YOU HAVE GOT TO BE QUIDDING
SCOTRAIL’S £1 PAYOUTS FOR LATE TRAINS Passengers slam compo
Craig McDonald They have been criticised for delays, cancellations, missing out stops and a daily commuter crush.
Now ScotRail have added insult to the injured feelings of long-suffering passengers – by offer ing them compensation of £1.
The princely sum was transferred to the bank account of commuter Karen Leiper after a cancellation forced her to take a £12 taxi journey.
And Chris Fitzgerald was posted a paper money-off voucher amounting to the same sum.
Both criticised ScotRail ’s Delay Repay scheme and said the experience had left them feeling it was not worth the hassle of claiming.
Labour said the compensation process needed overhauled.
Office manager Karen, 44, of Mount Vernon, Glasgow, said her service, from Shettleston to the city centre, was routinely hit by hold-ups.
She said: “The train missed my station and the following train was delayed indefinitely – so I had to take a taxi.
“It cost me £ 12. So I got a pound off my £ 12 fare. It’s pathetic – I couldn’t believe it.
“I went to reply but it was an automated email system which couldn’t take a reply.
“Abellio ScotRail aren’t really interested in their customers.”
Chris, 36, who travels from Newton, Glasgow, into Glasgow Central every day, received £1 after he f inally complained about his troubled service.
Chris, who pays £19 for his weekly ticket, said: “I’d taken a good number of delays and cancellations on the chin.
“But one morning in December I just deemed it one cancellation too many.
“I went through the claim process, which involved me photographing and scanning my ticket, thinking I would get the entire amount refunded.
“I got an emai l tel l ing me my complaint had been dealt with and that I’d received a £1 ScotRail voucher in compensation. I couldn’t believe it. ScotRail missed more than half their targets for quality standards on trains and at stations.
Dutch operators Abellio were fined £440,000 – down £43,000 on the previous quarter – for poor performance from October to December.
They missed 18 out of 34 targets in areas such as station toilets, ticket machines, train cleanliness, toilets and seats.
The results follow a survey by watchdogs Transport Focus last month which found passenger satisfaction at its lowest level since 2002.
Scottish Labour transport spokeman Neil Bibby said: “The hit by delays of 30 minutes or more are spokesman Neil Bibby MSP said: “If due compensation. passengers feel it’s not worth their
For delays of up to 59 minutes, while to claim compensation then the passengers can claim 50 per cent of scheme needs to be reviewed.” the cost of a single ticket or 25 per cent Lorna Greenwood, campaigns of a return. manager at petition group 38 Degrees,
A delay of up to one hour 59 minutes last week met Transport Minister entitles customers to claim the full Humza Yousaf to discuss commuters’ single cost or half of a return. dissatisfaction at ScotRail. Hold-ups of two hours or more can She said: “It’s no surprise people bring a claim for the full ticket. are struggling to get the refunds
Labour transport they’re owed. It’s just another example provide. They say they’ll Ensure the company meet our demand to publish provide more trains overcrowding figures, and passenger seats at something that’s done in peak times. England and Wales. Ensure some of Abellio’s
But our campaign also profits are reinvested in calls for the Scottish improving the ScotRail Government to: service.
“It must have cost them more than that to process it. It just demonstrated to me the level of regard ScotRail have for customers.
“Since Abellio have taken over, the standard of service has hit rock bottom.
“I’m frequently late for work and again coming home due to delays and cancellations.” ScotRail say passengers transport minister needs to take personal responsibility for turning things around.”
The previous three months, ScotRail missed 15 targets.
A Transport Scotland spokesman said there had been some improvements but added: “There is clearly still scope to do better.”
of Abel l io putting prof it before passengers.”
A ScotRail spokeswoman said: “Payouts are dependent on length of delay.
“They apply to single journeys, so even if a customer has a weekly ticket costing £19, they’ll get a portion of the delayed journey repaid, not the whole cost of the weekly ticket.”
She declined to say how much was paid under Delay Repay in 2016, as it was “commercially sensitive information”.