In November, my girlfriend was unfortunate enough to be on a Great Northern train from King’s Cross to Huntingdon that was more than three hours late, eventually arriving at 2.30am instead of 11pm.
Having filled out the Delay Repay form, she received an apology and vouchers for £8.65, which is only half the return fare. By the terms of the scheme, I believed the full fare should have been repaid (£16.95) and I queried this with Great Northern.
It told me that because the emailed claim had arrived a day later than the 28-day limit, they were not “officially obligated” to provide any compensation. On this occasion they had, however, chosen to provide a gesture of goodwill amounting to half what she would have been able to claim.
Given that the train in question was more than three hours late, and that more than 40% of its trains failed to arrive on time in November and December, we feel rather badly treated. What do you think? GM, Huntingdon
The Champs email address has been running hot with rail complaints problems since much of the network ground to a halt over Christmas.
Your letter clearly shows why the rail companies are so unpopular in this country. If they cock up your journey, they put it down to factors beyond their control and expect passengers to just take it on the chin.
However, if the passenger makes the tiniest mistake – in your case, applying for the refund a few hours late – they suddenly become sticklers for the rules.
In this case, Great Northern explained that there had been a signalling failure at Finsbury Park, resulting in many services from London King’s Cross being cancelled until about 12:45am. It has apologised for “any” inconvenience.
It has now had a second think and agreed to send you vouchers to cover what you think you should have been paid in the first place.
• We were also contacted by GRT of Monk Soham, Suffolk, praising another rail firm, East Anglian operator Abellio Greater Anglia, which, in some cases, has been rewarding passengers by sending Delay Repay vouchers representing double the amount they would normally receive for their claim.
“This was like a late Christmas present and, while it does not make up for the misery of a lengthy wait, it is nice to know that train companies can sometimes show some generosity.”
Let us know if you are still waiting for refunds or if you have had a particular problem with any rail operator.
