Oyster tube service delay refund

[evergreenadam]

In the past TfL would refund the value of your Oyster fare if the tube service was suspended or so seriously delayed that you had to take an alternative means of transport.

However a recent Oyster tube service delay refund was rejected. I had taken the bus instead of taking the tube having arrived at the tube station to find the service delayed and being advised to take an alternative route. The bus takes longer, so I arrived at my intended destination late.

Am I entitled to a service delay refund, or is this now only available for those who stick with the tube during a delay (thereby showing up on Oyster history) and don't take an alternative route? Or is it just that the delay refund software is not sophisticated enough to deal with this problem? Would appreciate any advice from users who have experienced a similar issue.

 

[causton]

It's a complicated one, as in effect you didn't make the journey at all by rail, I do not think they will refund you. They may out of goodwill if you prompt them, but don't think they have to as you weren't actually technically delayed by the tube.

Same as if I see the trains from my local station aren't running and decide to take the bus instead, in severe disruption my local TOC sometimes authorise refunds on bus tickets (or for rail tickets to be accepted on buses) but without actually having a ticket for the rail service I don't think I would be entitled to anything...

 

[DelayRepay]

They say

When we don't refund for service delays
You can't get a service delay refund for planned service changes and engineering work, if you made an alternative journey or if your journey was delayed for a reason outside our control, like:

A security alert
A customer incident, for example, a person ill on a train
Adverse weather conditions

 

[Hadders]

But the OP didn't make an alternative journey as a result of a planned service change or engineering work.

Surely what counts here is the delay to the journey.

 

[Be3G]

The comma just before the underlined section of DelayRepay's quote shows that the criteria for ineligibility are separate, not contiguous. This is rather disappointing all told: when I used to commute on the tube regularly alternative journeys would be allowed, and the refund value was for the cash fare. Then they made the refund value just the Oyster fare, and now, you're not allowed to seek alternative transport methods either.

I suppose the plus side though is that delays are fare rarer… I can't remember the last time I was stuck on a motionless tube train in a tunnel.

 

[Tom B]

This is intriguing, and obviously a recent change - a cynic would suggest that removing these refund rights has gone hand in hand with their starting to publicise it. Their interpretation is up for debate, they class industrial action as outwith their control, even when the service propaganda calls it a "staff shortage".

It depends on what they call an "alternative journey" I suppose. If I touch in at Finsbury Park and out at Earl's Court how can the route I took between those two be worked out (there are two roughly equal routes). I have noticed the same thing on my journeys - if tube line A is delayed, I take a bus to line B and catch that - which takes much longer if you consider the journey to have started at the time I leave the house, but if you calculate it from the time I touch in on line B then they would see a normal journey from that station to my destination.

 

[Panda]

This is a refund, not compensation. Since you didn't pay for the tube travel, there is nothing to refund.

 

[Tom B]

This is a refund, not compensation. Since you didn't pay for the tube travel, there is nothing to refund.

If you take an alternative route, you do pay for the tube/bus travel, just to/from a different station.

 

[Simon11]

Or if you have a season ticket...

 

[yorkie]

So, is this conclusion accurate:

If there are LU delays and you are advised to take a bus instead, you can either take the advice if you just want to minimise your delay, or you can stick with LU and be entitled to compensation?

Or are they saying you only get compensation for a delay that was not apparent at the time you entered the system?

 

[maniacmartin]

I have been in a similar situation. I just rang the Oyster helpline and explained the situation and the bus charge was refunded

 

[Busaholic]

Come back Kafka, all is forgiven.

 

[evergreenadam]

If you take an alternative route, you do pay for the tube/bus travel, just to/from a different station.

Exactly. The automated refund system on the Oyster website cannot cope with this type of enquiry. If you apply for a refund between points A and B for a tube journey but you took a bus instead, it is a case of computer says no as you did not touch in and out at a tube station.

As an update I phoned the Oyster helpline, the operator refused to refund the amount, so I refused to hang up. After a long time on hold and a discussion with colleagues he finally refunded the single tube fare. The cost of the call was probably more than the refunded tube fare.

It seems the alternative route definition is very confusing for passengers and staff and the circumstances in which a refund would be granted is no longer clear. I can understand that a refund would not be reasonable if I travelled Paddington-Morden if my intended journey was Paddington-Liverpool Street for example. Surely some sense should prevail as to what is a reasonable alternative route to demonstrate that you were trying to get to where you wanted to be all along.

It never used to be like this, the Customer Charter form had a section for origin and intended destination, now that field is no longer available. It was clear a refund was payable if you could not enter the station and make your intended journey due to service suspension.

 

[Tom B]

It may be sensible to include an explanation/comments box for passengers. So I could put "Northern line suspended, took Victoria to Finsbury Park then bus 210". A member of staff then need only confirm the details (e.g. that I went the route I said I had, and that catching the 210 bus in this situation takes me where I wanted to go). Although if they rely on the TfL statuses this could be difficult as they often post 'good service' when it obviously isn't.