Last month I submitted a Delay Repay claim to Southern Trains in respect of a journey from Chichester to Bat & Ball. This was using an advance purchase ticket which clearly showed that it was only valid on the 15.40 departure from Chichester. I was very surprised that the claim was rejected because they could not identify the journey I was claiming against! I have resubmitted the claim with a very detailed breakdown of the journey and what train services I ended up using due to the train cancellation. It was paid but was it worth the effort for £2.00!

There’s a wider point here. Which? reported earlier in May that train companies are making it very difficult for passengers to get compensation by demanding up to 24 pieces of information during the claim process.

Their analysis revealed that the five worst companies required 13 different pieces of information about the passenger’s ticket, such as whether it was a paper ticket, the cost, class, whether it was peak time, the dates of validity and how it was paid for. Yet most of this information can be found clearly displayed on a photo of the paper ticket, which 23 out of the 24 train companies require to be uploaded as proof of purchase!

Perhaps it’s no wonder that a third of journeys weren’t claimed for because it was too much effort!