TfW complaint

[Sussex Ben]

On Thursday 3rd October my wife and I planned to travel on the 17:14 from Cardiff Central to Llandudno Junction. As the plan was to utilise the onboard dining service we had purchased 1st class tickets.

Due to a late notice stock change (to a 197) we needed to eat in Cardiff and delay our journey as our hotel would have stopped serving food before we arrived. As a result we travelled on the 18:55 to Crewe, eventually arriving at Llandudno Jn at 23:50, nearly 3 hours later than planned.

Following this I submitted a complaint with the hope of getting a full refund due to the length of the delay, however I have just received a response saying that they will only refund the difference between the first and standard fares. I’m not particularly happy about this and considering pursuing the matter, but before I do it would be good to understand if I have a reasonable chance of success or if it would be a complete waste of time. Any thoughts welcome!

 

[BAFRA77]

As a novice - I assume the 197s do not have first class facilities or catering on board?

If so - I think that the offer made would be the only one possible as any claim on the basis of a delay would not be relevant as this was a “self inflicted” delay as it were

 

[John R]

I can feel your frustration and disappointment at not being able to dine on the train. I’ve done it, and it is an excellent service.

However, I can also see why failure to provide a restaurant car shouldn’t result in delay repay as far as TfW is concerned, so feel their offer isn’t unreasonable.

 

[AlterEgo]

A refund between first and standard seems reasonable. The delay of three hours was your choice to make, and essentially they are compensating you for the change in stock meaning there was no first class provided as per your ticket.

 

[Sussex Ben]

As a novice - I assume the 197s do not have first class facilities or catering on board?

No 1st class. I think there was a trolley, certainly not enough catering to call dinner though.

Incidentally, the train we did catch (18:55 Cardiff to Manchester) was formed of Mk4s, but no catering on that either.

The delay of three hours was your choice to make, and essentially they are compensating you for the change in stock meaning there was no first class provided as per your ticket.

50mins of the delay was due to disruption on Avanti delaying us from Crewe onwards. We’ve missed the boat for delay repay on that one now though.

Sounds like one to chalk up to experience and probably not worth progressing. Will have to try again if we’re in the area at some point in the future.

 

[gray1404]

Perhaps you could write to Avanti ASAP about the delay they caused.