Virgin EC Delay Repay on "free" ticket

[jacksonbang]

I travelled on the heavily delayed VTEC 1600 Kings Cross to Aberdeen on Wednesday - arriving roughly three hours late into Aberdeen, due to signal failure outside York, fatality around Darlington and then issues with scheduling and staffing all the way up to Aberdeen.

The relentless on-board announcements advised everyone to claim compensation but I was told, around about Inverkeithing during a check, that I would get nothing as I was on a free ticket.

Is that the case? A ticket I received as an apology for inappropriate treatment on a previous journey has no reclaim value in the case of a delay?

It was a Virgin First Class return scratchcard ticket.

 

[SaveECRewards]

East Coast Rewards tickets were never valid for delay repay even though they could have always repaid the points. Scratchcard tickets fall under the same category as they have no cash value.

That said sometimes East Coast as a gesture of goodwill would give you something if you were delayed on a free ticket, although they were not obliged to.

How did you get the scratchcard? Were you escalated to someone senior because of massive inconvenience (the person I'm thinking of has the initials MR) or did regular customer relations give it to you?

I would say if you have a contact of the person who sent you the scratchcard send them an email and let them know about your delay, they'll probably send you a new one. If you don't have a contact then email a photo of your ticket to customer relations. Mention you had this scratchcard due to poor service and because of the extent of the delay they may send you a new one.

 

[alistairlees]

I travelled on the heavily delayed VTEC 1600 Kings Cross to Aberdeen on Wednesday - arriving roughly three hours late into Aberdeen, due to signal failure outside York, fatality around Darlington and then issues with scheduling and staffing all the way up to Aberdeen.

The relentless on-board announcements advised everyone to claim compensation but I was told, around about Inverkeithing during a check, that I would get nothing as I was on a free ticket.

Is that the case? A ticket I received as an apology for inappropriate treatment on a previous journey has no reclaim value in the case of a delay?

It was a Virgin First Class return scratchcard ticket.

I think that you should be entitled as a minimum to another free journey. I was in a similar position on GWR and after they initially denied this, that's what I got. After all, the tickets did say "subject to NRCoT" on the back. Are there T&Cs on the Virgin ones? I have never seen these.

 

[Hadders]

I had a similar problem a couple of years ago. I submitted a standard delay repay claim which was rejected. I wrote a polite letter to them and was given a complimentary return ticket.

Officially you’re not entitled to anything but if you don’t ask you don’t get.

 

[bb21]

Zero cost means you are not entitled to anything.

That said, experience suggests that by contacting Customer Relations, one would normally be given another free ticket as replacement.

That cannot be guaranteed however and is entirely discretionary, so be nice to your case handler.

 

[yorkie]

If you word your letter in the right way, you may well get something back, though you may have to escalate it (as happened with GWR recently).

I'm happy to proof read it if you want to send me your draft.

 

[AlterEgo]

The NRCoT is reasonably explicit in saying any compensation is calculated against the cost of your ticket. In this case, it’s £0.

That said I’d agree with what @yorkie said and a nicely worded email will probably get you a replacement free ticket. I think that’s a fair outcome.

 

[BigCj34]

I have had a not too dissimilar experience, as I received a scratchcard ticket form a previous Delay Repay dispute. The journey was from Colchester to Edinburgh, using an AP ticket from Colchester to Liverpool Street with the scratchcard ticket covering me form Kings Cross. The LNER service arrived 30 minutes late into Edinburgh, so should LNER compensate for 50% of the ticket for the Colchester - Liverpool Street leg as it was part of the journey?

To make things a bit more complicated, the ticket was captured at Liverpool Street.

 

[Bletchleyite]

You can have a 100% refund which is what you were entitled to.

100% of £0 is...

 

[BigCj34]

You can have a 100% refund which is what you were entitled to.

100% of £0 is...

The Colchester - London Liverpool Street journey was not free, so it would be 50% of £9.90 if anything. It's unlikely I would pursue the claim, just a bit curious.

 

[gray1404]

I would agree 50% of the cost of the advance ticket is payable.

 

[yorkie]

I have had a not too dissimilar experience, as I received a scratchcard ticket form a previous Delay Repay dispute. The journey was from Colchester to Edinburgh, using an AP ticket from Colchester to Liverpool Street with the scratchcard ticket covering me form Kings Cross. The LNER service arrived 30 minutes late into Edinburgh, so should LNER compensate for 50% of the ticket for the Colchester - Liverpool Street leg as it was part of the journey?

To make things a bit more complicated, the ticket was captured at Liverpool Street.

Yes, but do you have a photo of it?

I wouldn't put such a ticket through a barrier without first taking a photo.

LNER may give you a replacement scratchcard though.

 

[BigCj34]

Yes, but do you have a photo of it?

I wouldn't put such a ticket through a barrier without first taking a photo.

LNER may give you a replacement scratchcard though.

Inevitably, no. I've been accustomed to Liverpool Street returning the ticket, so for them to capture it is new to me.

 

[gray1404]

I am of the view that if a barrier keeps a ticket and you have other proof, such as a booking confirmation if you booked online, then the TOC should accept this upon you giving them an explanation and providing alternative proof.

 

[bb21]

Booking confirmation should suffice, for the purpose of providing proof, especially for Advance fares.