To think you should be able to get a refund if a rail replacement bus is in operation?

[snetski]

I don’t mean get a refund AND travel on the bus, I mean that if you have a ticket and for that route there is a rail replacement bus service, you should be able to get a refund.

I booked a train ticket a while back that was £25 and took an hour and a half. Found out today that due to engineering works, there was a rail replacement BUS service. This journey would now take 2h15 by bus, 15 min wait, and 15 minute train. I booked the original service as it meant I could do work on the train, travel directly and quickly.

If I bought a direct bus ticket today, it’d have cost £5. Effectively I paid £20 difference to travel by rail, but still edned
up on a bloody bus.

AIBU? no.

Yes you should. Have you looked up your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015?

Yes, that pisses me off too. So YANBU.

My understanding is that you pay to get from Point A to Point B, so while I sympathise, you don't have any grounds for a refund.

you'll presumably be eligible for a partial refund because it took longer?

The RRB is considered a courtesy service. That is, it is not obligatory for them to put one one and they do it because people still need moving (hence why it ‘cannot’ stop between stations). They should have known three months in advance of the works and informed you it was a bus, unless these are emergency works. I would write to the TOC and see what they can do.

Addendum to last post, unless it is an advance ticket you can refund for a £10 fee. That still leaves you a tenner up on what you paid

I agree. I get very motion sick on buses but am fine on trains so I won't travel if it involves a replacement bus.

Delay repay doesn't cover planned engineering works as the journey is scheduled to take longer, but would cover an emergency. I guess you're in the in between stage where they scheduled the engineering work after you booked? You may have a claim for the delay if you can show when you booked the particular train it was meant to be shorter, but im not sure. I say this as someone on the brighton mainline where rail replacement buses are basically a staple of every weekend and school holiday journey

I agree, OP (years of misery on the West Coast line ...). But there's buggerall we can do about it, IME.

Did you buy the ticket before the engineering works were planned, or did you only find out about the bus recently? Repairs are advertised quite far in advance, always best to check national rail before buying tickets particularly at the moment as there's a lot of rejuvenation work being done to the railways.

I doubt you'd get all your money back. They usually refund but minus a fee.