I am in dispute with the refunds team at Virgin Trains East Coast over a super off-peak return ticket from King’s Cross to Doncaster, which cost £88.40. For more than a month I’ve been trying to claim a refund for the unused return portion of the journey – I’ve made at least three 15-minute calls and had numerous email exchanges. This type of ticket allows return travel on any day within a month, at off-peak times.
Under all the terms and conditions I can see, I believe I am entitled to a refund. The problem arose because I chose to “collect” the tickets on Virgin’s Ticket Wallet app, meaning I can’t just go to a station desk and get a refund. Virgin has made no contact to let me know that my refund request has been rejected, so I’ve been left in the dark. What is more troubling is the complete inconsistency of information given by phone staff, which you have helpfully highlighted before on this page. One reason for the refund not being processed/honoured included: “It’s because you chose to collect your tickets on your mobile. As soon as you collected the tickets on the mobile, it is not possible to get a refund because we don’t know if you have used it or not.”
This is not true as there is a function to activate the ticket on the app so the conductor can scan it, and while I used the outward portion, I never used the return. Anyway, if this really was the case it should have been communicated at the time of booking. To top it all, if the refund is ever granted I’ll have the pleasure of paying a £10 service fee. EB, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire
We have been inundated with complaints about Virgin Trains East Coast’s poor and inconsistent customer service over the past few months, and we think it is both ridiculous and short-sighted that a major operator would take steps to introduce straightforward and “smart” tickets via apps which remove barriers to choosing the train, while making it so difficult for the holders to claim refunds.
A Virgin Trains spokesperson said: “We’re sorry EB didn’t get a consistent response from us … We are committed to making things simple and clear for our customers and … are bringing our customer relations team in-house in Newcastle to ensure we consistently offer the best possible customer experience. We’ve apologised to EB, refunded his tickets and offered a complimentary return journey.” It is also excellent news that the customer relations team will no longer be outsourced.
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