We bought two InterRail global passes for £446.43, and paid an extra £7.90 for guaranteed delivery to our temporary Berlin address by 30 May. We planned to begin our trip from Barcelona a week later. But the tickets didn’t arrive and we had to take our pre-booked flights to Barcelona without them.
Unable to find an InterRail customer service helpline, we sent five messages across various online platforms and received no reply. We were stranded in Barcelona with nowhere to stay and unable to start our carefully organised trip.
Eventually we managed to find a customer service number, but the adviser hung up on me without taking our details. We spoke to another adviser who told us to buy two new passes from Barcelona station and send in proof of purchase for a refund. We did this and set off on a dismally tight budget because we were £450 out of pocket.
In mid-June InterRail emailed us to say the refund had gone through, but it was only for the £7.90 postage we paid, and we were forced to alter our plans en route to accommodate our sudden lack of funds. Moreover, our depleted bank account racked up charges.
Two months later we are still waiting for our money back. EG, Manchester
InterRail’s website promises “100% guaranteed on-time delivery”, but in your case the company seemed intent on wriggling out of its commitment.
At one point it stated, erroneously, that the tickets had been delivered to your Berlin lodgings while you were travelling and suggested you ask whoever signed for them to send them on. When you heard from a fellow tenant that the tickets had been delivered eight days late and without being signed for, InterRail insisted that you return them by guaranteed post before it released your money.
The refund arrived eight weeks after it was first promised, but with no sign of an apology or your out-of pocket expenses. As ever, though, the prospect of media exposure works wonders in tweaking the corporate conscience. Two days after The Observer intervenes you receive a fulsome mea culpa.
InterRail blames besieged customer services during the high season. “With the unprecedented number of questions from travellers, response times did not meet the usual standard of service,” says a spokesperson.
You are to receive €25 (£22.75) to cover the cost of returning the original passes and the company is sending you two free global passes and €100 each spending money.
If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number.
