to Avanti (twice), Avanti rejected (I believe correctly) the first time.
I am fairly certain WMR are wrong and that they are fully responsible for delay repay, but would like to check before contacting them as.

Journey was:
Crewe (CRE) to Malvern Link (MVL), changing at Birmingham New Street (BHM) on 24th July 2026.
Original plan:
CRE 19:04 - 20:06 BHM (Avanti West Coast)
BHM 21:00 - 21:57 MVL (West Midlands Railway)

Tickets held were:
CRE to Wolverhampton (WVH) off-peak single 1st class
WVH to BHM anytime day single 1st class Avanti only
Birmingham Stations to Great Malvern anytime return (return portion)

The 19:04 Avanti service was around an hour late and was changed to be non stop Stafford (STA) to Rugby (skipping BHM), this was obvious earlier as it left Glasgow about 45 minutes late as lost more time before CRE.
Because of this and the following Avanti at 20:04 being nearly an hour late itself I decided to travel on the 19:32 Avanti service from CRE to STA arriving 19:50.
Because of the major delays to the Avanti services and the high risk of missing the last connection service to MVL (which would have required alternative transport arrangements) I used the delayed 19:22 Cross Country service from STA to BHM arriving at BHM at around 20:35, I did ask a member of staff if it was alright to use my Avanti only ticket and they said it was fine due to the Avanti disruption/due to my onward connection.

So I arrived in BHM with plenty of time (around 25 minutes) for my 21:00 onward connection to MVL, got on this service as planned but after Droitwich Spa this service was delayed and was terminated short/diverted. I did eventually arrive in MVL but this was in the 60-119 delay repay category.


Even though Avanti did cause me to be delayed as far as BHM I still arrived in BHM in time for my original booked connection. Had the 21:00 West Midlands Railway service not been disrupted itself I would have arrived on time at my final destination (MVL) on time.
As I understand it delay repay is only supposed to only be claimed for the entire journey for the final destination arrival time, even when split tickets are held.
I believe WMR is fully responsible for delay repay and that they should pay 100% of each of the single tickets and 50% of the return ticket for the 60-119 minute delay. Is this correct?
Any advice on this would be appreciated.

 

[Haywain]

Any advice on this would be appreciated.

I had a similar problem earlier this year, and contacted WMR on X, with the message below:

Hi WMR, how long does it take for a Delay Repay appeal to be resolved? I'm getting a bit cheesed off with my claim being batted back and forth between WMR and Avanti. I was delayed but no-one wants to pay.

After sending the claim reference by DM, the claim was resolved the same day.

 

[Watershed]

West Midlands Railway have rejected my appeal for delay repay with the same reason given as the first time, that WMR are not responsible for the delay and that they have passed it on to Avanti (twice), Avanti rejected (I believe correctly) the first time.
I am fairly certain WMR are wrong and that they are fully responsible for delay repay, but would like to check before contacting them as.

Journey was:
Crewe (CRE) to Malvern Link (MVL), changing at Birmingham New Street (BHM) on 24th July 2026.
Original plan:
CRE 19:04 - 20:06 BHM (Avanti West Coast)
BHM 21:00 - 21:57 MVL (West Midlands Railway)

Tickets held were:
CRE to Wolverhampton (WVH) off-peak single 1st class
WVH to BHM anytime day single 1st class Avanti only
Birmingham Stations to Great Malvern anytime return (return portion)

The 19:04 Avanti service was around an hour late and was changed to be non stop Stafford (STA) to Rugby (skipping BHM), this was obvious earlier as it left Glasgow about 45 minutes late as lost more time before CRE.
Because of this and the following Avanti at 20:04 being nearly an hour late itself I decided to travel on the 19:32 Avanti service from CRE to STA arriving 19:50.
Because of the major delays to the Avanti services and the high risk of missing the last connection service to MVL (which would have required alternative transport arrangements) I used the delayed 19:22 Cross Country service from STA to BHM arriving at BHM at around 20:35, I did ask a member of staff if it was alright to use my Avanti only ticket and they said it was fine due to the Avanti disruption/due to my onward connection.

So I arrived in BHM with plenty of time (around 25 minutes) for my 21:00 onward connection to MVL, got on this service as planned but after Droitwich Spa this service was delayed and was terminated short/diverted. I did eventually arrive in MVL but this was in the 60-119 delay repay category.


Even though Avanti did cause me to be delayed as far as BHM I still arrived in BHM in time for my original booked connection. Had the 21:00 West Midlands Railway service not been disrupted itself I would have arrived on time at my final destination (MVL) on time.
As I understand it delay repay is only supposed to only be claimed for the entire journey for the final destination arrival time, even when split tickets are held.
I believe WMR is fully responsible for delay repay and that they should pay 100% of each of the single tickets and 50% of the return ticket for the 60-119 minute delay. Is this correct?
Any advice on this would be appreciated.

I agree, whilst Avanti's services were disrupted this didn't have a material affect on your journey because you were still able to reach your intended WMR service. WMR are the ones which are liable.

I would submit a complaint to WMT asking them to sort this out between them and Avanti and give you some compensation for messing you around.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

I agree, regardless of Avanti's delay, you would have made the connection had it not been disrupted, thus the delay was caused by WMR.

Indeed you may have more luck escalating it via social media or if they have a complaints email.

 

[VT 390]

Thanks everyone for the replies.
I have submitted a complaint to WMR with a clear explanation of why they are responsible, so hopefully they will see that they should pay the delay repay and that Avanti are not responsible.