Problem with LNR Delay Repay, outsourced staff not understanding system

[gray1404]

I travelled with London North Western from Liverpool changing at Birmingham, Watford and Clapham. The service from Liverpool to Birmingham arrived around 12 minutes late and I only had a 15 minute connection. So I just missed my connecting service and arrived at my destination 64 minutes late.

I tried to fill out the delay repay form online. It insisted I inputted all of the trains I intended on travelling on but it did not have the correct data for the non LNR legs of my journey. I therefore emailed Customer Service detailing my intended itinerary and actual trains travelled on, along with an explanation of the missed connection and a copy of the ticket. I received an email back saying they were sorry for the delay and I had provided all the required information and it had been sent to their delay repay team. My problem there is that a member of customer relations staff had look at it so really should have been able to approve the claim then.

Anyway, I log online to my account and see the customer relations staff member had indeed been able to input all the required information and selected missed connection as the reason for the claim. I then heard back from the delay repay team 10 days later saying they were unable to validate a delay of 15 or or minutes to my journey. They have clearly missed the point, a train does not need to be delayed by 15 or more minutes to cause a missed connection to an overall journey.

I therefore had to submit an appeal. I also emailed back Customer Relations explaining the problem. Has anyone else had problems with the external company LNR have outsourced their delay repay claims to, who clearly do not have a clue. Hopefully either my appeal or email back to customer relations will sort this out. Having totally legitimate claims, which have been clearly explained, rejected though is totally unacceptable.

 

[gordonthemoron]

could you noty just put in the LNR legs and check the missed connection box? That's what I do with Virgin West Coast

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

To be honest, I have rarely experienced many problems with WMT's Delay Repay scheme - though I know of some people who have been refused compensation for not marking or cutting their ticket, which is frankly ridiculous.

I would submit an appeal and I am pretty sure they will fix their mistake. I don't think there's any particular malice here - and I am one that is always suspicious of TOCs!

 

[35B]

I travelled with London North Western from Liverpool changing at Birmingham, Watford and Clapham. The service from Liverpool to Birmingham arrived around 12 minutes late and I only had a 15 minute connection. So I just missed my connecting service and arrived at my destination 64 minutes late.

I tried to fill out the delay repay form online. It insisted I inputted all of the trains I intended on travelling on but it did not have the correct data for the non LNR legs of my journey. I therefore emailed Customer Service detailing my intended itinerary and actual trains travelled on, along with an explanation of the missed connection and a copy of the ticket. I received an email back saying they were sorry for the delay and I had provided all the required information and it had been sent to their delay repay team. My problem there is that a member of customer relations staff had look at it so really should have been able to approve the claim then.

Anyway, I log online to my account and see the customer relations staff member had indeed been able to input all the required information and selected missed connection as the reason for the claim. I then heard back from the delay repay team 10 days later saying they were unable to validate a delay of 15 or or minutes to my journey. They have clearly missed the point, a train does not need to be delayed by 15 or more minutes to cause a missed connection to an overall journey.

I therefore had to submit an appeal. I also emailed back Customer Relations explaining the problem. Has anyone else had problems with the external company LNR have outsourced their delay repay claims to, who clearly do not have a clue. Hopefully either my appeal or email back to customer relations will sort this out. Having totally legitimate claims, which have been clearly explained, rejected though is totally unacceptable.

I have a vaguely similar claim in with XC, as a result of the recent derailment at Whitacre. Rather than just scan the ticket, I wrote a covering letter setting out the basis for the claim and attached that rather than wait for the inevitable argument over details.

 

[gray1404]

Had reply back from Customer Relations today. He confirmed that he had checked the train running records and could see I didn't have enough time to make my connection. He said he'd already placed a note on my claim for the delay repay team about this before they made their first decision. He could see I have now appealed and has therefore placed a second note confirming that the train running records show I didn't have enough time to make my connection at Birmingham New Street.

This is really frustrating as one would expect that the customer relations staff member would be able to check the train running records and award delay repay. This passing the buck to the outsourced delay repay team is frustrating. The former London Midland were always fine paying out in situations like this.

 

[island]

To be honest, I have rarely experienced many problems with WMT's Delay Repay scheme - though I know of some people who have been refused compensation for not marking or cutting their ticket, which is frankly ridiculous.

If the ticket is, for example, the return half of a period return then it is reasonable to ask the passenger to render the ticket non-reusable in lieu of posting it in, as is traditional. The compensation should of course be paid when the requested action is taken.

If the ticket is expired then the request is rather less reasonable.

 

[Starmill]

If the ticket is, for example, the return half of a period return then it is reasonable to ask the passenger to render the ticket non-reusable in lieu of posting it in, as is traditional. The compensation should of course be paid when the requested action is taken.

If the ticket is expired then the request is rather less reasonable.

In my case, they requested that the ticket be cut in half when the ticket was a Rover with remaining validity. They refused to pay the claim as this had not been done, even on an appeal.

 

[bussnapperwm]

In my case, they requested that the ticket be cut in half when the ticket was a Rover with remaining validity. They refused to pay the claim as this had not been done, even on an appeal.

Yet I did a daytripper and got delayed last week (sent them a photograph of the ticket as part of the claim on the same day as the delay), they told me after paying the princely sum of 84p (I'll need a financial advisor!)...

"Please note that on this occasion we have accepted your claim although you have not enclosed your ticket for travel (this is not a receipt or a seat reservation coupon) or defaced the ticket as per our delay repay process. For future claims, can we please ask that your ticket is submitted with your claim, cut in half or defaced."

How can I cut in half or deface a daytripper that still had 5 hours validity when i put the claim in and was waiting for a bus home?

I'm highly tempted to write to them complaining about the patronising manner that their response was given..

 

[Starmill]

Yet I did a daytripper and got delayed last week (sent them a photograph of the ticket as part of the claim on the same day as the delay), they told me after paying the princely sum of 84p (I'll need a financial advisor!)...

"Please note that on this occasion we have accepted your claim although you have not enclosed your ticket for travel (this is not a receipt or a seat reservation coupon) or defaced the ticket as per our delay repay process. For future claims, can we please ask that your ticket is submitted with your claim, cut in half or defaced."

How can I cut in half or deface a daytripper that still had 5 hours validity when i put the claim in and was waiting for a bus home?

I'm highly tempted to write to them complaining about the patronising manner that their response was given..

Yes, I also recieved this message on my last such claim, and on that occasion I did recieve my compensation due. It made no sense then either. So perhaps they've an internal policy of paying the first claim even if this has not been done.

 

[gray1404]

They paid up my delay repay today, having looked at it again on appeal.

 

[island]

Yet I did a daytripper and got delayed last week (sent them a photograph of the ticket as part of the claim on the same day as the delay), they told me after paying the princely sum of 84p (I'll need a financial advisor!)...

"Please note that on this occasion we have accepted your claim although you have not enclosed your ticket for travel (this is not a receipt or a seat reservation coupon) or defaced the ticket as per our delay repay process. For future claims, can we please ask that your ticket is submitted with your claim, cut in half or defaced."

How can I cut in half or deface a daytripper that still had 5 hours validity when i put the claim in and was waiting for a bus home?

I'm highly tempted to write to them complaining about the patronising manner that their response was given..

I’m sure you could have waited till the next day to put the claim in...

 

[bussnapperwm]

I’m sure you could have waited till the next day to put the claim in...

Knowing me I would have forgot. I always try to do it whilst it's fresh in my mind, just like when I'm making notes at work.

 

[maniacmartin]

Greater Anglia rejected one my claims for an Anytime Day Return that was submitted the day after, because it wasn't torn in two. What purpose that serves I don't know.

 

[talldave]

Knowing me I would have forgot. I always try to do it whilst it's fresh in my mind, just like when I'm making notes at work.

Well either play the game by the rules or don't play at all!

 

[gray1404]

I have just had a delay repay claim outcome email sent to me by London North Western. The delay was for just over 60 minutes however the outcome of the email says it was 120+ minutes. Makes no difference as it was single ticket anyway so the same amount was awarded. However they have said in their email: "Please note that on this occasion we have accepted your claim although you have not enclosed your ticket for travel (this is not a receipt or a seat reservation coupon) or defaced the ticket as per our delay repay process. For future claims, can we please ask that your ticket is submitted with your claim, cut in half or defaced."

This doesn't make sense. When I submitted the claim I uploaded a copy of the ticket. They cannot say I didn't. The ticket was not checked on the day so was not marked in any way. However, it was an advance ticket and only valid on the specific trains so there is no possibility of further use. Furthermore, in when filling in the delay repay form there was no mention whatsoever about having to cut the ticket in half or deface it. I would actually not be happy doing such a thing in case they came back as me saying they couldn't read the information on the ticket. Does this mean now though that my online account with LNW is marked in some way and they will be more strict on future claims (even though I complied with everything anyway)?