SWR cancels - "that will be £10 please to refund" if you want your money back

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Family question to me - does this make any sense?

Hi - Just thought you'd be amused to know that the Grateley train back from London I had booked has been cancelled. They moved me to a train an hour earlier - too early back for me and offered to let me cancel if that was not any good... for a £10 cancellation fee.

[Chris from Nailsea]

 

[ChrisB]

Was there a later service or were they booked on the last train of the day already?

If there was a later train, they are allowed to take it if it's direct. Indirect might be a problem though.

But refund without a fee, for sure.

[RichardB]

Family question to me - does this make any sense?

Hi - Just thought you'd be amused to know that the Grateley train back from London I had booked has been cancelled. They moved me to a train an hour earlier - too early back for me and offered to let me cancel if that was not any good... for a £10 cancellation fee.

There should be no refund fee under these circumstances.

[grahame]

I've been following this one up ...

Originally booked on the 17:23 due into Grateley at 18:38  ... that train has been removed from the timetable, with a new one added in at 17:22 with - I suspect - another stop or two and not reaching Grateley until 18:43 - five minutes later than the original train.

It would appear that the SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) have prioritised arrival time at Grateley and move passengers due into Grateley at 18:38 onto the train earlier - 16:50 off Waterloo. 

Looking through the small print which has been copied to me it does say that "your ticket will be accepted on the train before or the train after the one that is not running" and on that basis I have advised "just turn up for the train at 17:22". 

Good on SWR for notifying of the change / later arrival, but what a screwed up way of doing it, with a threat of ticket change fees if you don't like the new headline times!