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Refunding a train fare after you got on the wrong rail network

NAS38324

I thought asking here might be worth a try in case anyone here has had similar experiences and/or knowledge of the system. 

So I had a virtual ticket (which i am not very used to) from Beverley all the way down to London.  It said it was only applicable to Hull Trains and Northern.  It was activated, but using google maps I followed the only route that was apparent to me and ended up on a London North Eastern Rail train to London, where the ticket inspector told me I had to spend another £92 to be on that train... BUT... that I should be able to get a refund from thetrainline.com  

I asked him if he was sure they would be understanding if I called.  He said that it is illegal for me to be charged twice for the same journey, so they ought to be able to refund me.

So naturally when I did call them, they said no, I should have made sure to only stay on the Hull Trains network. 

I can accept this if it's definitely fair, but is it?  Does the ticket price not just go to National Rail?  Do they not make a lot of extra money from dummies like me failing to acknowledge the difference between rail networks? 

Could I not have opted to reroute my journey after the ticket inspector told me of my mistake, given that I only agreed to pay after he had informed me that I would be able to get a refund?  If you innocently get on the wrong train and can't pay, can you not just leave the train or get sent back? 

I feel a bit odd bringing this up here on a forum I've never posted on, but I have been getting the NAS publications since I was diagnosed with Aspergers as a child, and I just wanted to run this situation by someone with insight as to whether this situation is a bureaucracy trap or if I'm fairly paying for my mistake.  I'll be amazed if anyone reads this, so thank if you did :)

  • My understanding is that rail operators are private companies. You paid for a ticket with one company and it would have said on your ticket only applicable on certain trains, yet you traveled with another company whose services you hadn't paid for, which is why they wanted a fee from you. For example, it's like you moved to a new town and paid for a take-away with one company but you got lost and couldn't find them so you had to pay for another meal elsewhere. It sounds like the rail operator gave you a false story in order to avoid a fuss in regards to getting you to pay the fee for using their company. I think your best chance is to complain to the second company about the story the operator gave you and to see if you can get a refund, as I believe he should have given you the option to get off the train so that you could get on the correct one and use your existing ticket.

  • NAS38324 said:
    He said that it is illegal for me to be charged twice for the same journey

    I got a laugh out of that one. They would like nothing better than to charge people twice for the same journey.

    Anyway, in answer to the question, if an employee states that you can get a refund, that constitutes a verbal contract with the company. Legally, you are entitled to a refund, if only because of what you were told, even if what you were told was actually erroneous according to their policies. As you say, you wouldn't have paid if he had not told you that your money would be refunded. I wish you good luck in getting a refund, given the typical class of customer service in this country.

  • Hello and welcome. Yes, it's a bit off-topic, but you might well get people here who know about trains.Grinning

    So are you saying you never got a refund? That would indeed be not just unfair, but illegal. The fares go to the train operating companies, surely. The system doesn't interoperate very well, and without proper regulation there's little incentive to clear up the overcharges (I'm sure some companies assume that if it's just a small amount, people mostly don't bother.) I don't feel they make these things autism-friendly.

    I think it would have been reasonable to let you get off at the next station and join the Hull trains. You wouldn't have gained from the mistake.

  • You could try arguing that your autism makes it difficult for you to understand the whole system and that it wasn't very clear. If you applied for a refund under normal circumstances there is quite a substantial fixed sum charge, which is around £30 I believe. Train fares are not very transparent about the trains you can use them on and someone autistic will have special difficulties. You could use this by way of a reason and they may take pity on you. By the way, unless the train line have changed their policy, use a different ticketing system to avoid a booking fee.