Who should get the delay repay money for train ticket?

[MarmaladeMarxist]

The payer, or the traveller?

I occasionally travel by train for work - I have the use of a company card to pay for things like this.

Last week this happened and I had a nightmare journey with a cancelled train, long wait on a platform with no shelter in driving rain, replacement bus etc. As I was travelling in the evening to stay overnight (with a family member, not in a hotel) and attend a meeting first thing in the morning, I wasn't late for the meeting despite being 3 hours late arriving.

This means that I can claim delay repay and get a full refund on the ticket - but should this money be paid to my company (who paid for the ticket) or to me (who had the inconvenience and stress of a horrible cold wet journey)?

My employer says it is for them which I think is ridiculous.

You were effectively working so the refund covers your time. The answer to the moral question is you get it. The answer to the practical question is whatever your company policy is I suppose. When all bookings were done by admin staff this would be much easier to enact because why would you bother on their behalf?!

I claim it for myself - clearly I don’t have the bank details of my employer to claim it on their behalf (and if I did, why would I bother claiming?) my delays are always on the way home though (coming out of London) so it is solely my inconvenience/time. Anyway, my company use a third party to book travel, so if there was an option to refund the payers account (which I don’t think there is) it would go to them not my employer, and I’d never know who ultimately received it. I think of it as a tiny bonus whenever I’m stuck waiting with trains in chaos.

Delay repay is quite clear on its own definition of what it is.
Compensation is also quite clear on what it is and who it is for.

You’re giving incorrect advice. Stop it. You’re wrong.

No one is stealing from their company is they keep the passenger compensation paid directly to the passenger who applies for it, as they suffered the inconvenience.

And I own my own business, so don’t worry about me stealing from my employer - what a weird comment for you to make to a stranger in the internet, whom you know nothing about, when you’re actually wrong on both points. I don’t have an employer, and it also wouldn’t be theft.

I keep the compensation for delayed flights that I've got for work. Id check with employer though. Personally I think it's very clear the traveler should get it but I'd not want to risk any hassle with it.

I think it’s like canceled / delayed planes. You as the traveller get the compensation aspect and whomever pays for the ticket gets the refund in the event of a straight up cancellation

If the money is for the employer, then they can check whether I was delayed and claim the money themselves.

I claim it, because I am the one who ends up sitting on an empty platform late at night fearing for my safety having missed my connection, or arriving late and stressed to an event because the train company couldn’t muster up the crew to run the train, which is often not the case on Sundays. Personally I’d rather the money went towards providing a reliable service but we are where we are.

I have the choice between claiming delay repay or TOIL. Public sector.

My company views that you are the person who has been inconvenienced, delayed and put out, and therefore, the employee gets the money… it is challenging enough around our expenses system… this sort of refund would break it!

This is not true. The company are not inconvenienced by the delay, it’s the person travelling.

The person paying should get it, as its not compensation for the added inconveniences of a delay, its because you didn't get what you paid for which was leaving at x time and arriving at x time. That's what you pay for, and you didn't get it so you get a refund.

It’s not, it’s for the inconvenience - I frequently claim it for an open return when the train company do not even know when I was planning to travel. In fact where that’s the case you get more compensation as the ticket price was higher.

I work in banking, they pay for our travel, they tell us that the refund is due to the inconvenience and that we are welcome to put the claim in and keep the compensation.

As @Spottyness- in a different sector

Our company policy is that the person travelling keeps the compensation

Morally, it should go to the person being inconvenienced, especially if you're in the type of job where you end up working extra hours without TOIL. But in reality, it's up to your employer's policy, because if you took the money against policy, it could put your job at risk.

In the civil service, obviously we're not allowed any sort of freebie, if they could they'd take the loyalty points gained when paying for lunch or petrol while out for work so it specifically says in the business travel policy that any reimbursement must go to the employer. However, we can claim TOIL/flexi credit/expenses according to policy for the extra time.

Although surprisingly, some years ago, I was entitled to a delay repay but there was no policy at the time, so I asked my department head, who said I could keep the refund as it was me who was inconvenienced. But this was before the last Government so before austerity and the level of cost cutting we see now.

My work's policy is the traveller keeps it. So I do exactly that. Refunds (which are different) obviously go back to my employer.

It is exactly the opposite of what you’ve just written.

When travelling for work, I'm not entitled to keep delay compensation. It goes back to my employer. I do, however get TOIL or if it's part of my working day then tough for me.

That's the Civil Service rules.

What are your employers rules?

My firm would view this fee being kept as fraud, as they paid the original fee.

I’d say to my company: hi x I had these delays it was really painful! Conference/whatever went well though. I can actually apply for my ticket refunded as compensation for the delays and I am happy to do that, if that came to the company how would I get that paid into me do you know?

And I would be crystal clear that I was expecting to receive it as I was the one who travelled, they got all the work done that they paid for the travel for. They’d get laughed out of town on fraud if they had it all in writing. They’d might refuse, in which case I would say thanks but on top of the delays I had to suffer through you want me to apply for a refund so you get paid back for the shitty travel I had? I won’t be doing that, will book morning travel from now on so I dont have a late night and you can earn your next refund for delays as I won’t have made it to the conference till lunchtime.

They’d lose that.

It is compensation, not a refund. It’s quite clearly defined. They can call it what they like in their contract but that doesn’t make it enforceable. They’d lose.

Why would you say you can apply to have it refunded? You’re not applying for a refund. It is compensation. They are two completely different things.

A refund goes to the payer. Compensation goes to the traveller.

Any company doing anything else would lose that case if challenged. Just because they put it into their contract and policies, doesn’t make it enforceable.

In my business the traveller receives it as we faced the problems.

All true @Bobiverse but you'd be brave or foolish to be 'that person' in challenging your employer's policy.

I would deliberately not put a claim in. If my employer wants the money, they can put in the legwork, which they probably won't if it's not repaid automatically.