Should I expect compensation from Eurostar?

[SandsofEss]

I was booked on the last train home from Brussels to London.

It was hour late arriving into Brussels, and then cancelled due to a fault with the train.

Using a link sent to me by Eurostar, I rebooked onto a service the following morning. That service arrived into London 55 minutes late, getting me to the city 13 hours after my original scheduled arrival time.

I know Eurostar will reimburse me for the reasonable costs I incurred as a result of this (hotel, taxi, food), so I shouldn't be out of pocket.

My question is whether I am entitled to any compensation for the delay?

To my mind, I have arrived at my destination 13 hours late. But I don't know if Eurostar will instead consider me to be 55 minutes late, as I accepted a rebooking on another service (albeit long after my original scheduled departure time).

I will contact Eurostar to ask, but if anybody has any experience or insight here I'd be grateful.

 

[mq90]

I was in the exact same situation in December, albeit the other way and I just stayed home overnight.

I raised a case online and was offered the bog standard £50 voucher.

I argued my case (same point as you made regarding 13-hour delay) to the customer desk at St Pancras station a few weeks later and they reopened the case and I was emailed a few weeks later with a more substantial voucher.

Be persistent. And if you’re lucky enough to live within easy reach of St Pancras, speak to a human.

 

[SandsofEss]

I was in the exact same situation in December, albeit the other way and I just stayed home overnight.

I raised a case online and was offered the bog standard £50 voucher.

I argued my case (same point as you made regarding 13-hour delay) to the customer desk at St Pancras station a few weeks later and they reopened the case and I was emailed a few weeks later with a more substantial voucher.

Be persistent. And if you’re lucky enough to live within easy reach of St Pancras, speak to a human.

Thank you. That's really useful. I wouldn't have thought about popping to the station.

 

[mq90]

I would quote the 180+ minute delay compensation here.

Exchanges, compensations and refunds | Eurostar

Everything you need to know about how to exchange your ticket or claim compensation for any disruption caused.

www.eurostar.com

That’s what I argued. I got to my destination 13 hours later than expected so demanded to have 75% of my ticket value as a voucher seeing as I travel often and would use it. But it should be at least 50% as a cash refund. Unfortunately once you’re rebooked on another service, the system just goes “well your actual train wasn’t delayed”. Which is nonsense.

But in my case they did honour the request , albeit 2 months after my travel date in the end and after quite some effort on my part. They just expect people not to bother.

 

[yorkie]

Does anyone know the position if you held an InterRail? I was similarly delayed overnight a few weeks back.

 

[Mike395]

Does anyone know the position if you held an InterRail? I was similarly delayed overnight a few weeks back.

Exactly the same as if you held a standard ticket, except the compensation is based on the reservation cost (plus dont forget to claim the 24 Euros back from Interrail directly if you haven't already)

 

[mad_rich]

Does anyone know the position if you held an InterRail? I was similarly delayed overnight a few weeks back.

You're entitled to the same as a cash ticketholder - a percentage of the fare, based on your delay.

The trouble is Eurostar don't always know how to process a compensation claim for passholder fares, based on a couple of reports I've heard. If you're willing to accept a voucher (at a higher value than the cash refund) it may make your life easier.

As Mike says, you can also claim Interrail's own compensation, (based on your arrival time at your destination if you had further travel after the Eurostar).

 

[zero]

The trouble is Eurostar don't always know how to process a compensation claim for passholder fares, based on a couple of reports I've heard. If you're willing to accept a voucher (at a higher value than the cash refund) it may make your life easier.

Can the voucher be used against future Interrail reservations?

 

[rvdborgt]

Can the voucher be used against future Interrail reservations?

That should work if you book by phone. IIRC I've seen a few posts about that, but I forgot where.

 

[mad_rich]

Can the voucher be used against future Interrail reservations?

Possibly, but not officially; you can't rely on it.

Some people report success, others report being asked to pay an offline booking fee.

 

[Warrior2852]

Slightly different (hypothetical) question but in the same vein - if you're booked on a Eurostar on the last day of an Interrail pass, but the Eurostar gets cancelled and people with tickets are put on one for the next day as compensation, are you included in that with your Interrail reservation or are you out of luck and stuck since the Interrail pass expired the day you'd planned to travel on?

 

[mad_rich]

Your pass is still valid, by virtue of it having been valid for your intended day of travel.

It might be worth mentioning/ explaining what happened to the guard, so they understand why you're travelling beyond the expiry date. You can still show yesterday's QR code.

If you have onward connections in the UK, it would probably be worth a visit to the ticket office to get permission to travel, I think?

 

[rvdborgt]

Slightly different (hypothetical) question but in the same vein - if you're booked on a Eurostar on the last day of an Interrail pass, but the Eurostar gets cancelled and people with tickets are put on one for the next day as compensation, are you included in that with your Interrail reservation or are you out of luck and stuck since the Interrail pass expired the day you'd planned to travel on?

Passengers rights apply to all passengers, regardless of the tickets they hold. Eurostar has to rebook you free of charge. If you have a mobile pass, Eurail customer service are quite good at adding another travel day in such cases. But also without that, it's up to Eurostar to organise a valid reservation or replacement ticket.

 

[trivran]

I've always found Eurostar pretty handy when it comes to making things right - up until the point where it stops being their business. So when I missed the last train due to a DB kerfuffle? Certainly sir, here's a new ticket for the first train tomorrow. A hotel? On vous pointe vers nos chers collègues à droit..

On said occasion DB were so incompetent I asked them for compensation twice and they paid it twice. So balance in all things.

 

[SandsofEss]

I am the original poster.

Lots of fun and games with this so far. Eurostar is refusing to reimburse my full hotel costs.

Apparently they will only reimburse hotel costs up to £150. My room cost £350.

At no point at the station was I advised there was a limit (nor offered any help at all). In fact, it was difficult to secure a hotel at all. The three I visited on foot near the station were fully booked. In the end, I booked the only option I could find nearby on Booking.com. This was at 22:30 local time.

Customer Services are being pretty obstinate. It's looking like I'll have to try the 'email to CEO' route, which is absurd for what feels like such a straightforward claim.

I'll report back...

 

[rvdborgt]

Customer Services are being pretty obstinate. It's looking like I'll have to try the 'email to CEO' route, which is absurd for what feels like such a straightforward claim.

I can recommend the Belgian enforcement body.
The applicable EU regulation does not mention a maximum. Just that the railway undertaking has to provide "hotel or other accommodation".

 

[Watershed]

I am the original poster.

Lots of fun and games with this so far. Eurostar is refusing to reimburse my full hotel costs.

Apparently they will only reimburse hotel costs up to £150. My room cost £350.

At no point at the station was I advised there was a limit (nor offered any help at all). In fact, it was difficult to secure a hotel at all. The three I visited on foot near the station were fully booked. In the end, I booked the only option I could find nearby on Booking.com. This was at 22:30 local time.

Customer Services are being pretty obstinate. It's looking like I'll have to try the 'email to CEO' route, which is absurd for what feels like such a straightforward claim.

I'll report back...

There is no legal basis for imposing an arbitrary limit on the amount they will cover. Article 7 of EU Regulation 2021/782 refers:

Article 7 - Exclusion of waiver and stipulation of limits

1. Obligations towards passengers pursuant to this Regulation may not be limited or waived, notably by a derogation or restrictive clause in the transport contract. Any contractual conditions which purport directly or indirectly to waive, derogate from or restrict the rights resulting from this Regulation shall not be binding on the passenger.

The Regulation entitles you to overnight accommodation. If they failed to comply with that Regulation by failing to provide accommodation, you're entitled to recover your reasonable costs for making your own arrangements.

Unless they are suggesting - with clear evidence - that there was some reasonable, cheaper alternative you could have known about then I think they are on a hiding to nothing.

I think you should send them a Letter Before Claim at this stage, giving them 14 days to pay or else you will begin a claim in the County Court. That is likely to be the option which will probably get you the quickest recourse at this point.

Happy to assist with drafting such a letter if you'd like.

Have Eurostar already paid out the delay compensation you're due?

 

[rvdborgt]

That is likely to be the option which will probably get you the quickest recourse at this point.

Last time I used the Belgian enforcement body, I had a decision 7 weeks after my complaint, and my money 1 week after that, with the Christmas holidays in between.

 

[zero]

Apparently they will only reimburse hotel costs up to £150. My room cost £350.

At no point at the station was I advised there was a limit (nor offered any help at all). In fact, it was difficult to secure a hotel at all. The three I visited on foot near the station were fully booked. In the end, I booked the only option I could find nearby on Booking.com. This was at 22:30 local time.

Did you take a screenshot of what was available on booking.com?

When I was in a similar situation with an airline, they relented after I sent them the screenshot. It would also be useful if you do end up going to court.

 

[SandsofEss]

Thank you all for the extremely useful tips.

I didn't take a screenshot unfortunately (it was late at night near Brussels Midi station, so I was more focused on finding a bed and not having my phone snatched than evidence gathering!).

Very helpful to have the applicable EU Regulation, and a couple of options for escalation.

I really hope it doesn't come to that - I'm hopeful that common sense will prevail. I've tried the 'email an executive' route. But if that doesn't work I now have additional options.

I'll continue to report back on here.

 

[rvdborgt]

I really hope it doesn't come to that - I'm hopeful that common sense will prevail. I've tried the 'email an executive' route. But if that doesn't work I now have additional options.

Keep i mind that you'll need to contact an enforcement body (I still recommend the Belgian one) within 3 months after Eurostar's response that they'll only refund a part.

 

[SandsofEss]

Positive progress. Emailing an executive helped - a response within an hour apologising for the previous handling of my case, and proffering a full refund for the hotel costs.

Undoubtedly aided by the reference to regulation and the Belgian enforcement body, so thanks again to all who offered advice here.

Hopefully this thread is a useful reference for any other passengers wrestling with arbitrary hotel reimbursement limits with Eurostar in future.

 

[mad_rich]

Great to hear. Although obviously it's disappointing that you have to contact the CEO and threaten with the Ombudsman to enforce your rights!

 

[rvdborgt]

Good the expenses will be reimbursed. On the other hand, I think Eurostar will only really change their behaviour if enough of these cases are reported to an enforcement body. They can give fines and the Belgian one did fine companies before for repeated breaches.

I came across a post by the Belgian ombudsman service for the railways, from a few months ago, about this very issue. It's only available in Dutch and French but you can use the translator you distrust the least:
https://www.ombudsrail.be/nl/nieuws/bijstand-bij-vertragingen-en-afschaffingen
https://www.ombudsrail.be/fr/nouvelles/assistance
They basically write that Eurostar's policy to reimburse a maximum of GBP 150 per hotel night isn't based on anything and that reasonable costs of a last minute hotel room should be taken into account.