Transpennine Express - Delay Repay

[416GSi]

Can I ask does TPE have a policy of rejecting the first and the appeal of people making Delay Repay Claims?

The only reason I ask is that it appears every time I make a claim they reject me on the first attempt and the appeal only to finally pay when I make a further appeal.

I'm getting irritated by this, as usually the excuse is ridiculous. As an example, the current excuse for rejecting my claim is that Transport for Wales operate the Stockport to Sheffield service....not them!

Sorry vent over!

 

[gray1404]

Make sure you do appeal each and every time so you get the money you are entitled to. Imagine how many people just give you. If you have the time, then you could always submit a separate customer service complaint to them each time and then escalate it to the rail ombudsman.

Perhaps you could make a list of each claim they have failed to get right first time then send a complaint asking why and what assurances they can give that it won't happen again. If they fail to do this, take it to the Ombudsman making it clear you are contacting them because it is a continued lack of reasonable care and skill in processing delay repay claims.

 

[JBuchananGB]

I wonder what led to the confusion. Did your journey include any leg travelling with TfW? Such as to Stockport on TfW, and then from Stockport to Sheffield on TPE which was delayed? Or did you purchase your ticket from TfW?

 

[yorkie]

Can I ask does TPE have a policy of rejecting the first and the appeal of people making Delay Repay Claims?

The only reason I ask is that it appears every time I make a claim they reject me on the first attempt and the appeal only to finally pay when I make a further appeal.

I'm getting irritated by this, as usually the excuse is ridiculous. As an example, the current excuse for rejecting my claim is that Transport for Wales operate the Stockport to Sheffield service....not them!

Sorry vent over!

this is very common among several train companies.

It's unclear if it is a deliberate policy or the result of an incredible level of incompetence

Either way it is both unacceptable and yet also totally expected at the same time, I am sad to say

 

[Starmill]

Common problem. I do not know the cause. It's certainly convenient that my valid claims are frequently rejected at first pass, though, and that I'm asked to intervene a second time to be paid.

Of course, if I made a mistake and didn't pay the train company the first time, there would be a big risk that criminal prosecution would be initiated against me.

 

[416GSi]

Thanks for all the replys. I am awaiting the outcome of the appeal of the previous unsuccessful appeal.

I think you're right gray4104, I am going to push to ensure that I get the compensation especially as I was 4 hours late into Sheffield, having to go via Manchester and Leeds to get there.

To answer the question from JBuchananGB, yes the first leg of my journey was using TfW. I also bought my ticket from them. They were on time, it went wrong at Stockport when I need to take the TPE service.

I have some limited understanding if they got confused on the first time I claimed, but the second as well seems to me that "....it is a deliberate policy or the result of an incredible level of incompetence" Especially as I have provided all the details so that there should be no confusion.

Thanks again, I will let you know the outcome.

 

[yorkie]

Yep that's normal for TPE. They refuse to investigate incidents of clear misconduct by their staff, and just constantly refer the complainant to another train company. They are either so incompetent that I know 11 year olds who are far more intelligent than them, or they are doing it deliberately. I have no idea which it is; it may be a bit of both.

Sadly I don't have a contact at TPE to escalate these complaints to.

I'd take the matter to the Ombudsman if they still refuse: https://www.railombudsman.org/making-a-complaint/start-a-complaint/

 

[416GSi]

No surprise TPE have again rejected my claim, in effect citing that Transport for Wales is responsible for the delay of the train between Stockport and Sheffield. Just in case anyone doesn't know, TFW does not run a service between Stockport and Sheffield!

I'm wondering now what to do. I have already sent a reply to TPE again pointing out that they are wrong. I'm wondering if the next stage should be the Rail Ombudsman or a letter before action. Both have advantages and disadvantages.

 

[ValleyLines142]

Must be a First-owned thing, as when I filed for delay repay on a journey from Cardiff to Brighton GWR told me to file it with GTR, even though it was the GWR service that was delayed that made me miss my connecting GTR service!

I have no time, patience or respect for companies/people that pass the buck onto someone else when they known they are clearly in the wrong! Really gripes my behinds!

 

[maxbarnish]

While I'm now in a 2nd appeal with Southeastern after they got times of a replacement bus wrong and claimed the delay was less than it was - by a long way. No-one knows any replacement bus running records, do they?

 

[hkstudent]

While I'm now in a 2nd appeal with Southeastern after they got times of a replacement bus wrong and claimed the delay was less than it was - by a long way. No-one knows any replacement bus running records, do they?

Not sure whether the bus drivers sign on roster sheets indicating the actual arrival time, for overtime-pay purposes.

 

[gray1404]

No surprise TPE have again rejected my claim, in effect citing that Transport for Wales is responsible for the delay of the train between Stockport and Sheffield. Just in case anyone doesn't know, TFW does not run a service between Stockport and Sheffield!

I'm wondering now what to do. I have already sent a reply to TPE again pointing out that they are wrong. I'm wondering if the next stage should be the Rail Ombudsman or a letter before action. Both have advantages and disadvantages.

Next state is to ask for a Manager to look at your case and ask them to issue a deadlock reply if they are unable to resolve it. Then take it to the Rail Ombudsman.

 

[416GSi]

I got a reply to my complaint made on the 2nd of December:-

"Thank you for contacting us, I was very sorry to learn that you have not received a reply to your Delay Repay claim.

The reference number you have provided us with is a reference number provided by our team at Head Office where your claim has been processed, unfortunately we are unable to access these claims on our system therefore I am unable to investigate this matter further for you.

All online Delay Repay claims are deal with by our team at Head Office, if you have still not received a response to your claim please contact our Head Office team directly at [email protected] and include your full contact details in the email so that they are able to investigate this matter further.

Thank you again for contacting us, I do hope you get a resolution for your claim as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely"

With respect to TPE if someone sent a complaint to the wrong email address in an organisation - as published on their own website - its for them to route it to the right place and not push this back on the customer. Further evidence of a lack of professionaisum at TPE!

 

[_toommm_]

I got a reply to my complaint made on the 2nd of December:-

"Thank you for contacting us, I was very sorry to learn that you have not received a reply to your Delay Repay claim.

The reference number you have provided us with is a reference number provided by our team at Head Office where your claim has been processed, unfortunately we are unable to access these claims on our system therefore I am unable to investigate this matter further for you.

All online Delay Repay claims are deal with by our team at Head Office, if you have still not received a response to your claim please contact our Head Office team directly at [email protected] and include your full contact details in the email so that they are able to investigate this matter further.

Thank you again for contacting us, I do hope you get a resolution for your claim as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely"

With respect to TPE if someone sent a complaint to the wrong email address in an organisation - as published on their own website - its for them to route it to the right place and not push this back on the customer. Further evidence of a lack of professionaisum at TPE!

If you push (and I really do mean push) the Customer Services on the phone, they'll magically find a way to get the systems to talk to one another. When it happened to me, it took 6 months to get my Delay Repay plus compensation on top. They messed up that badly, the £15 ticket turned into £15+£80 compensation, and the cheque amount was tripled, giving me a hefty sum.

To this day, I'm still waiting for the Rail Travel Vouchers they also promised, but they never materialised, and I'd lost all hope of ever getting them

 

[416GSi]

Finally got the cheque after three appeals and one threat to take them to the Rail Ombudsman.

They gave up once I asked for a letter of deadlock. While I'm happy with the result the whole experience has demonstrated to me how TPE have either an incredible level of incompetence or are being deliberately obstructive.

Either way its clear that they consistently fail to demonstrate a reasonable level of care and skill in processing delay repay claims.

Thanks to every one for your help and support.