Disputing Northern Delay Repay Claim

[Miken]

Hello, I always use Avanti booking engine so that all of my e-tickets are then in one place. I booked an Anytime Day Single Senior Railcard (attached) Wilmslow-Parbold on 10th May to the following itinerary which is printed on the ticket. 16:36 from Wilmslow on Northern, 17:09 from Stockport on TPE then 17:27 from Manchester Oxford Road on Northern. The 17:27 broke down at Wigan and we had to wait with no information/help for over an hour & I finally arrived at Parbold at 19:35 (rather than 18:30 as per itinerary). As my understanding is the claim should be made against the TOC causing the delay I sent the claim to Northern. In less than a few hours Northern have rejected the claim on the basis (and I quote) "The service was operated by another train operator (Avanti West Coast)".

I have just submitted an appeal but can the professionals on here please guide me - am I correct it what I have done so far. I thought the claim should be made to the TOC causing the delay and not the TOC that sold the ticket?

I'll be happy to update this when Northern reply to my appeal.

Thank-you.

 

[yorkie]

You are correct; this is nonsense from Northern and not untypical, sadly.



(By the way, For future reference, the forum's ticket site can save money for journeys such as this; it's only a couple of quid on this occasion but it can add up:



You would get two e-tickets but both on one PDF; having it on one PDF avoids the faff that split ticketing used to involve in the past.

You also get the benefit of a seat selector where applicable. It also helps to support the forum and enables us to run events such as free fares workshops as well as cover our running costs )

 

[Miken]

Thanks Yorkie and OK I'll give the forum ticket site a go. I typically spend about £200-300 per week on business travel so that may be of use (I assume there is a margin or commission to be had). I will be pursuing the nonsense with Northern if the appeal is rejected. As promised will update on the outcome. Much appreciated, Mike

 

[yorkie]

Thanks Yorkie and OK I'll give the forum ticket site a go. I typically spend about £200-300 per week on business travel so that may be of use (I assume there is a margin or commission to be had).

There is no booking fee, but if the site finds a saving (compared to booking a through fare) then a small proportion of the saving is kept as a 'finders fee' (if you are desperate to avoid paying any such fees, you could then use the same site to search for each ticket as if it were a separate journey, and add each to the basket, and then pay once all are added)

The share of saving fee is shown at the results stage (i.e. the £8.79 fare quoted above includes this fee, so the amount you actually save is £2.06 in this case)

I will be pursuing the nonsense with Northern if the appeal is rejected. As promised will update on the outcome. Much appreciated, Mike

Let us know how you get on

 

[londonbridge]

I had problems with Northern after football when my train from Horwich parkway to Manchester was cancelled, causing me to miss my connection back to London. Northern rejected my claim by ignoring the second leg and claiming my journey from Horwich to Manchester wasn’t delayed sufficiently to qualify for compensation. Eventually won on appeal.

 

[Miken]

There is no booking fee, but if the site finds a saving (compared to booking a through fare) then a small proportion of the saving is kept as a 'finders fee' (if you are desperate to avoid paying any such fees, you could then use the same site to search for each ticket as if it were a separate journey, and add each to the basket, and then pay once all are added)

The share of saving fee is shown at the results stage (i.e. the £8.79 fare quoted above includes this fee, so the amount you actually save is £2.06 in this case)

Let us know how you get on

Will do and will glady contribute to the funds by using the split ticket system - this is a remarkable site and has helped on many occasions. Thank-you.

PS: Just booked my first fare! Seamless

 

[robbeech]

Indeed I’m struggling to be persuaded against my view that the Northern delay repay system is a giant hat with a robotic arm that picks a rejection excuse at random for each claim.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Indeed I’m struggling to be persuaded against my view that the Northern delay repay system is a giant hat with a robotic arm that picks a rejection excuse at random for each claim.

It might be simpler (if less picturesque) to assume that Northern’s first stage is automated but only successfully processes single-train journeys, and so will reject claims that involve changing trains.

 

[317 forever]

I highlighted how Northern declined my Delay Repay claim and even my appeal after a 3 hour delay on the Preston to Manchester leg of my Edinburgh - Preston - Manchester journey last year.

So it seems to me their approval of Delay Repay, at least on anything involving connections, is at best patchy and at worst non-existent.

 

[Miken]

A quick update on my original post... Northern having declined my delay repay claim were sent an appeal but no response so far. Out of the blue Avanti have taken up the claim, judged it and declared "Claim Successful" - I'll be paid by cheque apparently (not what I asked). So whilst I have been paid I'm totally perplexed. Avanti sold me the ticket but other than that the booked schedule that day was Northern-TPE-Northern and it was the last leg that Northern broke down at Wigan resulting in a 60 minute delay. I'm now using (as a result of this thread) the Rail Forums Ticketing site - very pleased with it so far bit finish with a question. For any delays booked via Rail Forums do I claim to the TOC that made me late or RF ticketing. Sorry for length of this post but it is very confusing... any further guidance/advice appreciated.

 

[AlterEgo]

A quick update on my original post... Northern having declined my delay repay claim were sent an appeal but no response so far. Out of the blue Avanti have taken up the claim, judged it and declared "Claim Successful" - I'll be paid by cheque apparently (not what I asked). So whilst I have been paid I'm totally perplexed. Avanti sold me the ticket but other than that the booked schedule that day was Northern-TPE-Northern and it was the last leg that Northern broke down at Wigan resulting in a 60 minute delay. I'm now using (as a result of this thread) the Rail Forums Ticketing site - very pleased with it so far bit finish with a question. For any delays booked via Rail Forums do I claim to the TOC that made me late or RF ticketing. Sorry for length of this post but it is very confusing... any further guidance/advice appreciated.

Delay Repay is always claimed from the train company which delayed you, not the ticket retailer.

 

[Watershed]

A quick update on my original post... Northern having declined my delay repay claim were sent an appeal but no response so far. Out of the blue Avanti have taken up the claim, judged it and declared "Claim Successful" - I'll be paid by cheque apparently (not what I asked). So whilst I have been paid I'm totally perplexed. Avanti sold me the ticket but other than that the booked schedule that day was Northern-TPE-Northern and it was the last leg that Northern broke down at Wigan resulting in a 60 minute delay. I'm now using (as a result of this thread) the Rail Forums Ticketing site - very pleased with it so far bit finish with a question. For any delays booked via Rail Forums do I claim to the TOC that made me late or RF ticketing. Sorry for length of this post but it is very confusing... any further guidance/advice appreciated.

If you travel and are delayed - claim compensation from the TOC at fault.

If you don't travel - claim a refund from the retailer that you sold your ticket.

Unfortunately the TOCs seem to struggle with this very simple concept, and therefore frequently pass claims on to the wrong TOC. In this case they passed your claim onto a TOC that wasn't even involved in your journey.

Oh well, if you've been paid then I suppose that's all that matters at the end of the day.

 

[yorkie]

A quick update on my original post... Northern having declined my delay repay claim were sent an appeal but no response so far. Out of the blue Avanti have taken up the claim, judged it and declared "Claim Successful" -...

Northern probably (erroneously) forwarded it to Avanti, who then trusted Northern and paid accordingly.

 

[Miken]

Thank you all for the advice...