Long train delays affect thousands of Brits every month (Image: Getty)
There are few things worse than getting to a train station, looking up at the departure board and seeing that your train has been delayed. Whether you’re heading to work, visiting family or trying to get away for the weekend, even a relatively short delay can quickly throw your plans into chaos. But what many passengers might not realise is that they could be entitled to some of their money back when this happens. And there is a handy feature on the Trainline app which can make it much easier to know when you are able to claim.
The app can automatically track delays and let you know when you could be eligible to claim through Delay Repay. Trainline says it monitors journeys in real time, meaning passengers don’t have to work out for themselves whether their delayed train qualifies.
If there is a delay, the app will keep track of it. Once your journey is over and Trainline knows you can make a claim, it will send you a push notification or email.
You can then check the details before clicking through to the train operator’s website, where the actual claim is submitted. There are a few catches, however.
The feature is available through the Trainline app for Flexible tickets and Advance tickets on single-leg journeys, but not for open returns or Season Tickets. How much money you can get back will depend on your train company, the price and type of ticket and how long you were delayed.
Trainline can automatically track delays and let you know when you could be eligible to claim (Image: Getty)
Most UK train operators offer compensation when passengers are delayed by 15 or 30 minutes, with the amount normally increasing the longer you are held up.
Under the National Rail Conditions of Travel, operators must offer passengers at least one form of monetary compensation for eligible delays, such as a bank transfer, cheque or refund.
Some companies also offer rail vouchers.
Passengers will usually need evidence of their journey when making a claim. This can include a scan, photograph or screenshot of the ticket and its barcode for an e-ticket.
Trainline also recommends keeping your booking confirmation or e-ticket receipt showing your booking reference, journey and the amount paid.
Season Ticket holders may need their photocard, while a receipt containing the journey details and price can be used if you no longer have the original ticket.
And it appears plenty of passengers could be missing out. Trainline says it has detected more than one million delayed journeys eligible for a refund over the past 12 months.
Its survey found almost half of Britons, 47%, had never applied for or received train delay compensation, while 27% didn’t know they could be entitled to money back if their train was delayed.
The company also found the average Brit said they missed out on £1,204.80 each year across products and services they were eligible to return or have refunded.
There are slightly different rules if your train is cancelled.
If you still travel using an alternative train, you could claim Delay Repay if the cancellation leaves your overall journey more than 15 or 30 minutes late, depending on the operator.
But if you decide to give up on the journey altogether because of the disruption, you should instead claim a refund for the unused part of your ticket.
This needs to be done within 28 days of the ticket’s expiry date.
Missing a connection because of a delayed train doesn’t necessarily mean buying another ticket either.
If you’re eligible for a refund, Trainline will send you a push notification or email (Image: Getty)
If the whole journey was booked under one ticket, Trainline says you can wait for the next available train run by the same operator without paying extra.
Passengers are advised to speak to a member of staff on the delayed train or at the next station for help.
People travelling on National Rail using an Oyster card can also claim compensation for eligible delays and cancellations under the relevant train company’s rules, although they will need to provide a copy of their journey history.
This can be obtained from a London Underground or London Overground station or an Oyster Ticket Stop.
Those with a registered Oyster card can also get their journey history online by logging into their account on the TfL website.
Delay Repay also doesn’t take away your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Trainline says passengers may be able to claim additional compensation if they face costs because a train company failed to provide the expected service.
Compensation is not usually offered during periods of pre-planned engineering works or when replacement bus services are used.
The scheme is offered by a long list of train companies across the UK, although the point at which compensation kicks in and the amount you could receive can differ between operators.
The full list of train operators offering Delay Repay is:
- Avanti West Coast
- c2c
- Caledonian Sleeper
- Chiltern Railways
- CrossCountry
- East Midlands Railway
- Gatwick Express
- Grand Central Railway
- London North East Railway
- London Northwestern Railway
- Lumo
- Merseyrail
- Northern
- ScotRail
- Southeastern
- Southern
- South Western Railway
- Greater Anglia
- Great Northern
- Great Western Railway
- Hull Trains
- Thameslink
- TransPennine Express
- Transport for Wales
- West Midlands Railway
- Stansted Express
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
