Rail companies not giving enough info on refunds
21/12/2015
Consumer watchdog Which? has claimed that rail companies are not giving customers enough information about refunds they can receive for delays.
Which? has now called for action from the Office of Rail and Road (OOR) to investigate into train operators after it found that only a small percentage of those entitled to refunds receive them or are informed how to process a claim.
The research from Which? has found that almost 47 million passenger journeys were either cancelled or significantly delayed in just one year. Only a third of those passengers who were entitled to compensation actually made a claim, and many did not recall being informed of their right to do so after the delay.
Which? executive director Richard Lloyd, said:
“Current proposals to improve compensation for passengers are too far down the track. Even if an automatic compensation system was included in all new franchises from tomorrow, it would take until at least 2025 to cover the whole network.
“Millions of passengers are left out of pocket each year, so train companies must do more to put their passengers first and make rail refunds easier.”
The ORR said:
“Passengers are entitled to compensation when they do not receive the service they have paid for. The industry has recently taken positive steps – such as signing up to a code of practice on providing clear information to passengers when they buy rail tickets, which includes their compensation rights. We will be assessing whether more could and should be done for passengers as we investigate this complaint.”
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