Instead of sending off your tickets and waiting weeks for your money, wouldn't it be easier to have a system where as soon as your train is delayed you can go to the ticket office and get your money back instantly?
Instead of sending off your tickets and waiting weeks for your money, wouldn't it be easier to have a system where as soon as your train is delayed you can go to the ticket office and get your money back instantly?
Virgin WC have automatic delay repay compensation if you had an Advance ticket solely on their services and bought it off their website. They refund your card with the requisite amount.
Other than that, it's not really that much of a hassle - no need, in most cases, to even send any tickets in the post.
I had the total opposite experience. From submission to cheque (over payment too) in about 3 weeks.GWR are appalling. I'm still waiting for a promised cheque to arrive from a journey delayed by 6 hours (which also involved 2 rail replacement taxis) from June.
I regularly make dual claims to GTR for myself and my partner travelling on a Two Together Railcard. Inevitably one will be processed correctly and the other rejected, or processed for the wrong amount. If I try to do the online resubmission process, and try to explain in less than 500 characters why they got it wrong, the new claim will be rejected with the reason that the claim has already been processed. If I ring up and say we were travelling together and say my partner's claim was processed successfully, then they say either each claim must be considered on its own merits, or due to data protection, they are unable to bring up my partner's claim for reference.
I recently submitted three identical claims as we had a friend travelling with us: one claim successfully compensated for a 30-59 minute delay; one processed as though it were a 15-29 minute delay, and one rejected because they had no record of such a train existing.
Is the Delay Repay department run by temps with no training?
Automatic delay repay is paid by Virgin Trains and Northern if you book an Advance ticket on the same website as the operator you travel with. ...
It is in the TOCs interest to make it as difficult as possible to increase profits.
I submit these claims fairly frequently as a commuter from Sussex to London Bridge. I am registered to use the online system which in some ways is very good, once a claim is submitted they are generally approved and paid straight into my Paypal account within a few days. I've had very few rejected and even managed to have one submitted, rejected, resubmitted and paid within a week - it can be that slick - credit where credit is due.I've claimed from GTR (Southern) twice recently and in both cases it was totally smooth - submitted photo of ticket online with details of train cancellation. Once from LM and that was fine too.
North West Leicestershire and as far as I know not very close to any train stations...The fact that Southerns Delay Repay office appears to be in Ashby-de-la Zouch wherever that may be suggests that its probably outsourced anyway.
In my experience, Virgin actually seem to be the most hassle. Their online form does not allow you enter the details of the journey you were actually making - whoever designed it apparently being under the bizarre impression that everyone on their trains is travelling solely between two stations served by them.
If you try and overcome that by entering the station where you alighted the delayed Virgin train, they claim that because that train was only, say, 20 mins late, you are not entitled to compensation even though the delay meant you missed the connecting service which only runs once every hour.
Eventually, after some to-ing and fro-ing, you might get the compensation you are entitled to ... but I expect the hassle would cause many to give up.
I do agree that getting your money back instantly at the booking office is not feasible. Not least, because of the huge number of stations with no booking office or one with limited opening hours. E-ticketing should make automatic Delay Repay much easier - but I am not holding my breath.
North West Leicestershire and as far as I know not very close to any train stations...