Great Western Coffee Shop

I related the sorry tale of my lengthy jouney to London last Sunday (when the powerlines came down) in the infrastructure topic. I got to London and made my flight from London City - it took 5 hours to get there but I made it (for a 55 minute flight!).

Now the question is can I claim compensation for this? As soon as I saw that there were problems I hot-footed to Taunton station and caught a train two hours earlier than I had orginally planned thinking that if I at least got to Reading there would be some options from there. I had a off-peak return ticket. When I got to Reading it was apparent that the Waterloo Trains were rammed and the queues to get to the platforms were huge, so I bought a ticket to Heathrow on the RailAir Bus and then an Underground ticket to London from Heathrow. Can I claim for those?

As it turns out my orginal train (the 15:17 from Taunton) did make it through and got to Paddington 35 minutes late but at the time I became aware of the problems and all the way to Reading the advice was that the problems would continue until 18:00, it looks like they fixed it sooner, but I couldn't take that risk.

Where do you think I stand with this? In the end it was a work trip so the costs don't come back to me, but the extra couple of hours that I lost on Sunday afternoon did affect me!

Thanks in advance!

I don't know about compensation, but have you ever considered a career in Public Transport Rescue, given your undoubted skills in that regard? I'm sure plenty of passengers would welcome a quick-thinking Wilf19 guarantee - Not so much "We're Getting There" but "Wilf'll Get You There!"

Off-peak (flexible) return - comp would be due on the actual train caught's delay....and the purchase of the the rail-air & tube tickets would be outside-the-scope of the comp scheme (but in cases like these, best to ask, as refunds are given on case-by-case basis)

You don't say whether your ticket was to London, I assume so.

Sorry, yes it was an ticket to London zone 3. The train I travelled on got cancelled at Reading so I think I will chuck a claim in.


I've done a job that has involved an amount of travel by trains and planes for 20+ years - I do it because I like travel, the variety that the jobs brings and Somerset being a bit of an IT free zone I don't think there's much choice! Although there have been times - like on Sunday -  when I wonder why I do it. Over the years there have been more than few 'what the heck do I do now' moments. Being 'held prisoner' on the Heathrow Express coming back into Paddington one night some years ago because they couldn't get the doors open and watching the last train to Taunton leave is a good example, back to Heathrow I went, rented a car and drove home. Of course, working for a company that has always paid up to dig me of out a hole helps a lot.

The questions to ask yourself are:

Was your intended journey provided with 'reasonable care and skill'? Having to travel earlier, for extended time, due to infrastructure failings, would suggest not.

And ask yourself whether the disruption caused you unexpected additional expense.

If no to the first and yes to the second then you may be able to claim compensation for the additional expense by exercising your rights under the Consumer Rights Act.

Put the details of your additional expense to GWR. They may compensate you as a gesture of goodwill. Equally they may play hardball and say you weren't delayed. The point to make though is you are not claiming for delay, but for the additional expense you were forced to make to keep to your itinerary and make your flight. Also point out that had you tried to travel on your original itinerary, you would have missed your flight, and your claim for compensation would be commensurately higher.

Only ask for what you actually additionally paid. Provide copies of the tickets/receipts for these additional costs. And ask nicely. No need to mention the Consumer Rights Act in the first missive to GWR. Only if they refuse any compensation should you then escalate with a more formal request for compensation under the Act.

These methods are working more and more regularly now with Train Operating Companies. Sometimes it takes a Letter Before Action, but thus far I'm not aware of any Consumer Rights Act claims involving TOCs going to court. They are litigation averse in this area to avoid precedents. They'd much rather deal with such claims on the down low and on a case by case basis, rather than have court cases that publicise passengers rights even further.

Finally, IANAL. The above is my opinion of the current situation, based on anecdote across rail forums and social media, of how TOCs are dealing with compensation claims outwith their own Delay Repay/Passengers Charter schemes.

If you were travelling to London City Airport, shouldn't your destination be London Zones 1 - 3? Although City Airport is in zone 3, I can't see an easy way of completely avoiding zones 1 and 2 to get there. I'm not completely sure what the final destination should be, but I am sure that it should include zone 1.

:-) Another typo, typing has never been my strong point! Yes, my ticket was to London Zones 1 - 3.

I've submitted a claim, let's see what happens.

Thanks all for the advice.

Good luck...………...and don't hold your breath!!!