Passengers should claim compensation: train companies must make it easier to claim
21 December 2015
Responding to the super complaint launched by Which?, David Sidebottom, Transport Focus’s passenger director, said:
“This throws a welcome extra spotlight on an area we have been focusing on for some time. Our original research showed that less than 15 per cent of passengers entitled to compensation for poor performance actually claimed. The main reason was that they didn’t know they were entitled to and didn’t know how to do it.
“The Government now needs to bring into force its welcome commitment to lowering the Delay Repay level to 15 minutes. Train companies need to do more to alert passengers to compensation. Passengers need to claim the compensation where automatic repayment does not yet exist.
“Train performance remains poor and in some cases downright terrible in parts of the country. Passengers must send a clear message to the train companies and Network Rail that they have not got what they paid for: claim!”
Background
- Transport Focus has successfully pushed for the introduction of Delay Repay schemes, cash compensation and greater transparency about rail performance – giving passengers more information about delays.
- In 2013 Transport Focus published passenger research about this issue – Understanding rail passengers – delays and compensation. We are now repeating our work (in partnership with the Department for Transport) on levels of claim to find out if this figure is still rising.
