Refund for part used ticket

[googolplex]

One of my mates has an Off Peak Return from Dundee to Southport and intends to travel today.
As ScotRail, East Coast and Cross Country have suspended all services between Dundee/Aberdeen and Edinburgh, he can't travel by train, so may end up taking the bus to Edinburgh and catching the train from there.

My question therefore is, would he be able to get a refund on the unused portion of his ticket (the Dundee - Edinburgh bit), and if so, at what rate would the refund be?

 

[northwichcat]

Interesting question.

You can get a refund where the service is cancelled and you choose not to travel and you can get compensation where a delayed or cancelled service means you arrive at your destination over an hour late (30 minutes with some operators.)

Maybe the best thing to do is for your mate to write to the operator of the service he/she was planning to catch at Dundee, enclosing both the rail and bus ticket and he/she should hopefully get compensation at least equal to the amount paid for the bus ticket.

 

[googolplex]

Thanks, I'll suggest that to him then. Hopefully ScotRail will pay up.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Your friends options would be.

1) Apply for the a refund of the ticket based on non-use (no admin fee in this case as no service is being provided) and buy a new ticket at Edinburgh.

2) Use the ticket from Edinburgh and apply for a refund of the unused portion within 28 days of the date on the ticket.

I would advise the former, but it would be your friends choice.

In each case the refund should be sent to the issuing company, but it may be handed in at their local station if they wish, 'though it may take a little longer to process.

If your friend goes for option two, the refund value would be the difference between the fare paid (£78.40) and the new ticket (£59.90) which is £18.50. For option one they would basically get the same, but with more expenditure involved.

 

[googolplex]

They have a YP railcard, so I think the difference is about £12, however they are hoping to use the train between Edinburgh and Dundee on their return trip.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

If you applied for a partial refund (as option 2), I can't say what you would get back as it depends how they choose to calculate it (they are likely to say EDB-SOP rtn + a EDB-DEE sgl = no refund)) My advice is to refund the whole ticket, buy a new EDB-SOP return and get an over distance excess at any time before your return journey starts (saving £6.10 with the railcard).