Split ticket issue caused by strike

[ExpressTrain]

Hi all,

My partner is returning from Exeter to Telford tomorrow with split tickets booked on trainsplit before tomorrow's strike was announced. One of the splits is in Shifnal which is now causing an issue as there is no West Midlands service. She can get back to Telford on TFW but the tickets won't be valid. She has got in contact with trainsplit about it - they told her to contact WMR. She then contacted WMR and they told her to contact trainsplit, so that hasn't really helped...

What is the best approach for her tomorrow? Just ask the guard of the TFW and hope they are kind?

The tickets are advances from Exeter - Cheltenham, the return part of an off peak return Shifnal - Cheltenham, and an anytime day single from Shifnal - Telford.

 

[Watershed]

Hi all,

My partner is returning from Exeter to Telford tomorrow with split tickets booked on trainsplit before tomorrow's strike was announced. One of the splits is in Shifnal which is now causing an issue as there is no West Midlands service. She can get back to Telford on TFW but the tickets won't be valid. She has got in contact with trainsplit about it - they told her to contact WMR. She then contacted WMR and they told her to contact trainsplit, so that hasn't really helped...

What is the best approach for her tomorrow? Just ask the guard of the TFW and hope they are kind?

The tickets are advances from Exeter - Cheltenham, the return part of an off peak return Shifnal - Cheltenham, and an anytime day single from Shifnal - Telford.

She is entitled to be re-routed on TfW, notwithstanding the split, as the delay would otherwise clearly be far in excess of an hour.

She should contact WMT again to ask them to arrange ticket acceptance.

If they fail or refuse to do so, your partner has the option of either speaking to the guard of the TfW train and asking them whether they are OK with them boarding given the circumstances (I assume she will be changing onto the train at Birmingham, so she could take the TfW service anyway at least as far as Wolverhampton).

And if the TfW guard says that your partner needs to buy a new ticket between Wolverhampton and Telford, then your partner should buy that ticket and contact WMT to be reimbursed for their failure to comply with their duty to re-route her.

 

[mmh]

What's quite possible to happen in practice here is the TFW train will be so busy that if they manage to use it they won't see a ticket check.

Ticket checks tend to be very rare during any disruption, unsurprisingly. You're more likely to see a guard not bothering with that and concentrating on making sure people know where they're going, etc. If you see them, obviously.

 

[ExpressTrain]

Thanks both for your input, very helpful.

I’ll get her to ask the conductor when she gets on at Birmingham and if needed will pay for the extra ticket and reclaim it later.

 

[yorkie]

If TfW charge for a new ticket, in theory you could attempt to reclaim this from West Midlands Trains, but I'd argue TfW have no right to charge it so I'd be asking TfW to refund it. I'd also be paying by credit card which potentially gives the option of a chargeback.

But if it was me, personally I'd not be paying anything as I'd say the company is contractually obliged to carry me to my destination, under the NRCoT.

 

[185143]

If TfW charge for a new ticket, in theory you could attempt to reclaim this from West Midlands Trains, but I'd argue TfL have no right to charge it so I'd be asking them to refund it. I'd also be paying by credit card which potentially gives the option of a chargeback.

But if it was me, personally I'd not be paying anything as I'd say the company is contractually obliged to carry me to my destination, under the NRCoT.

I suspect you'd easily convince anyone of that!

 

[Bletchleyite]

She is entitled to be re-routed on TfW, notwithstanding the split, as the delay would otherwise clearly be far in excess of an hour.

The EU rights do NOT extend to split ticketing. It is a big bugbear of the likes of the man in seat 61.

 

[Watershed]

The EU rights do NOT extend to split ticketing. It is a big bugbear of the likes of the man in seat 61.

They do where, as in the case of the NRCoT, the contract specifically provides for the possibility of multiple tickets constituting one journey.

Of course that could be changed in the future, but it's how the NRCoT stand now.

 

[317 forever]

That's actually a worry about split ticketing. People can buy 2 tickets, have the 2nd journey cancelled due to the strike and not be allowed a full refund on the 1st ticket.

 

[Watershed]

That's actually a worry about split ticketing. People can buy 2 tickets, have the 2nd journey cancelled due to the strike and not be allowed a full refund on the 1st ticket.

You would still be entitled to a full refund - but if you bought the 2 tickets from separate retailers it could get a bit "complex".