So as predicted, Northern refused to pay out saying 1) the strike was well-advertised (of course not at time of my ticket purchase)
Unless they can show that, on the balance of probabilities, they informed you of the strike before or at the time of making the contract, this is irrelevant. In your case, I understand that the strike was announced after you had already bought your ticket. This is therefore entirely irrelevant drivel, typical from Northern.
2) no consequential loss under NR-CoC (I don't agree this is a consequential loss).
They are wrong on
so many levels here.
- Firstly, the NRCoC have long been replaced with the NRCoT. These were updated in March to reflect the fact that the Consumer Rights Act 2015 now applies to the rail industry, and they explicitly recognise that you may be able to make a claim for consequential losses in certain circumstances (primarily where the services has not been provided with reasonable care and skill, and/or not in line with information that influenced your purchase). So clearly this was a copy-paste job from a very old and non-updated template - no surprise for Northern.
- Secondly, NRCoT Condition 28.2 imparts a duty upon every Train Company (as defined in Appendix A of the NRCoT), where it is reasonably practicable to do so, to provide alternative transport arrangements and/or overnight accommodation when disruption prevents you from completing your journey. Since you decided to continue with your journey, any Train Company in a position to do so was obliged to help you. You are therefore perfectly entitled to recover your costs of fulfilling Northern's duty in their place. They can scarcely argue that it was not practicable to arrange a taxi, given you were able to do so.
- Thirdly, on a more basic contract law/common law level, you had a contract to be conveyed on certain trains at certain times. Northern breached the contract by failing to convey you as contracted. You remedied this breach in the most reasonable means possible - a taxi to your destination - and since this is a foreseeable result of their breach of contract, they are liable for the cost.
So, in my view, they have no standing to reject your claim.
I've had a lot of back and forth so I'm well in my rights to go straight to the claim. Before heading to MCOL,
Whilst it is definitely good that you have corresponded with them before heading straight for a claim, you would be well advised to write a formal Letter Before Action (LBA) - in the correct manner and to the correct address
* - giving them 14 days to pay, before you actually make your claim. The relevant Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) and Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct (PDPAC) require you to do this - and whilst failure to adhere to the CPR and/or PDPAC is by no means fatal to a claim, especially at the generally more lenient Small Claims Track of the County Court, it may leave you liable to an adverse costs order (i.e. you having to pay Northern's costs, and not getting your costs back) if Northern realise your error. I would be happy to proofread any LBA you want to send (it's probably better to do it by PM, lest Northern see it here).
I was wondering if Northern are signed up to a dispute resolution service like CEDR?
Currently the rail industry exclusively uses the Transport Focus (or London Travelwatch, obviously not relevant here) mediation services. They do not offer any arbitration services - though allegedly a "proper" Ombudsman service will begin this autumn. I'm not holding my breath.
*LBAs should generally be sent by regular post - not signed-for or tracked post - but you should always obtain a proof of postage receipt at a Post Office counter. This is because proof of postage serves (at least for these purposes) as accepted proof that a letter was received 2 working days after posting. This is irrespective of when the letter actually arrives. Regular post can't be rejected, but someone could always (and people sometimes do) refuse to sign for signed-for post, and then the tracking would correctly show that it hadn't been delivered. The 14-day clock only starts ticking once the LBA is actually, or deemed, received. When sending an LBA to a company, you should always address it to the registered office of the company,
as given by Companies House (search Arriva Rail North Limited). Again, whilst it may be received elsewhere (e.g. outsourced customer services), this is the only "guaranteed" way of ensuring you have complied with your obligations under the CPR and PDPAC. It doesn't matter if Northern are disorganised and therefore only open or read your LBA well after the 14 day deadline - that becomes their problem and not yours.
