Passengers vent fury over ‘no refund’ policy for advanced train tickets cancelled due to the coronavirus crisis – with rebooked journeys costing HUNDREDS more
- Booking site Trainline is in the firing line and accused of profiteering
- But it says the rules are set by the train companies and it cannot challenge them
- One passenger said that she faces a price hike of £400 for rebooking her tickets
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
Passengers have been venting their fury at having to potentially pay hundreds more for rebooking advanced train tickets cancelled because of the coronavirus crisis.
Booking site Trainline has found itself in the firing line, with many accusing it of profiteering from the pandemic – but the site has stressed that the rules are set by the train companies and it cannot challenge them.
One angry passenger, Alyson Campbell, told MailOnline Travel that she was facing the prospect of paying around £400 more to rebook tickets she can no longer use for a theatre trip to London from Manchester.
Passengers have been venting their fury at having to potentially pay hundreds more for rebooking advanced train tickets cancelled because of the coronavirus crisis
Alyson Campbell told MailOnline Travel that she was facing the prospect of paying around £400 more to rebook tickets she can no longer use for a theatre trip to London from Manchester (see above)
Trainline doesn’t offer refunds on advanced tickets – but it doesn’t set the rules
She paid £205 for three advanced first-class tickets but now has to postpone because of the coronavirus crisis and is faced with the prospect of forking out £621 for a rescheduled journey at the end of May.
The 45-year-old contract performance manager said: ‘I had theatre tickets for myself, my partner and our daughter. We had three first-class returns booked plus a hotel and obviously the theatre tickets. The theatre will be refunding the tickets, the hotel has waived its cancellation policy and refunded already with no fuss.
‘[The Trainline’s] suggestion is that customers can rebook for anytime in the next 12 weeks and then if the issues remain rebook again in the following 12 weeks. This sounds fine on the face of it. However, the cost to rebook for within 12 weeks is coming out at several hundred pounds more than the original booking. I can only assume when you then need to rebook again when the issue remains in 12 weeks it will be another few hundred pounds more.’
Trainline said: ‘When it comes to train ticket refunds and exchanges, rules are set by the individual train operating companies.
‘Trainline sells tickets on behalf of the train operating companies and we can only apply the refund rules that they set. Advance tickets remain non-refundable but the rail industry has agreed to relax the exchange rules, so that customers can change their journey without the usual refund or change of journey fee.
‘We appreciate customers may not know their new travel date, so they should pick any date in the next 12 weeks and then amend this date again, once they have more clarity on when they will be able to travel.’
For information on its refund policies, click here.
The travel industry is facing a catastrophic loss of profits as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and many who work in it are promoting the hashtag #dontcancelpostpone.