Can I get a refund from Thameslink for a flight I missed because of their train's delay? How?

6/25/2021 1:33:33 PM

You’ll certainly be entitled to some refund of the train ticket – https://www.thameslinkrailway.com/help-and-support/journey-problems/delay-repay – exactly how much you’ll get will depend on how late you ultimately were at the airport.

Claiming a refund on the flight tickets will be a lot trickier, but not necessarily impossible. For example a different company – Avanti West Coast – has the following in their customer charter: https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/about-us/policies-and-procedures/passenger-charter

Exceptional circumstances
In line with the National Rail Conditions of Travel,
in exceptional circumstances we will consider
extra compensation for any losses or extra costs
caused if our services are cancelled or delayed
(for example, new airline tickets if you miss a flight).
If you find yourself in this position, please fill in the
form found on our website
avantiwestcoast.co.uk/help/contact-us

You can find the national conditions of carriage at – https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/conditions-of-travel.aspx – the relevant section is:

32.2. For claims made under the industry arrangements (set out at paragraph
32.1.1 above) for losses caused by the delay and/or cancellation of a train
service, you can only recover up to the price of your Ticket.

However, in exceptional circumstances, a Train Company may consider
claims for other losses. This will be for the Train Company to decide in its sole
discretion, unlike your legal rights set out in paragraph 32.1 above.
If you wish to ask the Train Company to consider making a discretionary
payment, you should write in the first instance to the Train Company at the
address which can be found on www. nationalrail.co.uk or by calling 0345 7 48
49 50. Please note that this does not affect your statutory rights (see paragraph
32.1.2).

Sadly I’m unable to find any equivalent text for Thameslink. During 2015 someone tweeted them to ask – https://twitter.com/tlrailuk/status/569900661816619008?lang=en – and was told they do not. Although the national conditions of carriage do still apply. So you may wish to file a complaint anyway.

I’ll also note there is a rail ombudsman case study – https://www.railombudsman.org/complaint-handling-missed-flight/ – of a passenger wanted compensation for a missed flight. The claim was rejected due to them not leaving a 2 hour gap between the train and the flight – which you did not.

You could also try and make a claim under statutory rights – the law trumps and railway terms & conditions. Most likely the Consumer Rights Act 2015. You may wish to consider speaking an initial legal consummation to see if you may be eligible.

6/24/2021 4:28:15 PM

You can claim Delay Repay online via https://www.thameslinkrailway.com/help-and-support/journey-problems/delay-repay. You must claim within 28 days of the delayed journey. The amount of compensation depends on the ticket type and length of delay but based on your question, you should receive 100% of your rail ticket cost.

The Thameslink ‘Delays & Compensation’ FAQs Can I claim for additional losses following disruption? state that if you feel you may be eligible for further payment you should contact their customer relations with the full details of your claim.

You should keep a record of your correspondence with Thameslink about the additional losses as your travel insurance provider will almost certainly ask to see it before settling a claim.

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About me

Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

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