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TOC plans regarding advance tickets if destinations become no-go (Coronavirus)?

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Mike@Raileasy

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Kite159 said:
Question for Mike, I've got one transaction for a return London to Liverpool booked for early April which I will probably change for a head up on the Friday night, come back on the Saturday trip in June. Advance tickets for the Friday evening are already available but not for the Saturday. Would I have to wait for the advance tickets for the Saturday to become available to book a return, submitting my original booking for a refund?

Or can I book the Friday night now, wait for the Saturday tickets to become available, booking up when they do become available and submit both new reference numbers with the original booking for the refund? (Only on grounds of being able to secure a good price ticket on the Friday evening which might sell out before the Saturday tickets become available).
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I don't see why not. If the online form won't take 2 refs, please email and we'll sort it manually.
 
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hkstudent

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Is it if the intended journey of any (outward or return) be delayed due to additional stops/time change, I am entitled to a full refund for both outward and return ticket, even if it is one-minute delay only?
 
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hkstudent said:
Is it if the intended journey of any (outward or return) be delayed due to additional stops/time change, I am entitled to a full refund for both outward and return ticket, even if it is one-minute delay only?
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I'm not convinced a one minute delay is going to be seen as reasonable; most people would not consider that a "delay" at all. But it's difficult to say what the minimum would be as it's undefined.
 
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dvboy

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Not travelling until 15 April here so going to wait until nearer the time to see if TOCs change (or are forced to change) their tune on refunds for advance tickets
 
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alistairlees

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dvboy said:
Not travelling until 15 April here so going to wait until nearer the time to see if TOCs change (or are forced to change) their tune on refunds for advance tickets
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You have nothing to lose and it’s a good bet.
 
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Wuffle

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It may well be that timetable cancellations mean any advance tickets are eligible for a refund and National Rail are listing companies already doing this
 
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dvboy

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Quite from the West Midlands Railway website:



For Advance fares (which are non-refundable), if you are not able to travel, you will be able to change the date of travel free of charge for any journey due to be taken between 17th March and 31st May. The only charge will be any difference in fare, if your chosen date is more expensive.

If you don't know your rescheduled date yet, don't worry. Just contact us when you've made a decision. There's no need to contact us before the date on your ticket to tell us you can't travel.

Bookings for Advance tickets are generally available up to 12 weeks in advance, and you'll eventually be able to rebook for any date up until 31st August. Clearly we'll be more flexible if things haven't improved by then.
 
Baxenden Bank

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trainophile said:
So we are all hoping for cancellations so that we can claim, when we had already decided we weren't going to travel anyway?
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The logical outcome when the industry sticks it's head up it's bum and refuses to be flexible.

They could make 'already bought' Advances fully flexible - for the day they are booked for - gets round some 'journey no longer possible, full refund please' claims.
Perhaps make them flexible +/- 1 day to cover lack of Sunday services.
Perhaps automatically refund the whole lot.
Perhaps accept that the advice 'do not travel' is a bit blunt.

I have an Advance to the West Highlands next week, with hotel accommodation on top. Until Sunday I was fully intending to travel. I have no symptoms, there were no cases where I live, there would be minimal risk, even on a train for a few hours, because of the drop in passenger numbers.

The big BJ announced on Monday 'not to travel on public transport unless essential'. Clearly my journey is not essential, I shall follow official advice. Yet, were I a car driver, I could continue with my holiday plans. That is why I expect a refund on my non-refundable Advance. I am simply doing what the government has told me to do. Perhaps I should be selfish, pretend my holiday is in fact a trip to help out an elderly relative, and not lose any money?
 
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I did not realise Martin Lewis was live on ITV last night with a 30 min. programme and taking calls.
Missed opportunity I think.
 
Howardh

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I have an advance ticket from trainsplit, Bolton to Manchester to London X tube to Brighton and back. The Man to Eus is train specific.
Clearly after the service is reduced the times will change so the journey will be longer.
With split ticketing and three TOCs involved, what can I do to abandon and get s full refund or credit?
 
Haywain

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Howardh said:
I have an advance ticket from trainsplit, Bolton to Manchester to London X tube to Brighton and back. The Man to Eus is train specific.
Clearly after the service is reduced the times will change so the journey will be longer.
With split ticketing and three TOCs involved, what can I do to abandon and get s full refund or credit?
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And one retailer, that's the important bit. Talk to the one retailer.
 
Howardh

Howardh

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Haywain said:
And one retailer, that's the important bit. Talk to the one retailer.
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I have some information off the trainsplit site (difficulat to find)
https://raileasy-refunds.fastrailticketing.com
How to apply for a refund?
If your ticket is refundable you may claim a refund if your circumstances change and you can no longer travel. Cheaper “ADVANCE” type tickets are NON refundable, but you may be eligible for a refund if the train you were due to travel on was cancelled or significantly delayed and you didn’t travel.

To claim a refund, you will need to complete the online Refund Claim Form within 28 days of the original travel date AND return your tickets to us before we can process your claim.

If you booked a “collection at station” ticket and you didn’t collect your tickets, we can process a refund without you returning them to us, but you must still complete the online Refund Claim Form. If you are only amending part of your booking you will need to collect your tickets before submitting this Refund Claim Form and returning the tickets you no longer require by post.

Refunds may only be claimed on tickets which are wholly unused and only the face value of the ticket can be refunded (booking fee, share of saving and postage fees are non-refundable).

We will process your claim within 28 working days and it may take a further 5 days for any credit to appear on your statement. The refund can ONLY be paid back to the debit or credit card you used to purchase your ticket. Please note that there is a £10 administration charge per booking for processing a refund.

If you are claiming a refund on a non-refundable ticket, but the train on which you were booked to travel was cancelled or delayed and you did not travel, you may be eligible for a refund.

If you have purchased a non-refundable ADVANCE ticket but wish to change your booking, it may be possible to claim a refund on your original, unused tickets. You will need to re-book the same journey before the departure time of your original outward journey, and apply for a refund on the originals. You may change the time and date of the journey but not the departure station or destination and the refund will be subject to a £10 admin fee. If you are claiming a refund because you have amended you ticket, you must advise us of the new booking reference and return the original tickets to us.

If your train was delayed but you still travelled you may be entitled to delay compensation, but you need to contact the Train Operating Company directly to make a claim.
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js517

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Saperstein said:
I take it you booked though LNER? Be interesting to see if they refund you. Please report back in progress.

Good luck though.
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My two GC Advances (e-tickets) for today 20/3/2020 purchased from LNER online were refunded in full today 20/3/2020 with no Admin fee. [I submitted my claim 15/3/2020 so a quick turn-around considering what must being go on.] Thank you LNER!
 
trainophile

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Just experimented with re-booking a return journey Lancaster to Glasgow booked through TrainSplit, only to find booking window is only open up to the middle of June. I would have thought Avanti trains would have long booking windows, up to six months, but not so on TrainSplit. There's no point spending even £10 if the lockdown will still be in operation in June.

I think we have to resign ourselves to wasting a fair bit of money over this.
 
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sheff1

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MKB said:
It's shocking that TOCs and booking agencies are incentivising us financially to still travel on non-essential journeys.

When this is all over, people will remember how companies behaved and direct their future business accordingly.
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Indeed. Although, unusually, I had no travel booked I will certainly remember (i) those hotel chains who emailed to advise I could cancel any bookings without penalty and (ii) those TOCs who emailed to state that I could not.
 
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trainophile said:
Just experimented with re-booking a return journey Lancaster to Glasgow booked through TrainSplit, only to find booking window is only open up to the middle of June. I would have thought Avanti trains would have long booking windows, up to six months, but not so on TrainSplit. There's no point spending even £10 if the lockdown will still be in operation in June.

I think we have to resign ourselves to wasting a fair bit of money over this.
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LNR's website seems to be saying you can still change Advances after expiry, which is odd! Don't know if I'm reading that wrong.
 
trainophile

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At this juncture it would be helpful if we had a list of all the various TOCs' advice regarding the current situation and whether or not they are refunding. Any offers?

A similar one for hotel chains would be good too. I am getting in a terrible muddle.
 
trainophile

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Is it actually fraudulent to claim for a delayed or cancelled train when you weren't travelling anyway? I have just done this :oops: . Wouldn't normally but these are exceptional circumstances and I'm trying to mitigate whatever small proportion of my inevitable large losses I can.
 
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Bletchleyite

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trainophile said:
Is it actually fraudulent to claim for a delayed or cancelled train when you weren't travelling anyway?
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Edit: Oh hang on, you decided not to travel and then your train was cancelled? No, that's OK, you're entitled to a refund if your booked train was cancelled whether you were going to travel or not.

I thought you meant Delay Repay, where for it to apply an actual journey must be made and disrupted.
 
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