Dave W
Member
Hello,
I've been mulling over whether to post this, and it's a bit long, but I've been involved in a really odd case with GWR since the end of January and appear to have now reached an impasse, so I'm seeking some advice about what to do next:
Two of us went from Paddington to Bath for the weekend on the 28-30 January. We both have Network Railcards so I split our tickets at Didcot which saved a few quid. All fine until I checked train times on the Sunday to find that the 1443 train which was advertised at time of booking (of which I have proof on my GWR account) didn't exist due to engineering works. Those that were running back to London didn't call at Didcot Parkway, rendering our split tickets void.
Not wanting to have issues with validity, I approached the ticket office at Bath to discuss options. I really wish I hadn't - the gentleman behind the counter was exceptionally rude and by the end I made it quite clear I would be raising a complaint. He told me that "gaming the system" by splitting tickets led to situations like this and told me my only option was to buy two singles to Reading. I wasn't happy but did so and boarded the 1423. What came next was probably inevitable - on explanation to the guard he said he'd have accepted our original split tickets as it wasn't our fault, and that I should apply to have the Bath-Reading tickets refunded (he marked neither).
At this point I was a bit miffed - I'd been told three different things by the booking engine, the Bath booking office and now the guard on the train. I wrote a more detailed version of the above framed as a complaint and request for assistance and actually sent it before we'd arrived at Paddington.
Three weeks later I got the usual standard template about each section - sorry you weren't happy, we've reported it but can't feedback on actions taken, etc (they also referred to a positive comparison I'd made of the outbound service on the Friday, but that's not important) - but no mention of what to do with the tickets.
A back and forth commenced until the GWR customer handler - who seemed only capable of pasting paragraphs - directed me to their refund system. A refund request was duly posted... And then duly rejected as it was outside the 28 day limit. I wrote back to the handler who told me that it wasn't his fault it took him 3 weeks to respond to my initial complaint, and then the additional time afterwards to reach an understanding about a refund. I asked it to be escalated and he said there was nowhere to escalate the refund to as the system had rejected it.
It's £56.20, so not a life-changing sum of money, but this all feels pretty unfair! My initial complaint was largely just about the ticket office staff member and could I have a refund per the guard's advice, but this bizarre email exchange has left me entirely unimpressed. I wrote back saying that I wasn't satisfied with the way the complaint was handled and that I wanted the complaint, not the refund escalated. I have mentioned that if such assistance wasn't forthcoming I would consider taking the matter to the Rail Ombudsman.
I've not heard from them since that escalation request on Monday. I'll be happy to continue to resolve it, but I have a strong suspicion I might not hear from them again. What's really annoyed me is that I tried to do the right thing, got stung by the ticket office, and then to rub salt in the wound was told it would have been alright anyway. The ensuing email exchanges have bordered on the astonishing and the inflexibility has turned me from being pragmatic and willing to sort it out cooperatively into being genuinely angry with them.
Having raised the possibility of the ombudsman, is there any other action I can take other than to sit tight for a response from someone who doesn't just paste paragraphs from a script? Further question: am I being reasonable? I don't think I've done anything wrong in the assumptions I made in the entire scenario - would be happy to be told otherwise as it'll help me to better understand how to proceed.
Cheers!
Dave
I've been mulling over whether to post this, and it's a bit long, but I've been involved in a really odd case with GWR since the end of January and appear to have now reached an impasse, so I'm seeking some advice about what to do next:
Two of us went from Paddington to Bath for the weekend on the 28-30 January. We both have Network Railcards so I split our tickets at Didcot which saved a few quid. All fine until I checked train times on the Sunday to find that the 1443 train which was advertised at time of booking (of which I have proof on my GWR account) didn't exist due to engineering works. Those that were running back to London didn't call at Didcot Parkway, rendering our split tickets void.
Not wanting to have issues with validity, I approached the ticket office at Bath to discuss options. I really wish I hadn't - the gentleman behind the counter was exceptionally rude and by the end I made it quite clear I would be raising a complaint. He told me that "gaming the system" by splitting tickets led to situations like this and told me my only option was to buy two singles to Reading. I wasn't happy but did so and boarded the 1423. What came next was probably inevitable - on explanation to the guard he said he'd have accepted our original split tickets as it wasn't our fault, and that I should apply to have the Bath-Reading tickets refunded (he marked neither).
At this point I was a bit miffed - I'd been told three different things by the booking engine, the Bath booking office and now the guard on the train. I wrote a more detailed version of the above framed as a complaint and request for assistance and actually sent it before we'd arrived at Paddington.
Three weeks later I got the usual standard template about each section - sorry you weren't happy, we've reported it but can't feedback on actions taken, etc (they also referred to a positive comparison I'd made of the outbound service on the Friday, but that's not important) - but no mention of what to do with the tickets.
A back and forth commenced until the GWR customer handler - who seemed only capable of pasting paragraphs - directed me to their refund system. A refund request was duly posted... And then duly rejected as it was outside the 28 day limit. I wrote back to the handler who told me that it wasn't his fault it took him 3 weeks to respond to my initial complaint, and then the additional time afterwards to reach an understanding about a refund. I asked it to be escalated and he said there was nowhere to escalate the refund to as the system had rejected it.
It's £56.20, so not a life-changing sum of money, but this all feels pretty unfair! My initial complaint was largely just about the ticket office staff member and could I have a refund per the guard's advice, but this bizarre email exchange has left me entirely unimpressed. I wrote back saying that I wasn't satisfied with the way the complaint was handled and that I wanted the complaint, not the refund escalated. I have mentioned that if such assistance wasn't forthcoming I would consider taking the matter to the Rail Ombudsman.
I've not heard from them since that escalation request on Monday. I'll be happy to continue to resolve it, but I have a strong suspicion I might not hear from them again. What's really annoyed me is that I tried to do the right thing, got stung by the ticket office, and then to rub salt in the wound was told it would have been alright anyway. The ensuing email exchanges have bordered on the astonishing and the inflexibility has turned me from being pragmatic and willing to sort it out cooperatively into being genuinely angry with them.
Having raised the possibility of the ombudsman, is there any other action I can take other than to sit tight for a response from someone who doesn't just paste paragraphs from a script? Further question: am I being reasonable? I don't think I've done anything wrong in the assumptions I made in the entire scenario - would be happy to be told otherwise as it'll help me to better understand how to proceed.
Cheers!
Dave
