Your train is running late … and so is the refund

PASSENGERS cannot avoid disruption when travelling by train, but they should claim compensation for it.

Despite rules to ensure passengers can claim money back for inconvenience caused by delays, only three out of four are even aware of their rights – and just one in ten makes a claim.

Rail operators often keep claim forms hidden behind ticket counters – only handing them over if you ask – and baffle us with a variety of confusing forms and compensation deals. More than 75 per cent of passengers ‘do not know very much’ or ‘nothing at all’ about refund rights, according to the watchdog Office of Rail Regulation. Rail firms save £100million a year from passengers not claiming.

David Harby, 62, a gardener from Lincoln, chairs a local branch of national campaign group Railfuture, which presses for better services. He believes operators could do far more, such as explaining how people can claim in platform announcements.

He also feels there is a need to standardise compensation packages across the rail network. The Department for Transport agrees. It wants all 25 passenger train companies to join a standard Delay Repay scheme so customers know where they stand. But so far only 11 have signed up – CrossCountry, East Coast, East Midlands Trains, Greater Anglia, Southeastern, Southern, First Capital Connect, London Midland, Virgin Trains, First Hull Trains and Gatwick Express.

Under Delay Repay, anyone held up between 30 minutes and an hour can claim a refund of half a single fare. Those delayed more than an hour get a full single refund, while the total return cost is refunded if a passenger is stranded for more than two hours or misses a vital connection. Season and weekly ticket holders can also claim.

Even those companies signed up to Delay Repay can wriggle out of commitments. Greater Anglia, for example, throws out claims for a full return trip refund for delays of more than two hours. A Greater Anglia spokeswoman says: ‘Delay Repay schemes vary between train operators and these are agreed and approved before a franchise gets under way.’

Delay Repay is more generous than the legal minimum in National Rail Conditions of Carriage rules, where an hour’s delay may lead to a 20 per cent refund. David Sidebottom, acting chief executive of consumer watchdog Passenger Focus, says: ‘Train companies need to do better. The onus is too much on the passenger.’

When a journey is made using more than one provider, the one where the delay occurred should be contacted for reclaims.

Compensation is typically paid in the form of vouchers, but if a passenger insists then the operator may offer cash. Delays caused by vandalism, trespass or bad weather may not be compensated as train operators insist these are ‘unavoidable’.

A spokesman for the national train industry body, the Rail Delivery Group, says: ‘Latest figures show a £3million rise in Delay Repay money paid out in a year. You can find out about compensation on trains, at stations, online, through social media and smartphone apps.’

HOW TO MAKE A CLAIM IF A train is cancelled and you decide you can no longer travel you are entitled to a full refund. This should be paid immediately at the ticket office.

For delays, pick up a claims form from a ticket office, or contact the provider via the net, phone or post.

When filling in a complaints form, include original tickets and proof of purchase, but take a copy. If not satisfied with the response or compensation, contact Passenger Focus on 0300 123 2350 or at passengerfocus.org.uk.