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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to try get refund for £115 train ticket

111 replies

Deathbydolla · 15/05/2018 08:58

I ordered an advance non-refundable ticket for £99. Fumbled with the machine this morning and missed my booked train. The desk operator said that there was nothing they could do, and I ended up having to pay another £115 for a single.

I totally get that it was my fault I missed my train, but I feel £115 is extortionate, especially with the abysmal services on offer nowadays. Anybody ever managed to get a refund or mitigation for this kind of thing?

OP posts:
dailymailsucksbigtime · 15/05/2018 10:06

Eh? That's what I said - you can get a refund up to the point of travel but after the train you were booked on has departed, you can't get a refund.

That isn't what you said.

The right for a refund is up to the point of travel however as east coast IT is so crap it cant process that- so infact as long as you send in the old and new ticket they will refund less £10.

You can in reality get a refund at any point, you have to have bought a ticket for a new train on the same route (I imagine within a reasonable time period)

sweeneytoddsrazor · 15/05/2018 10:06

What you should have done is gone to the ticket office after you missed your train. Say you had to queue to get the tickets for too long and the machine was playing up and they would endorse the ticket for you to travel on another train.
Companies are reasonable if they feel you have a genuine reason.

When did outright lies become a genuine reason?

ParisUSM · 15/05/2018 10:21

The queue was too long isn't a genuine reason - you can pick these tickets up as soon as you book them. Next time, wise to pick them up the day before if possible, and if not then leave enough time. Or buy a flexible ticket if you feel you would need them to be flexible.

immortalmarble · 15/05/2018 10:22

I sympathise, OP. My son cost me £300 this way. Makes you want to weep, doesn’t it? Flowers

onalongsabbatical · 15/05/2018 10:25

I'm traveling next Friday. Picked my tickets up a few days ago. I would never, ever leave it to picking them up on the day.

Devastatedupset · 15/05/2018 10:29
Biscuit

You chose to buy a non refundable ticket. You arrived late for your train and missed it.

Why should they refund you for your own decision making and time keeping?? Confused

MarthaArthur · 15/05/2018 10:31

My railcard expired and i was forced to pay £60 single for a ticket i had paid £7 for. Its a disgrace and i was threatened with prosecution.

MarthaArthur · 15/05/2018 10:32

The rail companies are a joke and need to be nationalised again. With much cheaper fairs. Its sickening the same journey can cost both £7 and £60.

greendale17 · 15/05/2018 10:33

My railcard expired and i was forced to pay £60 single for a ticket i had paid £7 for. Its a disgrace and i was threatened with prosecution.

^Well if you renewed your railcard in time you wouldn’t have been ‘forced’ to pay the higher fare. Its not hard is it?

IHopeYouStepOnALegoPiece · 15/05/2018 10:34

MarthaArthur are you actually joking?! If you’d bothered to renew your railcard rather then taking the chance then you wouldn’t have had a problem would you.

CFTrollsSmell · 15/05/2018 10:35

My railcard expired and i was forced to pay £60 single for a ticket i had paid £7 for. Its a disgrace and i was threatened with prosecution

🤦🏻‍♀️

JacquesHammer · 15/05/2018 10:39

@MarthaArthur I’m all for being treated fairly, and I don’t always think rail companies do that. But are you seriously suggesting you weren’t at fault?!

You didn’t have the relevant railcard so had to pay full price. That’s pretty reasonable!

hollyholightly · 15/05/2018 10:39

You know you don't have to collect the ticket from the station you're leaving from? I always get my tickets from my local station a day or so before.

I do this in case there is a massive queue at the machines at Victoria or Euston - there often is - so next time don't leave it so late!

GirlsBlouse17 · 15/05/2018 10:40

Write to the Chief Executive or whoever is top dog and ask if he can show some goodwill in your case and provide a refund. It may work. You never know. Good luck!

GorgonLondon · 15/05/2018 10:41

I don't book onto non-refundable trains for this reason, but even so I like to go for the train I've reserved seats on. If I need to collect the tickets, I ALWAYS aim to get to the station with a clear 30 minutes before the train goes - this is in London, so can mean leaving home at 6am for an 8.45 train. I also make sure I have the code written down in a prominent place - e.g. sticking out of my wallet - so I don't have to mess around with email.s.

There were no exceptional circumstances, you just missed your train. I'm sorry that this happened but see no reason that they would refund you.

MarthaArthur · 15/05/2018 10:42

Jesus i never fucking said i wasnt at fault reign yourselves in. It was a few days out of date shit happens. The fucking point is £7 and £60 for the same journey is a joke.

Mookatron · 15/05/2018 10:42

There's no real reason you should have to pick up a physical ticket at all these days anyway.

DGRossetti · 15/05/2018 10:44

Whenever I have booked a train ticket online, it quite clearly reminds you to leave enough time to collect your ticket.

The 1980s just called Smile

Bonkers that you can't just get the ticket to your phone like everyone else seems to manage in 2018 FFS ! Presumably they are running the same brand of software as cinemas (or at least Empire, where you have to collect a ticket that's been ordered online).

TerfinUSA · 15/05/2018 10:47

All the train companies have different rules. Which one was it?

Plus £99 is a bit bonkers, where were you travelling from and to?

jugglingsatsumas · 15/05/2018 10:49

People are mean on this thread! It was a small mistake and the cost was disproportionate - it's not as if the OP was stealing from the company. Yes! Try and get it back - maybe try Twitter too.

bearbehind · 15/05/2018 10:50

You can in reality get a refund at any point, you have to have bought a ticket for a new train on the same route (I imagine within a reasonable time period)

dalymail I'd love to see the source for this claim.

I said you can only get a refund if you apply for it (in person, over the phone, whatever) before the train you were due to travel on has departed.

You appear to be saying that as long as you have bought another ticket on the same route, you can get a refund on the original ticket after the train has departed.

I simply don't believe that's the case. If it was, that's exactly the situation the OP is in and no one else thinks she's entitled to a refund.

Also, it that was true, people who frequently make the same journey could keep applying for a refund for the previous journey.

AppleHat · 15/05/2018 10:52

People are incredibly unsympathetic on MN AIBU. The moronic self-righteousness borders on sadism.

Anyway, back to OP.

This has been my experience in the past OP. One reason I only very rarely buy advance tickets. Its not worth the hassle and stress usually unless very cheap tickets (and lost money if you don't make the train for any reason).

TheDishRanAwayWithTheSpoon · 15/05/2018 10:53

You missed your train though, so it's entirely your fault. You should have left enough time to print off your tickets? I don't see how this is poor customer service, you knew what time your train was, you could have printed off your ticket from any station any day before the train.

Having said that in the past when I've missed my train (due to cancelled buses) I only had to pay the difference between an advance and an open ticket rather than buy a whole new ticket, as I essentially payed to upgrade my ticket, so perhaps you could try your luck and go with that angle?

Carriemac · 15/05/2018 10:53

people are being so mean! try for a refund - what have you got to lose?

bearbehind · 15/05/2018 10:57

The fact is advance prepaid booking for travel or hotels offers you a cheaper rate in return for no flexibility.

If you chose to opt for the cheaper ticket you accept you lose out if something goes wrong.

Pointing that out is not self righteous- it's just fact.

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