I wonder if anyone can help my daughter's train was delayed for 1 hour 15 minutes due to a breakdown she was offered a taxi but had to get to the next station 10 miles away and having no phone signal could not sort get transportation to the next station. As a result of this she missed her final exam and therefore cannot graduate this summer. She is going to have to stay on at uni another year costing us over £800 and will have to travel from Settle to Leeds for another year can we get compensated for these extra costs and the fact that she cannot get a job for a further year all they have offered is to refund part of the cost of the ticket
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Train was late and therefore missed final Uni exam any additional compensation?
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I assume she's spoken to the university about any possibility of a work around due to her missing the examination not being her fault?
Otherwise I would not be confident of getting any further compensation beyond the travel ticket as that is all they contractually have to provide in the event of delays. From the National Rail Conditions of Carriage:
I suppose you could try arguing along the lines of exceptional circumstances but I wouldn't be hopeful of them accepting that line of argument.
Otherwise I would not be confident of getting any further compensation beyond the travel ticket as that is all they contractually have to provide in the event of delays. From the National Rail Conditions of Carriage:
I suppose you could try arguing along the lines of exceptional circumstances but I wouldn't be hopeful of them accepting that line of argument.
In short, no. The conditions of carriage, that were agreed to, limit the train company's liability.
It is well known that trains can break down. Bearing in mind the seriousness of the consequences, it doesn't seem like particularly good planning.
The mitigating circumstances will usually be put to a board of examiners, has this happened already? It seems quite early for that. They would have the power to award the degree, despite the missing exam.
It's an unfortunate situation, but I think that the University are in the better position to help. (Train) companies limit their liabilities for exactly this sort of reason - if they risked paying out a year's salary to passengers for every delay then they couldn't stay in business.
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An hour and fifteen minutes seems like a more than reasonable amount of contingency time to me...
cjmillsnun
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Simple answer. Nope. Hence for important things I allow 2 hours. If I'm at my destination early, great, I can wander around, find a coffee shop and prepare.
Given that there's only a train every 3 hours, I think this response is a bit harsh.
Her first port of call would be to speak to the university about a resit of the examination.
Universities have a system to deal with things like this. She needs to apply for mitigating circumstances. Get confirmation from the TOC concerned and she will be given a deferred exam, without penalty.
The deferred exam will be in June/July/August or in 12 months time and she will not have to attend any classes, so I am not sure where the costs come in.
sean
The deferred exam will be in June/July/August or in 12 months time and she will not have to attend any classes, so I am not sure where the costs come in.
sean
ralphchadkirk
Established Member
She needs to get some evidence and apply to the University for mitigating circumstances (called Serious Adverse Circumstances at my uni).
Unfortunately she may well have missed the boat, as the case for me (a different university) is that retrospective applications can only be made a week after the date of examination.
If the university do not grant extenuating circumstances, or she has missed the application deadline then the TOC aren't going to pay her tuition fees.
Unfortunately she may well have missed the boat, as the case for me (a different university) is that retrospective applications can only be made a week after the date of examination.
If the university do not grant extenuating circumstances, or she has missed the application deadline then the TOC aren't going to pay her tuition fees.
The train was 1hr 15min late. That isn't the contingency time. To work out the contingency time allowed we need to know the time she had to be at uni, the time the train was due to arrive and the time it would take to get between the station and the university.
Chapeltom
Established Member
I will add my advice as a commuting student. I had a three hour, third year exam a couple of weeks ago, which was my first and only exam. I could have taken the first train and got there an hour 15 early but I decided against it. Bear in mind, I'd made that 50 mile trip around 280 times and had never experienced a single delay of more than an hour. But I couldn't risk any kind of error, it only needed a fatality, a breakdown or major signalling problems and I'd have been in a similar situation. To nullify this risk, I traveled through the day before and booked a cheap hostel for £15 in Liverpool, I only had to bother with getting to Uni from within Liverpool the next morning.
I'm afraid, whilst I can express some sympathy. With an exam of such great importance you have to remember that things can go wrong when you least expect. I'd have had contingency time of around 2 hours or stopped over if that was not possible.
I'm afraid, whilst I can express some sympathy. With an exam of such great importance you have to remember that things can go wrong when you least expect. I'd have had contingency time of around 2 hours or stopped over if that was not possible.
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Yes, this is what I would have suggested. Most if not all universities have arrangements in place for people who miss an exam through no fault of their own. I don't have an opinion on whether an hour and fifteen minutes is enough contingency time as it isn't clear what the expected journey duration is.
Serious adverse circumstances! Somones at UH. Lol
Recently went super strict on it too.
ralphchadkirk
Established Member
Bollocks. I've been rumbled.
The train was an hour and fifteen late which meant the exam was missed, the OP has not stated how long after the scheduled arrival time the exam was due to start. For all we know from the limited info in the first post it could have been 5 minutes after!
I am fully aware of the very limited service on the line so the options are limited.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
That wasnt the contingency time, it was how late the train was!
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Lol I guess! Glad I left after all those changes!
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Andrewlong
Member
Why was the offer of the taxi not taken up? Was the daughter going to be charged for trip or was it going on the right direction? Or have I missed something here ?
Your daughter should be speaking to the University (I assume Leeds Uni) and providing evidence that she:
- left enough contingency time, and planned to arrive in plenty of time before the exam started
- was delayed by an abnormally significant amount of time (this should be easy, since records like this are public)
- could not arrange alternative transport.
She can write to the train company asking for a signed letter to the university to back up her case. From what I can see on Leeds Uni's website, it appears they are quite unforgiving towards absence at examinations, but I strongly suggest it's worth trying regardless. She should also consider taking advice from her student union.
You cannot claim compensation from the train company for any subsequent losses (e.g. an extra year's tuition fees/travel.) This is because the train company cannot, and do not, guarantee that the train will run to time, or even at allmuch like any mode of transport, trains are, ultimately, machines operated by humans, and things break.
Unfortunately, the most you can get in situations like this is your money back. This isn't exclusive to the railways. If your telephone line goes down for ten days, the most you will get is ten days' worth of phone bill back.
When I was at Uni many moons ago I missed my final german oral exam, forget why, but I got it resheduled. All that happens is you graduate a month or so late and the big gown thing is a bit later than the rest, but still just as busy. (I was almost late for that, got a bit tipsy the night before and had to dash from Newcastle to Sunderland). ahh the memories.
So, get your daughter to speak to the uni ASAP. things happen.
So, get your daughter to speak to the uni ASAP. things happen.
I'm with everyone who's saying she should have planned better. If a train being 1:15 late caused her to miss the exam she had obviously left a far smaller margin than that.
Better planning for such an important event would have involved leaving a greater margin, even if that planning meant using some other method than the normal train commute - the overnight stay at a hostel is sound advice and there may have other earlier transport options with an earlier scheduled arrival. If things go to plan and there's nothing that needs to take up that greater margin allowed, getting up early before an exam allows a student to be calm and relaxed instead of sweating on transport plans, and they can sit in a cafe and do some light revision before the exam to use up the allowed time.
She should also have called the university and explained the issue as soon as she became aware of the delay on the day - they could have made arrangements for her to sit the exam in a side room to all the other students, starting at a later time obviously but while the scheduled time was still going and therefore possible to handle with the same exam paper and without any measures to organise a supplementary exam.
She would be well advised to learn from this situation and apply it next time she has something really important. Once she graduates and is looking for her first professional job, demonstrating her unreliability by turning up late or missing a job interview due to not getting her transport plans right will be an instant fail with no second chance like the university may offer.
Better planning for such an important event would have involved leaving a greater margin, even if that planning meant using some other method than the normal train commute - the overnight stay at a hostel is sound advice and there may have other earlier transport options with an earlier scheduled arrival. If things go to plan and there's nothing that needs to take up that greater margin allowed, getting up early before an exam allows a student to be calm and relaxed instead of sweating on transport plans, and they can sit in a cafe and do some light revision before the exam to use up the allowed time.
She should also have called the university and explained the issue as soon as she became aware of the delay on the day - they could have made arrangements for her to sit the exam in a side room to all the other students, starting at a later time obviously but while the scheduled time was still going and therefore possible to handle with the same exam paper and without any measures to organise a supplementary exam.
She would be well advised to learn from this situation and apply it next time she has something really important. Once she graduates and is looking for her first professional job, demonstrating her unreliability by turning up late or missing a job interview due to not getting her transport plans right will be an instant fail with no second chance like the university may offer.
BestWestern
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I don't think it's particularly helpful at this stage to repeatedly lambast the candidate for missing the exam - no doubt she feels suitably bad about events and will leave a vast contingency next time!
ralphchadkirk
Established Member
Again, I'm not sure how these posts help. What's happened has happened - we all make mistakes in life, and I'm pretty sure that she would have learned from this one. What's important now is to try and assist them to the best possible outcome from the situation.
northwichcat
Veteran Member
Maybe it was a resit she missed?
I seem to recall from uni there are options for progression even if you fail a module, one being a condoned pass whereby if the average mark is high enough then you don't need to resit a failed module. Another being if your doing a (Hons) degree and your marks aren't good enough to get the degree with the (Hons) or to trade the passed modules in for a lower qualification like a HND.
ian959
Member
The offer was for a taxi from the next station... but the girl had no way of arranging transport to the next station. At least that is how I read it...
The best advice is for her to go through the Mitigating Circumstances process. Transport cancellation is an allowable circumstance providing she has evidence from the TOC.
She will be entitled to a resit as a first attempt in August.
She may even be able to graduate without passing the module she missed the exam for, if it is an elective.
sean
She will be entitled to a resit as a first attempt in August.
She may even be able to graduate without passing the module she missed the exam for, if it is an elective.
sean
Tetchytyke
Veteran Member
I'll jump in, seeing as this is actually my day job.
In terms of the University, she will need to submit an extenuating circumstances form to the University explaining what happened. As a general rule extenuating circumstances (sometimes called serious adverse circumstances or mitigating circumstances) need to be UNFORSEEN and OUTSIDE OF YOUR CONTROL.
Many universities are reluctant to consider transport delays as extenuating circumstances, but they will do so in extreme cases. If your daughter is able to explain what happened, why it wasn't her fault, and explain why she couldn't take any other alternative form of transport (including paying, from her own pocket, for a taxi from Settle) then they may look on it sympathetically. Part of this will depend on whether she ever attended the exam, or whether she decided not to attend because she was so late.
If the ECs are accepted the student will normally be allowed a resit at the next examination period, without a mark penalty, if the student failed the exam. If the exam was passed a resit opportunity is often not allowed, but it depends on the university. When the resit is depends on the University. At my current employer it is in the August, but at my previous employer it is the May of the following year, meaning a delay to graduation of twelve months. The student will not be in attendance for that period- so she will not be allowed to attend lectures and tutorials. In extreme cases the University's examinations board can allow a student to get an "aegrotat" degree, i.e. one where they award a degree based on the passed modules, but this is usually restricted to where a student falls ill and is unlikely to ever fully recover.
If the ECs are rejected then whatever mark she obtained will stand. Some universities allow students to resit final exams, and some do not; my current employer does but my previous employer did not.
I would strongly recommend that your daughter seeks urgent advice from the advice centre within her university's student union. Each University has slightly different rules on when you can submit ECs- at my current employer they must be submitted within seven days of the exam.
In terms of the University, she will need to submit an extenuating circumstances form to the University explaining what happened. As a general rule extenuating circumstances (sometimes called serious adverse circumstances or mitigating circumstances) need to be UNFORSEEN and OUTSIDE OF YOUR CONTROL.
Many universities are reluctant to consider transport delays as extenuating circumstances, but they will do so in extreme cases. If your daughter is able to explain what happened, why it wasn't her fault, and explain why she couldn't take any other alternative form of transport (including paying, from her own pocket, for a taxi from Settle) then they may look on it sympathetically. Part of this will depend on whether she ever attended the exam, or whether she decided not to attend because she was so late.
If the ECs are accepted the student will normally be allowed a resit at the next examination period, without a mark penalty, if the student failed the exam. If the exam was passed a resit opportunity is often not allowed, but it depends on the university. When the resit is depends on the University. At my current employer it is in the August, but at my previous employer it is the May of the following year, meaning a delay to graduation of twelve months. The student will not be in attendance for that period- so she will not be allowed to attend lectures and tutorials. In extreme cases the University's examinations board can allow a student to get an "aegrotat" degree, i.e. one where they award a degree based on the passed modules, but this is usually restricted to where a student falls ill and is unlikely to ever fully recover.
If the ECs are rejected then whatever mark she obtained will stand. Some universities allow students to resit final exams, and some do not; my current employer does but my previous employer did not.
I would strongly recommend that your daughter seeks urgent advice from the advice centre within her university's student union. Each University has slightly different rules on when you can submit ECs- at my current employer they must be submitted within seven days of the exam.
Agreed. I've deleted a particular recent post of concern (but I'm not going to go further back than that as it would cause too much disruption now) and can I take this opportunity to remind people that both our Forum Rules (including those under Respectful) and also the Please read before posting in Disputes & Prosecutions 'sticky' thread applies.
If anyone feels someone does not 'deserve' constructive advice, then simply don't post.
And if you spot an unhelpful post, please report it using the report
As an alumnus of the University of Leeds, I endorse the advice to present mitigating circumstances.
I would however also like to know the arrival time of the train, and the start time of the exam.
I seem to recall that in my day one could enter the exam room 30 mins after the start time, and also not leave within the first 30 minutes.
I would however also like to know the arrival time of the train, and the start time of the exam.
I seem to recall that in my day one could enter the exam room 30 mins after the start time, and also not leave within the first 30 minutes.
As would I!
Everyone advocating the earlier train option needs to look at the service on that line, a train every 10 minutes it aint!
The first train is at 0730 then 1032,1332, 1545 etc with a journey time of just over an hour.
As for the hostel idea, how does she know that she is going to get any sleep in there?
Turning up very tired wouldnt have done her chances any good!
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