Just over a month ago I travelled on Avanti to Birmingham International on an off-peak return plus SeatFrog first class upgrade; the latter cost £38. No first class catering was provided on board due to "staff shortages", so in effect I received the Standard Premium service. The train manager would not give me any evidence of the lack of catering but said it was logged and to write in for a refund. I contacted SeatFrog asking for a refund of £23 being the difference between what I paid and the onboard upgrade price for the journey made. They fobbed me off to Avanti who after a bit of back and forth have today emailed me to say they are going to refund the full £38 by cheque. So a good result.
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SeatFrog upgrades and no onboard service
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That's a good result.
The standard answer is often some cop-out along the lines of "the food is complimentary, not included as part of the fare, so you can't complain if it's not there" (which is semantic nonsense, and doesn't represent the reality of how First Class is advertised and why people buy it!).
To be fair, I have had money back for no food, but it's been from Customer Services, rather than as a refund. So I'm not surprised Seatfrog said no at first.
The standard answer is often some cop-out along the lines of "the food is complimentary, not included as part of the fare, so you can't complain if it's not there" (which is semantic nonsense, and doesn't represent the reality of how First Class is advertised and why people buy it!).
To be fair, I have had money back for no food, but it's been from Customer Services, rather than as a refund. So I'm not surprised Seatfrog said no at first.
I think Avanti have holed their own argument below the waterline on this front with the introduction of standard premium. The only difference in onboard service is the catering now.
I had exactly the same with GWR on a Totnes/Paddington trip a few months ago. Train was short formed (5 cars vice 10), totally rammed with people sitting on floor throughout first class, no FC service of any kind possible, or any sign of crew (physically impossible for anyone to get through). GWR refunded my £32 Seatfrog upgrade without argument - it did take a few weeks though.
Just received this email. Possibly useful the next time Seatfrog claim that inclusive food and drink isn’t really part of the advertised service.
Alt: Email from Seatfrog advertising the benefits of upgrading to First Class: Complimentary Food & Drink, Bigger Seats, Extra Legroom, Wifi, Lounge Access.
Alt: Email from Seatfrog advertising the benefits of upgrading to First Class: Complimentary Food & Drink, Bigger Seats, Extra Legroom, Wifi, Lounge Access.
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gray1404
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Their "the food is complementary argument" hold no bearing when they are advertising it as being part of what's offered when you pay more for first class. Also the Consumer Rights Act requires them to deliver the service with reasonable care and skill. This hasn't happened here.
And in particular, section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act means that anything they say that influences your purchasing decision becomes a term of the contract. Describing the catering you'll get in First class - and in particular any pages that different First in this way - is clearly going to be an influencing factor for people to book First over Standard Premium.
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