TFL v Southeastern Delay and Repay
It does not seem possible to claim for aggregate delays on a journey using both TFL and Southeastern.
On Thursday 14 August 2014 my return journey from Kensington Olympia to Bat & Ball via London Victoria and Bromley South was delayed by thirty minutes. I should have caught the 21.52 departure from Victoria but due to a fifteen minute delay to the 21.28 London Underground departure from Olympia I missed this train. The next suitable departure from Victoria was the 22.22.
Due to the way in which the Transport for London (TFL) Delay Repay section of their Website works it was impossible to report the full delay to my journey as being thirty minutes. I could only record the fifteen minute delay to the 21.28 departure from Olympia. Perhaps the full delay to a TFL customer’s journey should be considered, not just the part on their services.
On the plus side, TFL actually offer the option to have a cash refund direct to your bank account. This is vastly preferable to receiving rail travel vouchers, especially if you are only an occasional user of the railway. Based on my banking experience earlier in my career I would expect that refunds direct to customers bank accounts are also much cheaper to process compared to issuing paper travel vouchers by post and reconciling them when used. But it does not offer the issuing railway company the possibility that the recipient will lose or forget to use the voucher before its expiry date!
Of course, it would be better if delay-repay compensation was automatic – as c2c are already planning.
Do you have any experiences of trying to claim for aggregate delays for TFL and Southeastern journeys? Please let us know by using the comment box below.
An Ashford fast train stopped unexpectedly at Chislehurst and there was an announcement that it would be diverted via Maidstone East. Interestingly, no advice was given about what passenger for Sevenoaks etc should do. Similarly, there was no consideration for hearing-impaired passengers: no diversion information was given on the scrolling displays.
So about half the passengers disembarked and crossed to another platform where a stopping service to Sevenoaks was due. We set off after a few minutes, noting that the Ashford train still remained in the platform.
However, my Delay Repay claim was rejected. Presumably the problem had been resolved and the Ashford train had reached Sevenoaks with a delay of less than 30 minutes. The computer said NO and that was that.
With the usual railway-centric thinking, it seems that Delay Repay relates to trains and stations, not to passengers’ journeys as actually experienced. That would also explain the curious reluctance of the train announcer to take any responsibility; passengers are on their own, and it’s considered all their own fault if they disembark from a diverted train !
I have had success with getting delay repay from Southeastern after justifying my reasoning (the initial claim was rejected, but there is only a ‘train cancelled’, ‘train delayed’ or ‘journey abandoned’ option.
In my case, I was waiting for the 08:09 New Eltham to Charring X, this was diverted to Victoria before I got on so I was going to get the 08:14 (which was still going to Charring X) – however there was a station announcement saying passengers for CHX should board the VIC train – so I did.
I got to CHX over 30 late (after walking from VIC) but the 08:14 was delayed by only a couple of minutes (so ‘on time’). My original claim was rejected (they said the 08:14 was on time) but when I explained they gave me my £1.20 voucher.