Trainline charges change fee after train was canceled

Q: I booked a ticket on Trainline several weeks w ago for a journey from Stockport, Eng gland, to London. When I checked the ticket t on the day of departure through the Traainline app, it showed that the train sch heduled for 2 :24 p.m. had been canceled d.

There wwas another train leaving at 2:19 p.m., so I rebooked re my ticket for that one. Trainline chharged a change fee and a fare difference, , even though the train had been canceled aand Trainline didn’t inform me about this before departure.

I expect a full refund for the fare difference and change c fee for an error that was not my fau ault. I would have missed the train if I hadn’t t checked before arriving at the station. . Can you help?

— Neal le Gonsalves, San Francisco

A: Traiinline should have informeed you about your canceledc trtrain trip. It shouould have offeredoff to rebookk youyo on anotherother train or given you a refund. It should not havee waited for you to discover thet canceled train, and thhen charged you a change fee.f So why did it?

Trainline is a ticket agent. Its records showed that you were traveling from Stockport, near Manchester, to London on a highly discounted ticket.

“Advance single tickets are highly discounted, and they give you the best value for your money,” a Trainline representative said. “However, these tickets are only valid for the date, time and train as specified, which makes them non-flexible. And, due to that, a direct refund does not go through on these tickets.”

Since you initiated a ticket change after learning of your train’s cancellation, Trainline says it can’t refund your tickets.

Trainline is clear about the terms of your ticket. Its site says you can use your existing ticket to travel on the next available service. But therre’s some finefi print. In the U.UK., youu hhave to use ththe next availableav train withwi the sasame train operator.. OtherOth tickets have restrictions on the time of day you can use them. “RRemember to check the connditions of your ticket in casse you can only travel with a cecertain operator/ route,” it sayays.

Trainline mayy beb right aboutbout the termsters ofo youyour ticket, but it should have also notified you of the cancellation and offered to rebook you. After all, its site promises it will be with you “every step of the way.” I don’t think it was.

Trainline prefers that you communicate with it through its app. It looks like you did that, but the company continued to deny your request for a refund. I think an email to an executive would have been your next step. All of Trainline’s email addresses follow the format: firstname.lastname@ thetrainline.com. Trainline publishes the names of its executives on the Trainline site at www.thetrainline. com/about-us/meet-theteam (but not their emails).

Trainline should have notified you about your cancellation and explained what rescheduling your trip on a more expensive train would have cost. Instead, it allowed you to assume that your ticket change would be reimbursed.

I contacted Trainline on your behalf. “We’re sorry to hear your reader was unhappy with their experience booking through Trainline,” a spokesman told me. “When a customer’s train is canceled, we notify them and explain which services their ticket is valid on without extra charge. However, we understand these refund rules can be complex, and as a goodwill gesture, we have refunded your reader the extra amount they paid for their second ticket, along with the admin fee.”

Christopher Elliott is the chief advocacy officer of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers resolve their problems. Elliott’s latest book is “How To Be The World’s Smartest Traveler” (National Geographic). Contact him at elliott.org/ help or chris@elliott.org.