Ever heard people referring to "Kafka-esque" experiences and fancied having one yourself? Then try getting the new GWR Delay Repay system to cough up on a claim involving split tickets and a cross-London journey they've bungled*. (*Even when the split's not at a London terminal which seems to really queer the pitch; instead e.g. Bath->Southend split at Reading).
In fact, try getting GWR to pay out correctly on anything recently which isn't trivially simple and neatly aligned with this automated DR system's expectations. I'm still trying to establish whether the web based system is actually a bot with no human input which might explain why it is so astonishingly intransigent.
Not bothering with the standard system and going straight to letter writing seems most likely to succeed. Then it just needs a lot of bloody minded persistence in sending it back repeatedly adding each time a yet-more pedantic explanation of why their initial reasons for refusal are an insult to logic. Refuse to give up. So far that has always got results eventually. Eventually being the operative word as it can take months...
In their defence, they have just paid my delay compensation as requested on a return journey which was composed of split tickets and one change of route excess. (So 5 coupons in my uploaded photograph)
Interestingly, I purchased the change of route excess on the return leg but was delayed on my outward journey, so was reimbursed proportionately to the total return cost of my journey, but not the cost paid at the time of the delay. (Not sure if they considered this...)
Which prompted me to consider this:
If someone is delayed by two hours+ on an outward journey, could they then purchase whatever excess they wanted in the knowledge that they would be reimbursed for the full cost of their journey?