Delay repay 19:05 EUS-HHD

[ATW Alex 101]

hi got few questions regarding delay repay

I was in chelmsford for the weekend and got the train from chester via EUS

Journey on the way was fine everything went well.

However, on the way home me and my mum took the 19:05 EUS-HHD which is the last train of the day to chester. I got on the train in plenty of time and I got an upgrade to first class for a fiver. My mum sat in standard class.

We had a smooth departure until we slowed down and made a stop right in the middle of Atherstone station. About 10 mins later the TM came on and said that we would be delayed because the train in front of us had hit somebody at lichfield tv. We reversed back to rugby then went forwards again and took a left and went through the west midlands, albeit very slowly.

What im asking is what we do for delay repay. Our train was scheduled to arrive into chester at 21:14 but arrived at about 11 ish. Our train was over an hour late so im assuming we apply for delay repay.

What is the procedure for doing so? Do we write a letter and include the tickets and railcard and if so do i put my upgrade ticket AND my other ticket?
How would we structure a letter asking for repay and roughly how much would we get back?

And out of general curiosity what route would we have taken through birmingham, we passed through coventry then birmingham international then through more stations (but we went fast through them so I couldnt read the signs) we passed over the chiltern line then through aston and bescot stadium. We then circumvated new street and wolverhampton on a very slow line. We then were speeding off and through penkridge and stafford.

Once again though I would like some answers to my questions regarding getting delay repay

many thanks
ALEX

 

[142094]

I'm not entirely sure where you were travelling from or to, and therefore what kind of ticket you held - in the thread title it says Euston to Holyhead, but you then go on to say you were in Chelmsford and travelled to Chester. So I'm assuming you were travelling with a Chelmsford - Holyhead ticket?

 

[MidnightFlyer]

And out of general curiosity what route would we have taken through birmingham, we passed through coventry then birmingham international then through more stations (but we went fast through them so I couldnt read the signs) we passed over the chiltern line then through aston and bescot stadium. We then circumvated new street and wolverhampton on a very slow line. We then were speeding off and through penkridge and stafford.

To satisfy your curiosity, I suggest you went Coventry-Birmingham International-Stetchford-Aston then either -Bescot-Wolves-Stafford or -Bushbury Jn-Stafford. I suspect the former is more likely.

 

[SS4]

hi got few questions regarding delay repay

I was in chelmsford for the weekend and got the train from chester via EUS

Journey on the way was fine everything went well.

However, on the way home me and my mum took the 19:05 EUS-HHD which is the last train of the day to chester. I got on the train in plenty of time and I got an upgrade to first class for a fiver. My mum sat in standard class.

We had a smooth departure until we slowed down and made a stop right in the middle of Atherstone station. About 10 mins later the TM came on and said that we would be delayed because the train in front of us had hit somebody at lichfield tv. We reversed back to rugby then went forwards again and took a left and went through the west midlands, albeit very slowly.

What im asking is what we do for delay repay. Our train was scheduled to arrive into chester at 21:14 but arrived at about 11 ish. Our train was over an hour late so im assuming we apply for delay repay.

What is the procedure for doing so? Do we write a letter and include the tickets and railcard and if so do i put my upgrade ticket AND my other ticket?
How would we structure a letter asking for repay and roughly how much would we get back?

http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/contact/ and Hit "Make a Complaint". That might not work since you've collected your tickets.
There is a PDF you can print and fill in and attach the tickets (but not the railcard). You'd having nothing to lose including your upgrade but I doubt you'd be reimbursed on it.
The form has all you need to say on it and, according to VT's charter, you'll get 25% of the value back in the form of rail travel vouchers.

And out of general curiosity what route would we have taken through birmingham, we passed through coventry then birmingham international then through more stations (but we went fast through them so I couldnt read the signs) we passed over the chiltern line then through aston and bescot stadium. We then circumvated new street and wolverhampton on a very slow line. We then were speeding off and through penkridge and stafford.

Once again though I would like some answers to my questions regarding getting delay repay

many thanks
ALEX

I would imagine you went COV - BHI - SCF [stechford] - AST - BSC [Bescot] - WVH. There is a link between Stechford and Aston which sees freight only nowadays iirc and maybe the odd parliamentary train.

 

[calc7]

Sounds very much the same set of events I experience on October 7th last year - albeit on the 1820 from EUS. Person hit at Lichfield Trent Valley, we didn't get as far as Atherstone and "took a left" at Rugby, off at Stechford to go via Aston, Bescot and, I believe, Perry Bar then on to Wolverhampton, Penkridge, Stafford, Stone, Stoke and forwards. Ended up at my final destination a good couple of hours late, but the drinks trolley made frequent passes to placate those of us in First Class.

I've actually been on that "diversion" a few times - either weekend diversions for XC or once on a WVH-EUS service when the front driving cab was not getting interlock so we needed to run the wrong way round into BHM for a turnaround.

As for delay repay - one option is to print and send this form with your tickets for the entire affected journey from Chelmsford to Chester. Virgin will then sort the rest. Include your FC upgrade - I'm not sure whether they are obliged to refund it but it would be good customer service to do so.

Assuming it was an Advance Single (or multiples thereof), you should probably get it all back in Rail Travel Vouchers.

 

[ATW Alex 101]

sorry no I should have said

I had a standard off peak open return from chester to london, while in london I brought seperate ticket for chelmsford.

I'm on about my return leg from Euston to Chester which was a holyhead service. I was alighting a chester.

I upgraded at euston to first class and now have a seperate 1st child upgrade

 

[calc7]

I'm not entirely sure where you were travelling from or to, and therefore what kind of ticket you held - in the thread title it says Euston to Holyhead, but you then go on to say you were in Chelmsford and travelled to Chester. So I'm assuming you were travelling with a Chelmsford - Holyhead ticket?

Final destination Chester I would imagine - train continues to HHD.

 

[SS4]

Sounds very much the same set of events I experience on October 7th last year - albeit on the 1820 from EUS. Person hit at Lichfield Trent Valley, we didn't get as far as Atherstone and "took a left" at Rugby, off at Stechford to go via Aston, Bescot and, I believe, Perry Bar then on to Wolverhampton, Penkridge, Stafford, Stone, Stoke and forwards. Ended up at my final destination a good couple of hours late, but the drinks trolley made frequent passes to placate those of us in First Class.

Perry Barr is between Aston and Bescot so you'd probably have passed through but not stopped

 

[calc7]

sorry no I should have said

I had a standard off peak open return from chester to london, while in london I brought seperate ticket for chelmsford.

I'm on about my return leg from Euston to Chester which was a holyhead service. I was alighting a chester.

I upgraded at euston to first class and now have a seperate 1st child upgrade

Were the tickets both to/from London Terminals? There's a bit of disagreement on these forums about whether such tickets "join up" to form a through journey for delay purposes. Buying one to/from Zone U1* LONDN (which is not possible on trainline-powered websites) eradicates any doubt in these cases.

 

[ATW Alex 101]

Final destination Chester I would imagine - train continues to HHD.

thats right

my train from chelmsford was not affected as I arrived in london at about 11 o clock. my train left eus at 5 past 7
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Were the tickets both to/from London Terminals? There's a bit of disagreement on these forums about whether such tickets "join up" to form a through journey for delay purposes. Buying one to/from Zone U1* LONDN (which is not possible on trainline-powered websites) eradicates any doubt in these cases.

yes the tickets were london terminals

 

[transportphoto]

Just to point out that VT are not obliged to pay out for delays outside of the Rail Industry's control - suicides fall into this bracket.

Thats not to say they won't pay out as part of good customer service.

TP

 

[yorkie]

Were the tickets both to/from London Terminals? There's a bit of disagreement on these forums about whether such tickets "join up" to form a through journey for delay purposes. Buying one to/from Zone U1* LONDN (which is not possible on trainline-powered websites) eradicates any doubt in these cases.

It's irrelevant in this case, but I'll answer the question:

There is no doubt in my mind!

I'd enclose all tickets and provide full details of the journey if it was a continuous journey.

However I would not bother with the Chelmsford tickets if either extra time, or less time, than the "recommended" amount was allowed.
​

In this case, Chelmsford is irrelevant (it would have been better if the OP had not mentioned it, as it's causing confusion!) as the OP spent most of the day in London! Therefore, I see it as clearly two separate journeys.

Virgin Trains do not participate in Delay Repay, their scheme is less generous.

From their charter:

If a delay to a Virgin train causes an hour or more delay to
your journey (45 minutes in the case of a train on the London
- Birmingham/Wolverhampton services) we will reimburse
you with National Rail vouchers equal to 25% of the total
fare paid for the affected portion (outward/return) of the
journey. Alternatively, if you are delayed on a Virgin train by
more than two hours we will reimburse you with National Rail
vouchers equal to the full price paid for the affected portion
(outward/return) of the journey. All we ask is that you provide
us with your name, address and fare paid, on a Virgin Trains
postage-paid claim form provided and validated by our onboard
people at the time of the delay. If this is not possible, please
write to us at the address shown in section 6 of this Charter.
Please include your ticket as proof of purchase. National Rail
vouchers, which can be redeemed against journeys on Virgin
Trains, or on other Train Operating Companies’ services will
then be sent to you. This applies to holders of all tickets,
including season ticket holders

So he's entitled to 25% of the value of the return portion.

The price for 1 adult & 1 child with a Family Railcard from London Terminals to Chester is £63.10, so a quarter of half of that is £7.89

They may refund a portion of the 1st class upgrades too, so it's worth enclosing it.

As the delay was not far off 2 hours (for which significantly more compensation would be due) they may be more generous, at their discretion. Write a nice letter and that may help!

Also, make the letter concise* (unlike the opening post!)

(* Last time I suggested someone to write a concise description of the problem the result was a huge essay containing thousands of words, so I couldn't read it all and withdrew my offer of help)

 

[rdwarr]

Does anybody else feel uncomfortable about making a claim against the TOC in circumstances like this? It's a tragic incident that really is outside their control.

 

[All Line Rover]

I got on the train in plenty of time and I got an upgrade to first class for a fiver. My mum sat in standard class.

So it's not just me who does that, then. £5 is just too hard to resist!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I upgraded at euston to first class and now have a seperate 1st child upgrade

I would not bother making a fuss about the upgrade. Virgin never refund them when you are delayed - after all, you are getting additional value out of it since you are sitting in First Class for longer! The only time I've had an upgrade refunded is when the advertised refreshments service was not available.

Keep the claim simple and you will get a refund of 25% to 100% depending on the severity of the delay.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Just to point out that VT are not obliged to pay out for delays outside of the Rail Industry's control - suicides fall into this bracket.

Thats not to say they won't pay out as part of good customer service.

TP

I've never, ever had a claim rejected by Virgin on those grounds. So I can only assume that Virgin pay out for all claims regardless of the circumstances. (In stark contrast to, for example, FGW).

 

[rail-britain]

I've never, ever had a claim rejected by Virgin on those grounds. So I can only assume that Virgin pay out for all claims regardless of the circumstances. (In stark contrast to, for example, FGW).

The affected TOCs will be compensated, so it is up to the passengers to claim, anything left over is retained by the TOC
No matter what the cause and/or reason is, if the delay repay applies then claim irrespective

 

[ATW Alex 101]

It's irrelevant in this case, but I'll answer the question:

There is no doubt in my mind!

I'd enclose all tickets and provide full details of the journey if it was a continuous journey.

However I would not bother with the Chelmsford tickets if either extra time, or less time, than the "recommended" amount was allowed.
​

In this case, Chelmsford is irrelevant (it would have been better if the OP had not mentioned it, as it's causing confusion!) as the OP spent most of the day in London! Therefore, I see it as clearly two separate journeys.

Virgin Trains do not participate in Delay Repay, their scheme is less generous.

From their charter:

So he's entitled to 25% of the value of the return portion.

The price for 1 adult & 1 child with a Family Railcard from London Terminals to Chester is £63.10, so a quarter of half of that is £7.89

They may refund a portion of the 1st class upgrades too, so it's worth enclosing it.

As the delay was not far off 2 hours (for which significantly more compensation would be due) they may be more generous, at their discretion. Write a nice letter and that may help!

Also, make the letter concise* (unlike the opening post!)

(* Last time I suggested someone to write a concise description of the problem the result was a huge essay containing thousands of words, so I couldn't read it all and withdrew my offer of help)

thanks for that advice mate. we have decided not to go ahead with making a claim as its hardly worth the fuss for £7.89.

Thanks everyone else for the help and advice

 

[hairyhandedfool]

It's essentially free money, I'd claim it if I were you, in fact I once made a claim on a staff discount ticket expecting to get back little more than £2 (or, if I'm honest, a letter telling me I should be grateful for the staff 'discount'), but ended up with more than I thought. Moral is, always claim!

 

[IanD]

Moral is, always claim!

Go for it. I recently simply asked Virgin why they had removed the lower tier advances from a particular service and they sent me £50 in vouchers so they obviously have plenty of cash floating about.

 

[yorkie]

Virgin are inconsistent. A group of about 5 people had the same problem. One sent in a child ticket and got about £50 back. The others sent in as one claim and got about £2 each or something like that. I can't remember the exact amounts, but it was something like that. Bonkers! So it's a lottery, you may be lucky, you may not be...

 

[calc7]

One would hope that:
-A framework for deciding levels of compensation is given to the administrative staff, with exceptions being dealt with by a team manager
-An audit is carried out of the average compensation issued per member of staff over a given (long) period of time. Statistics says they should all be quite similar, so any major over- or under-compensating could suggest training is necessary.

 

[bb21]

The others sent in as one claim and got about £2 each or something like that. I can't remember the exact amounts, but it was something like that. Bonkers! So it's a lottery, you may be lucky, you may not be...

It was £8.80 altogether for four tickets, with a total cost eight times the child ticket sent in by the fifth person, who got £50 and the fact was confirmed by Virgin when questioned.