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Delay repay last minute TfL service suspension

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billyb750

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Hi all, bit of a strange one, but to what extent is TfL liable for delay repay due to a last minute suspension?

Specifically, the H&C and Metropolitan lines have notably been the subject of recent weekend suspensions to the entire line due to a lack of control room staff. Often the service suspensions have been announced with less than 24 hours notice.

This has necessitated expensive detours instead (e.g getting to Chesham from central London might instead require a train to Hemel Hempstead with a bus from there to Chesham - which costs more, and takes longer).

As a wider point therefore, is TfL ever liable under delay repay for line cancellations when a service is suspended with insufficient notice, if you can prove that you had to take a different longer/more expensive route? And if so, how much notice is insufficient notice? 1 week? 3 days? 1 day?

what I mean by this is that airplane cancellations within a week or so are subject to compensation, so to what extent should TfL line suspensions be subject to compensation?

As advance notice, this is not about compensation culture; I am just trying to understand where (if any) liability lies with TfL due to them announcing a service suspension with little to no notice.
 
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lkpridgeon

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15 minutes before you may be entitled to a refund on the tube.


30 minutes on TfL rail

Before you claim

Please wait at least 48 hours as you might receive an automatic refund.

We do not give refunds for delays outside our control, including:

Strikes
Security alerts
Bad weather
Customer incidents e.g. a person falling ill on a train
Engineering works

We do not give refunds if you travel for free using a Freedom Pass, 60+ Oyster photocard, Veterans Oyster photocard, or are aged 11 or under.

Refunds are given as pay as you go credit, web credit or by transfer into your bank account.

If you used a paper ticket or National Rail smartcard, your refund is transferred into your bank account.

You must claim within 28 days of the delay
 

billyb750

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15 minutes before you may be entitled to a refund on the tube.


30 minutes on TfL rail
Thanks for this, but this advice seems to reply to journeys which you have been able to start on oyster, but which were delayed whilst on route.

My question is how do you deal with delay repay in respect of a claim in respect of a journey which could not be made at all by oyster (I.e where you have no evidence
an Oyster card tap in). In other words, in the above Chesham example, could you just submit the train ticket and bus ticket as evidence, and ask TfL to repay the cost differential between that, and the cost of an oyster fare from central London to Chesham?
 

Watershed

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In terms of notice, normally you would have to have bought your ticket before the disruption was known about or announced to be eligible for any kind of compensation.

One of the disadvantages of Oyster/contactless PAYG is that you pay for exactly what you use - so if you have to travel via a different, more expensive route then you are not entitled to a refund.

In this case, if you are paying for your journey with PAYG, and cannot start your journey as planned due to disruption, you are not entitled to any compensation.
 

londonbridge

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One of the disadvantages of Oyster/contactless PAYG is that you pay for exactly what you use - so if you have to travel via a different, more expensive route then you are not entitled to a refund.
This goes all the way back to when PAYG was first introduced on the trains, I was travelling from East Croydon to Kings Cross, Thameslink was shut so had to go London Bridge/Northern Line which of course cost more than the direct train, despite arguing my case for a refund of the difference it was refused.
 

Horizon22

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This is an interesting case I suppose. The Met (and H&C, Circle and parts of District) have been very heavily delayed over the past few weekends. As you haven't technically bought the ticket for the journey that I presume nulls any opportunity for a refund? If you'd already tapped in and then there were suspensions, but people don't realistically plan there days like that and its unlikely to happen in those few minutes.

TfL are notoriously bad at delay repay generally; unlike TOCs which will refund for any reason, if it is "out of their control", they won't refund you. As they state on their websites this includes:
Strikes -
Security alerts
Bad weather
Customer incidents e.g. a person falling ill on a train
Engineering works

Strikes and engineering works are reasonable if a replacement, planned timetable is in place - although in the London Underground thread, some have suggested this "lack of control room staff" is a industrial dispute in itself.
 

hkstudent

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This is an interesting case I suppose. The Met (and H&C, Circle and parts of District) have been very heavily delayed over the past few weekends. As you haven't technically bought the ticket for the journey that I presume nulls any opportunity for a refund? If you'd already tapped in and then there were suspensions, but people don't realistically plan there days like that and its unlikely to happen in those few minutes.

TfL are notoriously bad at delay repay generally; unlike TOCs which will refund for any reason, if it is "out of their control", they won't refund you. As they state on their websites this includes:


Strikes and engineering works are reasonable if a replacement, planned timetable is in place - although in the London Underground thread, some have suggested this "lack of control room staff" is a industrial dispute in itself.
Indeed, and that's the reason why I have said,
the transfer of GWR services to TfL Rail has a downgrade in delay protection in passengers (which that shouldn't be, as TfL is "branded" as a better service)
 
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