Great Western Coffee Shop

I have,since last December,often wondered how passengers would fare if they decided to withhold a portion of their Credit Card payment for their ticket, season or otherwise, from their credit card payment as a way of giving FGW a bloody nose for the poor service which they are at present foisting on the passenger.

You know, like withholding 12% of the price of a return if either the outward or return journey is at least 30 minutes over and above the 10 minute allowance for a train to be 'on time' for a journey of a journey that is scheduled for a duration of 2 hours. Another example being over the period of a 3 month season ticket, services which the season ticket holder regularly travels on is cancelled 6 times, the service is short formed on 7 occasions and the season ticket holder was denied boarding and is more than 10 minutes late on 9 occasions. In this example in a 3 month period of 91 days the holder could travel 182 single journeys at 1 return journey per day during the validity of the season ticket.

I realise that you would no doubt have your credit card statement long before the end of the season tickets validity but keeping a record of service disruptions and their causes and submitting same with the credit card payment less, using my example above, 22/182nds of the season ticket cost. How often do we see statements on Terms and Conditions of the purchase of goods or service statement of the kind, acceptance of these terms and conditions do not affect your statutory rights under the ... Act.

As I said I have often wondered this and it was really brought home to me with the failure of Farepak last Christmas and those savers with Farepak who saved
through an agent who then submitted the savers monies by credit card (or credit card cheque) did not lose their monies as the credit card companies admitted their monies were covered  by the terms and conditions of having a credit card even though the savers themselves were not the credit card holder.

Well I had the chance to test my theory, I booked a ticket in advance and the train was cancelled. I had paid by credit card and I paid the credit card statement in full excepting for the rail ticket on the internet. I sent an explanitory letter to the credit card issuer as to why I was not paying for the rail ticket and enclosed a copy of the letter from the operator apologising for the cancellation for which I received no compensation.

My letter must have been dealt with by some illiterate so and so and in reply I was asked to send back a copy of the refund voucher for investigation which I did not have of course. It was stated that the disputed item would not be charged interest on until the matter had been resolved.

I responded with a terse letter requesting the credit card issuer to train the appropriate staff on how to read and inwardly digest the contents of letters send to them by card holders and I enclosed a copy of my original letter and the operators letter to me apologising for the cancellation. I also stated that on this occasion the merchant (the train operator) did not provide the service that I had paid for. The item was wiped off my credit card statement and the credit card company's second letter to me stated this fact and stated they would be recovering the charge from the operator.

If any readers of this forum is in the legal profession, what about it, do we have to accept the National Terms and Conditions of Carriage / TOC compensation policy AND give up our statutory rights under the .... Act.

Likewise anyone in the credit card business throw any light on the question.

Finally anyone done it, if so post details.

Very interesting! and very valid point!