Not sure who I am supposed to make a claim from...

[Mark J]

This was my intended journey on Sunday 24th May at around 10pm, from Oxford to Earley.

Oxford (XC) dep 22:16 > Reading arr 22:39
Reading dep (SWR) 22:54 > Earley arr 22:59.

The XC service was 34 minutes late, arriving into Reading at 23:11, this meant it would have missed the 22:54.

What I was then intended to do as a backup:

Oxford (GWR) 22:24 > Reading arr 22:54.
Reading (GWR) 23:05 > Wokingham arr 23:14
Wokingham (SWR) 23:19 > Earley arr 23:27

What actually happened was:

Oxford (GWR) 22:30 > Reading arr 22:56
Reading (GWR) 23:20 > Wokingham arr 23:28.
(This service was running late and missed the 23:19 SWR)

So then had to catch:
Wokingham (SWR) 23:49 > Earley arr 23:57.

To summarise on all this.

I was expecting to arrive at my destination station at 22:59. I actually arrived 58 minutes later at 23:57.

As far as I'm concerned, the late arrival was caused by the late running XC service, as had they have been running on time, I would have had plenty of time to of made the 22:54 train.

However, with experience of XC delay repay, they are very good at washing their hands of responsibility - instead telling you along the lines of ' you should have caught this service instead.'

I was only forced to catch the GWR service from Oxford, due to the unpredictable arrival of XC into Reading.

Do I put a claim in to XC for their late running service that caused all the issues to begin with, or GWR for their late running service I was forced to catch instead?

 

[ainsworth74]

What ticket did you hold?

 

[Crithylum]

I would say XC, as they caused the first meaningful delay

 

[Mark J]

What ticket did you hold?

Off Peak Day return.

The suggested Itinerary on the return e-ticket:

Itinerary - Suggested 24 May:
22:16 Crosscountry
From Oxford
To Reading
22:54 South Western Railway
From Reading
To Earley

I always choose this, as it ensures plenty of time for the connection at Reading.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 May 2026 ==

I would say XC, as they caused the first meaningful delay

That is what I would also say.

However, when I've made claims with XC in the past for similar, they've essentially said 'you should of caught this train instead' and rejected the claim outright.

 

[sonic2009]

I would say XC as they caused the first delay causing you then to take alternative services with GWR towards Reading which in turn caused further delays between Reading and Wokingham.

 

[redreni]

Off Peak Day return.

The suggested Itinerary on the return e-ticket:

Itinerary - Suggested 24 May:
22:16 Crosscountry
From Oxford
To Reading
22:54 South Western Railway
From Reading
To Earley

I always choose this, as it ensures plenty of time for the connection at Reading.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 May 2026 ==


That is what I would also say.

However, when I've made claims with XC in the past for similar, they've essentially said 'you should of caught this train instead' and rejected the claim outright.

Well, that doesn't make it somebody else's responsibility.

You claim against your intended journey, from the first TOC to delay you. If they say you should have travelled into the future, checked RTT to see how the trains ran on the evening in question, travelled back in time again and then made the optimum decisions with the benefit of hindsight, contact XC Customer Relations, explain what information was available at the time, and say what you did. The key point to make is you acted reasonably on the basis of the information then available and you aimed to minimise your delay.

 

[yorkie]

This definitely goes to XC. If XC refuse, ask if you are in deadlock, then esclate to the Rail Ombudsman.