First Scotrail overcharged me and now won't respond to my compensation claim.

[PriomhScotrail]

Aarghh! Really struggling here. Scotrail didn't reply within their promised 7 days, and after a subsequent phone call and an email, I still haven't got anywhere. I have been charged c. £37 when the ticket should have cost c. £24. If the discrepancy had been just a few pounds I wouldn't have minded, but I can't afford to subsidise Scotrail by £13.

I bought a return ticket for a trip of about 1 hour 20 minutes. It was about £37, which seemed too much. I queried whether it would be cheaper to buy a return ticket from my station to the next station along, then another return from that one to my destination.

The ticket collector wouldn't tell me, but said I could look it up and if so, she would cancel my ticket and reissue the cheaper one. I took a while to get an internet signal, then found out that the discrepancy was £13; but the ticket lady never returned.

On arrival I went to the ticket office to be told that the refund would have had to be made by the portable ticket machine I had bought my ticket from.They gave me a complaint form and assured me that that was the way to proceed.

I posted it and emailed Customer Services. The auto reply said they would respond within 7 working days, but now 3 weeks have passed and nothing has happened. I will take the Citylink bus next time; it's just as quick and much cheaper.

This is why they are called scotfail. Also don't bother tweeting them as they never respond but I do like sending them tweets about how crap they are on a regular basis-cathartic!

Thanks for your commiserations! I just think it's so shoddy, particularly as they are in direct competition with Citylink. The bloated plutocrat fat-cat managers probably think that overcharging is not a serious issue.

Does the train call at the station where you change tickets? If it doesn't, you can't do it. Condition 17 of Carriage.

I was going to suggest twitter - it works with Virgin Trains who also ignore complaint emails - but if they also ignore that, try to contact the top boss, copied to any media you think appropriate.

Yes the train did call at the station I wanted to buy second ticket from, and i raised the issue before we even got to that station. I have already contacted head office but have had no joy. I might write to my local paper to alert people that they can save a packet.

It is NOT overcharging. If you ask for a single from your origin to your destination, that is what you will be sold. You will be offered the appropriate range of tickets eg off peak anytime etc but the guard (ticket lady) cannot recommend alternative ways of doing it. She was quite correct to say that if you found the tickets and asked for them she would sell them (they are obligated to sell whatever specific tickets you ask for), and it was actually very generous of her to offer to cancel the original tickets-there is often a fee for this.

So, unless your train was delayed, you are not entitled to compensation. You paid the correct fare for your journey. Next time you will be able to request the two specific tickets you want and save your £13, but you are not subsidising scotrail because you were charged the correct fare.

I read the title as "ScroteRail"

I don't understand - you were sold a ticket at the price it cost and found it was cheaper to pay from nearer the destination and now want the difference refunded?

Seriously?

Check these things in advance, they've not overcharged you - you've paid for the journey you took...

itsmeitscathy, you've misunderstood.

I'll explain it again; I travelled from a to c, via b. This cost £37 return.

Had I bought a return from a to b, and from b to c, it would have cost £24. Same train, same departure, same arrival.

bustraintram, thanks for your reply. Do you work for a train company?

claphands - sorry, the thread is much more boring than you were expecting!

But, you paid for what you asked for why should they refund you?!

No, I understand perfectly. You got what you asked for - you didn't ask for it as two journeys. Do your homework in advance if you want to do this - they're under no obligation to refund you.

I'm genuinely interested to know why some posters think this situation is OK. I do not work in transport, and do not understand the pricing structures, so am happy to have them explained to me.

If you went into a shop and bought 2 items, you would no doubt complain a lot if it emerged that you could have saved nearly 25% by buying the 2 items separately. Why is this different?

The OP got the journey she asked for, under the promise that if she confirmed that her suggested method of buying 2 seperate tickets was cheaper, then the difference would be refunded. If the OP had discovered the cheaper option later, I could perhaps understand them not wanting to refund, although that would be pretty shoddy service. As it is, the OP bought the one ticket on good faith, and is now being let down, which isn't on.

I don't do this, because if (when) I miss my connection due to delays the train company is obliged to get me home. If I "didn't catch" the second train on my ticket then they can leave me in the middle of nowhere.

So you had that insurance and having not used it you now want a refund. If I was the train company I wouldn't refund you.

Minesapintoftea - I didn't have to change trains though. The train went from a to b to c.
Mangobiscuit has hit the nail on the head when she says I bought the ticket in "good faith". That's why I feel cheated.

A little googling has revealed that my departure station falls just outside a "subsidised zone" hence the high price. Scotrail has to keep prices reasonable within the subsidised zone, but for stations outside it, they can charge what they like. One of the local MSPs has noticed this unfairness and has been trying to do something about it. So I am not being unreasonable! Gavel.

Buying train tickets is just madness. I go to London fairly regularly from Edinburgh and there is a window of opportunity akin to the window in which pears are edible to buy tickets at reasonable prices.

It's not even as if the earlier you buy it is cheaper. They start ridiculously high and come down and then go back up again.

Really can anyone explain why the first class sleeper to London for the first Friday in November was £260 on Sunday night but had dropped to £133 yesterday when I booked it?