I was caught up in the disruption following the derailment yesterday, on an Avanti from Birmingham to Euston. At Coventry, we were told that we wouldn't be moving any time soon but that ticket acceptance had been arranged and we should move to the CrossCountry service which would take us into Kings Cross. I know CrossCountry doesn't serve Kings Cross but I knew I could connect via Reading or Leamington into different London Terminals. When I was on the (packed) CrossCountry service, it became clear a significant number of people were expecting it to go directly into Kings Cross.
The Train Manager made an announcement that you could change at Leamington Spa into Marylebone, or at Reading into Paddington.
I chose the Paddington route but actually changed at Oxford for the same service due from Reading - when arriving into Paddington, I couldn't get through the barrier. I was then directed to the excess fares window who explained that I did not have a valid ticket, because Avanti hadn't arranged any acceptance with GWR. After some discussion, they agreed that it would be unreasonable to charge me anything for a new ticket and let me through but the impression I was given is that I should be grateful for their leniency since I was obviously travelling on an invalid ticket.
For some additional context, due to congestion, I was directed to use the right-hand barriers when leaving the platform, while most passengers used the left-hand barriers where I observed several people with similar journeys being allowed through without issue. Unfortunately this meant when I spoke to the excess fares window there was no one else able to corroborate my journey as most people had been able to exit. I also think the majority of people chose to change at Leamington into Marylebone. I went for Paddington because it was more convenient for my tube interchange.
There is a bit of a vent here about how poor the support for travellers can be during disruption but my broader question here is if GWR were correct in their interpretation of the rules - at a very high level, I wasn't given permission. Ticket Acceptance had been arranged with CrossCountry only, and the Avanti staff member had authorised us to get a CrossCountry service into Kings Cross (ignoring the fact that is not possible). CrossCountry had given details of connections into London but not specifically authorised travel against the ticket type I held. Regardless of that I had acted in good faith throughout and I'm not sure why anyone would willingly reroute themselves via such a long winded route unless necessary. I also understand TOCs do have an obligation to assist passengers of other TOCs during disruption. Its also worth saying that GWR said even if I had got permission from an Avanti or CrossCountry staff member, it wouldn't have meant anything because they're "not GWR and can't let you travel on our services without asking us first"
I'm just trying to consider if a complaint beyond the delay repay is warranted (not for compensation, just to highlight the issues) or if despite being a regular traveller I've got expectations out of line with reality.
The Train Manager made an announcement that you could change at Leamington Spa into Marylebone, or at Reading into Paddington.
I chose the Paddington route but actually changed at Oxford for the same service due from Reading - when arriving into Paddington, I couldn't get through the barrier. I was then directed to the excess fares window who explained that I did not have a valid ticket, because Avanti hadn't arranged any acceptance with GWR. After some discussion, they agreed that it would be unreasonable to charge me anything for a new ticket and let me through but the impression I was given is that I should be grateful for their leniency since I was obviously travelling on an invalid ticket.
For some additional context, due to congestion, I was directed to use the right-hand barriers when leaving the platform, while most passengers used the left-hand barriers where I observed several people with similar journeys being allowed through without issue. Unfortunately this meant when I spoke to the excess fares window there was no one else able to corroborate my journey as most people had been able to exit. I also think the majority of people chose to change at Leamington into Marylebone. I went for Paddington because it was more convenient for my tube interchange.
There is a bit of a vent here about how poor the support for travellers can be during disruption but my broader question here is if GWR were correct in their interpretation of the rules - at a very high level, I wasn't given permission. Ticket Acceptance had been arranged with CrossCountry only, and the Avanti staff member had authorised us to get a CrossCountry service into Kings Cross (ignoring the fact that is not possible). CrossCountry had given details of connections into London but not specifically authorised travel against the ticket type I held. Regardless of that I had acted in good faith throughout and I'm not sure why anyone would willingly reroute themselves via such a long winded route unless necessary. I also understand TOCs do have an obligation to assist passengers of other TOCs during disruption. Its also worth saying that GWR said even if I had got permission from an Avanti or CrossCountry staff member, it wouldn't have meant anything because they're "not GWR and can't let you travel on our services without asking us first"
I'm just trying to consider if a complaint beyond the delay repay is warranted (not for compensation, just to highlight the issues) or if despite being a regular traveller I've got expectations out of line with reality.
