Let’s not beat around the bush, the majority of us have probably had at least one train-related nightmare this year. Unless you know, you don’t ever get a train.
And all I can say is good for you. But the rest of us are likely to have dealt with some sort of delay or cancellation or case of standing in the middle of an aisle trying to listen to our podcast while someone eats an egg mayo sarnie next to us.
So, if you have been unluckily pranked by a train recently then fellow travellers have issued an urgent warning.
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Specifically, people are urging others not to use third party sites if they need to get a refund.
Obviously, you’ll be after a refund if your train had ended up getting you in way too late for that big night with your mates or because you’ve not even been able to get on it at all.
But it doesn’t always end up being worth it.
One user took to X to say: “Looking to refund my ticket because my train to Manchester is cancelled and this is what I get.
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“This country is so unserious I hate it.”
The unlucky traveller shared a screenshot that showed the total ticket price as £85.90.
But Trainline lists the ‘refundable amount’ as £12.90 before taking off an admin charge’ of £9.
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So yeah, that leaves them with a whopping ‘total refund’ of just £3.90. That’s literally the full price of a Tesco meal deal.
One user commented to warn: “Don’t do it through Trainline.”
Another simply echoed: “UK is the worst when it comes to refunds.”
While someone else added: “Yeah man that sucks.”
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Though many shared the same advice, with one user writing: “You don’t do it through Trainline you claim delay repay through the train operator!!”
Delay Repay works separately to Trainline and is provided by train companies.
As per National Rail: “Delay Repay is a nationwide scheme that makes it easier for you to get compensation for delayed train journeys. If you are delayed for any reason when you travel on a participating National Rail service you can claim Delay Repay.”
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Citizens Advice adds that you 'can get a full refund' if your train is cancelled 'if you can't take the next train or decide not to travel'.
It advises keeping your tickets and trying to claim within 28 days.
As well as recommending Delay Repay, it adds: "You can claim compensation by visiting the train company’s website - most have online forms you can use. You’ll probably need to upload a picture of your ticket.
"A lot of companies offer vouchers to use on future train journeys. You don’t have to accept them - if you want a cash refund, you can insist on it."
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Many users also advised to just ‘book direct through rail companies’ in the first place when booking the tickets.
A Trainline spokesperson told LADbible: "We're sorry to hear about Mr Brent's experience and have contacted him to arrange a fee-free refund for the return element of his journey. We aim to make it as simple as possible for customers to claim refunds but in this instance the train operator had not updated industry systems with details of the cancelled train. When this happens, customers can contact our customer service team to ensure they receive the refund they are entitled to in line with industry rules.
"The refund will be £36.20 to reflect the fact Mr. Brent’s travelled on his outbound journey without issue and only the return aspect of his journey was impacted by the cancellation."
Jess Battison