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Title: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on February 13, 2017, 14:18:58 From the Guardian's Money section on 11.02.17 (https://www.theguardian.com/money/blog/2017/feb/13/great-western-railway-delay-repay?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#img-1)
Quote My train from London Paddington to Plymouth was two hours late but I’ve been waiting months for compensation I travelled from Paddington to Plymouth in October by train which suffered a two-hour delay due, in part, to circumstances beyond GWR’s control (a fatality on the line) but still worthy of compensation according to the terms and conditions on its website. Arriving in Plymouth all passengers were invited to take a leaflet to claim compensation. I did so by post. A month later, I called customer service to follow up my claim and was told that, due to an office relocation, the address I had sent my claim to was six months out of date, but if I had copies of the tickets I could reapply online. I did so and got an email saying that they were receiving many calls and I would have to wait up to three weeks. Four weeks later, I received an email saying that my claim had been rejected as the initial delay was caused by police investigating a death en route. I appealed, on the grounds that there were further delays subsequent to that, and pointed out that handing forms out to customers to facilitate applying for compensation gives the impression that compensation would be forthcoming. Checking my phone records, I noticed that calls to its customer service centre (holding time averaged 20 minutes on the two occasions I used it)are charged, unannounced, at a premium rate. I pursued an email appeal of 19 December (they gave themselves three weeks again...) and got a reply saying the expected time for a reply is now eight weeks. I’ve had enough. The service is either critically understaffed or deliberately designed to frustrate, or both. Whether this is policy or planning it is demonstrably unacceptable, and they should be accountable, especially in the light of complaints that you have already addressed and others I have seen online. JL, London SW2 The nub of your complaint is the – we agree, wholly unacceptable – amount of time GWR has taken to respond, and our postbag is filling up with more along the same lines. The operator has recently moved its contact centre, but all mail is redirected from a Freepost address, routed via Royal Mail – which should have no bearing on the time taken for a complaint to be received. The company also says its customer service number is not a premium rate line. Calls to an 0345 number are charged the same as a normal landline but, unlike 0845 numbers, they are also included in any mobile phone call bundle a customer may have. So if a customer’s monthly/weekly allowance of free minutes has been used up (as in your case) those calls become chargeable and the charge levied depends on the provider. For example, 3 charges 3p a minute, Vodafone 30p a minute and Orange 35p, so there is quite a range. GWR says it has worked hard to make sure customers are able to make contact and know how tobut adds that it has little control over mobile phone providers’ fees. Maybe time for a different charging system, then? That aside, it says that when trains are significantly delayed it does its best to inform customers during the journey and to address their needs when they reach their destination. With only one eligible passenger in five claiming for compensation across the system, the UK’s rail regulators have demanded that operators do more to raise awareness of compensation rules – announcing that it may be available and giving out claim forms when a train exceeds the delay threshold to qualify. GWR says that it was “sorry for the time it has taken our customer service team to work through this complaint and resolve it to JL’s satisfaction. We’ve recently moved our contact centre to a new site, bringing all our customer service work back to the UK. The move means some detailed responses are taking longer than we would like, and we are working with our new team to improve our response rates. Like any other business we strive to deliver the best possible service for our customers. When things do go wrong it is entirely in our best interests for customers to know how to contact us and what the arrangements for refunds or compensation are. While the customer’s initial delay was beyond our control we have offered a gesture of goodwill, which we hope will be with him shortly”. We gather rail travel vouchers are on their way to you. We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number So an 8 week is quite typical at the moment! Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: t0m on February 26, 2017, 10:06:59 I'd be pretty chuffed with 8 weeks.. can't think of a single claim GWR has settled with me from Q4 of last year yet..!
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: Tim on February 27, 2017, 09:34:16 I'd be pretty chuffed with 8 weeks.. can't think of a single claim GWR has settled with me from Q4 of last year yet..! It is pretty tragic. They used to be rather good with typically a sensible reply within a couple of weeks. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: TaplowGreen on May 26, 2017, 18:40:55 Still taking 8 weeks apparently. Clearly nothing in place to clear the backlog.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: t0m on June 02, 2017, 22:22:11 Still taking 8 weeks apparently. Clearly nothing in place to clear the backlog. Still awaiting my void day compensation from 21 November 2016. Apparently there is only one person who knows how to process these refunds and they have conveniently been out of the office every time I have called. No promise to call me back has been fulfilled yet. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: TaplowGreen on June 03, 2017, 07:15:55 Still taking 8 weeks apparently. Clearly nothing in place to clear the backlog. Still awaiting my void day compensation from 21 November 2016. Apparently there is only one person who knows how to process these refunds and they have conveniently been out of the office every time I have called. No promise to call me back has been fulfilled yet. GWR Customer service is cancelled due to staff shortage......no alternative will be provided. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: trainer on June 03, 2017, 16:20:27 Apparently there is only one person who knows how to process these refunds ... If that's true it's an appallingly bad state of affairs and must be a dereliction of duty in failing to train sufficient staff to provide efficiently the service advertised (i.e. compensation for delay). If it's not true then a blatant lie is being peddled bringing the company into disrepute - well, even more disrepute on this specific matter. If it's a sanctioned lie that's worse still. Let's be charitable and assume that all the trained staff have left, or been promoted because they were so good at their job and that currently there is indeed only one poor soul left who is trying to cope with all the compensation claims while new trainees are recruited. One can but have sympathy. ::) Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: TaplowGreen on June 03, 2017, 20:53:34 Apparently there is only one person who knows how to process these refunds ... Let's be charitable and assume that all the trained staff have left, or been promoted because they were so good at their job and that currently there is indeed only one poor soul left who is trying to cope with all the compensation claims while new trainees are recruited. One can but have sympathy. ::) This situation has been ongoing for months with the usual "Manana manana" assurances from GWR....it's not the poor soul(s)who are responsible, it's their woefully poor management who are accountable. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: t0m on June 11, 2017, 20:48:40 Apparently there is only one person who knows how to process these refunds ... Well it was the person on the GWR hotline who told me that! In 2015 they paid my season ticket void day refund by cheque. My 2016 remains outstanding. It was specifically the void day compensation that apparently only one person knows how to process. Perhaps only one person manages the comms too, because despite the promises on the GWR web site that they contact season ticket holders to tell them how to claim void day refunds.. I've never had any communication - electronic or by post - to explain it. Am I alone on that score? Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: Chris from Nailsea on June 11, 2017, 21:41:03 I'm possibly going to regret posting this, but ... ::)
All three of the administrators of the Coffee Shop forum will be attending a Great Western Railway Community Rail conference in Barnstaple on Friday 16 June 2017. We will be meeting with a number of senior staff from Great Western Railway during the day, and will be able to ask them directly about any such issues. This particular topic is one which I shall raise with Mark Hopwood, for example. If anyone else has any GWR issues which remain unresolved, please do add them to the relevant topic here on the Coffee Shop forum, and I'm sure that either grahame, bobm or I will be able to give a suitable nudge to the appropriate member of senior GWR management at the conference. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: t0m on June 11, 2017, 22:32:13 That would be fab!
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: grahame on June 12, 2017, 06:17:18 There will be a goodly number of the GWR team, and goodly numbers of community and passenger group representatives at Barnstaple this week - with the opportunity and intent (amongst other things) to have questions / queries / difficult issues raised.
I should probably "manage expectations" in that many if not most of the difficult issues are already known, and there's no magic wand shop in Barnstaple. However it is a good chance to get updates of the current status on things, to learn more about why they remain issues, and what is or can be done about them. And also an opportunity for the issues to be (re)raised so as to remind those people we are talking to that the matters really are important to those they effect, and probably won't just go away if overlooked / ignored. Where specific case data is involved, all concerned have to be very careful with data protection / privacy. As a part of the community rail, a line is supposed to be drawn in the sand that states we don't get involved at an individual level with complaints; exceptions have been known where we're asked for advise or help - they tend to be either acting to pass things on to the right place, or providing explanations which can be independently candid. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: TaplowGreen on June 12, 2017, 07:03:37 There will be a goodly number of the GWR team, and goodly numbers of community and passenger group representatives at Barnstaple this week - with the opportunity and intent (amongst other things) to have questions / queries / difficult issues raised. I should probably "manage expectations" in that many if not most of the difficult issues are already known, and there's no magic wand shop in Barnstaple. However it is a good chance to get updates of the current status on things, to learn more about why they remain issues, and what is or can be done about them. And also an opportunity for the issues to be (re)raised so as to remind those people we are talking to that the matters really are important to those they effect, and probably won't just go away if overlooked / ignored. Where specific case data is involved, all concerned have to be very careful with data protection / privacy. As a part of the community rail, a line is supposed to be drawn in the sand that states we don't get involved at an individual level with complaints; exceptions have been known where we're asked for advise or help - they tend to be either acting to pass things on to the right place, or providing explanations which can be independently candid. In the specific case of lengthy and unacceptable delays to resolution of compensation claims & correspondence no-one is expecting a "magic wand", just making good on the numerous assurances given over many months by GWR that the issue was being addressed and would improve-I remember being told this as far back as November. So far, no such improvement is in evidence. I will be very interested in Hopwood's explanation and strategy to address this. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: Bob_Blakey on June 12, 2017, 07:30:57 I would very much like to know GWR's current view on the provision of 'reservation only' long-distance services on days when they know for certain that passenger numbers are going to be significantly higher than normal.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: grahame on June 12, 2017, 07:32:59 In the specific case of lengthy and unacceptable delays to resolution of compensation claims & correspondence no-one is expecting a "magic wand", just making good on the numerous assurances given over many months by GWR that the issue was being addressed and would improve-I remember being told this as far back as November. So far, no such improvement is in evidence. I will be very interested in Hopwood's explanation and strategy to address this. Totally agree with you amongst posting members here - and that's probably somewhere around about 100 people in a week. I wrote largely for our wider audience - Google Analytics reports some 2,500 people per week visiting the Coffee Shop, most of whom are only here very occasionally (we do have a handful of professional lurkers too). Having raised and read on time to answer customer queries and compensation requests on prior occasions, I know that changes in the organisation of how these things are dealt with was far from as smooth as planned, and that generated a backlog which in turn has generated more of a workload with people chasing things up. Promises of "it will get better" have indeed been made, but when that improvement isn't seen by the customers, it makes it yet worse again; it makes it pretty darned hard to take future assurances as worthwhile until the situation is truly seen to improve. But, yes, you / we need to keep asking to help keep it on the radar for attention. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: TaplowGreen on June 17, 2017, 06:31:29 I'm possibly going to regret posting this, but ... ::) All three of the administrators of the Coffee Shop forum will be attending a Great Western Railway Community Rail conference in Barnstaple on Friday 16 June 2017. We will be meeting with a number of senior staff from Great Western Railway during the day, and will be able to ask them directly about any such issues. This particular topic is one which I shall raise with Mark Hopwood, for example. If anyone else has any GWR issues which remain unresolved, please do add them to the relevant topic here on the Coffee Shop forum, and I'm sure that either grahame, bobm or I will be able to give a suitable nudge to the appropriate member of senior GWR management at the conference. Chris/Graham- what's the feedback on this topic from Hopwood/the Conference? Thanks. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on June 17, 2017, 06:37:42 I left topics brought up on the forum to be discussed by the mods attending...i'm sure one will be along soon :-)
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: grahame on June 17, 2017, 07:10:31 I left topics brought up on the forum to be discussed by the mods attending...i'm sure one will be along soon :-) Indeed. There's no lock on this topic, and you were there too ChrisB, so you too are very welcome to comment on this - especially as you're the one who started this topic on the forum. What did you learn? I was very much on "TransWilts" duty in Barnstaple, which gave me more than plenty to do / talk about / raise, including running a "market place" stall. During general sessions, encouraging and looking after customers / passengers and the fabulous numbers from the smaller lines was very much to the fore, but the lack of capacity and plans to deal with that were very much to the fore. Compensation for delay / cancellation and how long it's taking didn't arise at that level; not really surprising as "Community Rail" is very much about the lines and stations which are said to benefit most from community input, which are the lines and stations with relatively little traffic, rather than the main trunk lines. And it's on those main trunk lines that the larger numbers of such claims will come in should (for example) there be a signalling fault that's hard to fix. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on June 17, 2017, 17:52:25 I did leave everything on here as I had my own business to attend to, too.
But I did speak to the Director probably in overall control of this contract, and will follow up on Monday Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: t0m on June 18, 2017, 20:53:13 I am on the edge of my seat waiting to hear what was discussed :)
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: TaplowGreen on June 20, 2017, 18:05:31 Any news yet? (As an aside, GWR are now refusing to give an ETA for replies to correspondence sent via email).
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: TaplowGreen on June 27, 2017, 20:55:11 I did leave everything on here as I had my own business to attend to, too. But I did speak to the Director probably in overall control of this contract, and will follow up on Monday I'm beginning to fear that the feedback on this topic is going to take almost as long as a reply from GWR!........................ :D Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on June 28, 2017, 09:37:26 holiday season apparently, there will be a delay
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: grahame on June 28, 2017, 10:26:38 But I did speak to the Director probably in overall control of this contract, and will follow up on Monday holiday season apparently, there will be a delay Thank you, ChrisB ... but you didn't tell us which Monday ;D Compensation for delay, and time taken by customer service, is not such a key factor to most of our customers on the TranWilts or indeed (I believe) on other community rail lines. It's much more an area of concern to longer distance travellers, and passengers on busy commuter routes. As the conference was about community rail, it was no surprise that the topic wasn't centre stage in Barnstaple. I was personally chasing up lack of capacity and very long delays / gaps in services when things go wrong. If you miss the ten past three, no train until twenty to six ... if a couple of trips are cancelled, service doesn't start until lunchtime. I'm afraid these things took my personal priority. I do look forward to hearing from ChrisB some Monday or other, and there are other who's memory this thread may job who I believe raised the question. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: TaplowGreen on July 17, 2017, 06:32:50 https://amp.theguardian.com/money/2017/jul/16/gwr-customer-service-struggling-train-ticket-refunds
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: NickB on July 17, 2017, 08:06:42 The interesting thing for me here is that there is now a precedent for handing out free tickets as a good will gesture when GWR fall below standards. I'll be pushing for this on every customer query that takes them months to resolve.
"You were also sent a letter of apology and two first-class complimentary tickets by way of a goodwill gesture." "It has apologised, issued a refund for the £23.70 and, as a gesture of goodwill, given you a standard class ticket for use anywhere on its network" Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on July 17, 2017, 08:34:10 They've been doing that for years.....good luck in asking.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: TaplowGreen on July 17, 2017, 08:53:52 The interesting thing for me here is that there is now a precedent for handing out free tickets as a good will gesture when GWR fall below standards. I'll be pushing for this on every customer query that takes them months to resolve. "You were also sent a letter of apology and two first-class complimentary tickets by way of a goodwill gesture." "It has apologised, issued a refund for the £23.70 and, as a gesture of goodwill, given you a standard class ticket for use anywhere on its network" The trick seems to be to get through to the Fuhrerbunker directly.....I heard nothing other than the usual "Manana" platitudes from the usual sources for a couple of months, when I emailed Hopwood direct with a whisper of going to the Press I had an apology & two 1st class Anytime, any destination returns from one of his glamorous assistants within a week..... Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: t0m on July 19, 2017, 21:14:53 The trick seems to be to get through to the Fuhrerbunker directly.....I heard nothing other than the usual "Manana" platitudes from the usual sources for a couple of months, when I emailed Hopwood direct with a whisper of going to the Press I had an apology & two 1st class Anytime, any destination returns from one of his glamorous assistants within a week..... Right.. I've gone and done it. Let's see if my quest for void day compensation is finally answered ! Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: t0m on July 28, 2017, 00:13:55 Still not a peep from GWR and I've escalated to Transport Focus.
Meanwhile.. GWR have sneaked out 2 new void days on 5 and 6 July on HSS and LTV services. Yet more fun to have claiming those.. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on July 28, 2017, 09:57:52 Very easy - ticket office will add them to your next season renewal.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: t0m on July 29, 2017, 08:32:57 Very easy - ticket office will add them to your next season renewal. I prefer the cash refund option. Regardless, where I renewed my season ticket (The Trainline) they had no knowledge of either of these arrangements and told me they had been misinformed by GWR. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: TaplowGreen on August 05, 2017, 20:58:10 I'd be pretty chuffed with 8 weeks.. can't think of a single claim GWR has settled with me from Q4 of last year yet..! Very nearly 6 months on from this post, GWR are still advising 6-8 weeks for a response....a few weeks ago they were refusing to give an estimate for a response, but there is still no real improvement. 6 months is sufficient time to recruit and train an army of customer service staff, so there are no excuses, other than confirmation of the utter indifference (some might say contempt) with which GWR regards its customers. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: NickB on August 11, 2017, 17:57:57 I've had a different experience (note: not better) with gwr's service team over the past few months and I wondered if others have had a similar experience...
Basically, either deliberately or by negligence, gwr staff have lost the ability to read. The past three letters and emails that I've sent in have all received responses (c8weeks) willfully ignoring what I've already provided in terms of information and requesting further information from me. Is this their attempt to kick a can down the road by claiming that they've answered me within a predefined service window? The most recent example is an absolute disgrace - I wrote in outlining a refund claim, stating simply the grounds for the refund, the dates and services involved, and even photocopied my season ticket. The response said I needed to tell them where I was travelling to/from, the type of ticket I had and asked me to send in the original ticket (cos I'm going to do that on an annual season ticket with 4 months to run). Has anyone else experienced customer service lobotomy? As I say, it's been all three of my most recent letters. I wouldn't mind so much if he turn around time was faster than glacial.... Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: t0m on August 11, 2017, 22:15:34 Has anyone else experienced customer service lobotomy? As I say, it's been all three of my most recent letters. I wouldn't mind so much if he turn around time was faster than glacial.... My last response from them was completely incorrect..and was in March. I replied on the same day and haven't heard back since. And that's despite escalating via Mark Hopwood and Transport Focus.. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: John R on August 12, 2017, 07:32:38 I've had a different experience (note: not better) with gwr's service team over the past few months and I wondered if others have had a similar experience... Surely the arrangements for compensation if you have a season ticket are different (discount at renewal) so no compensation is due for any particular incident?Basically, either deliberately or by negligence, gwr staff have lost the ability to read. The past three letters and emails that I've sent in have all received responses (c8weeks) willfully ignoring what I've already provided in terms of information and requesting further information from me. Is this their attempt to kick a can down the road by claiming that they've answered me within a predefined service window? The most recent example is an absolute disgrace - I wrote in outlining a refund claim, stating simply the grounds for the refund, the dates and services involved, and even photocopied my season ticket. The response said I needed to tell them where I was travelling to/from, the type of ticket I had and asked me to send in the original ticket (cos I'm going to do that on an annual season ticket with 4 months to run). Has anyone else experienced customer service lobotomy? As I say, it's been all three of my most recent letters. I wouldn't mind so much if he turn around time was faster than glacial.... Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: NickB on August 12, 2017, 07:57:55 Compensation for instances where no first class seat was available (due to overcrowding, declassification etc). It's in the gwr customer charter.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: Steve Bray on August 16, 2017, 21:47:33 On Monday, there was yet another article by The Guardian's Consumer Champion concerning a GWR passenger who had been waiting since April for compensation due to a very heavily delayed journey.
I am waiting for a claim I made in mid-March. I can understand there may have been teething problems when the system was relocated, but over 12 months on, surely the problems should have been addressed by now. Is anything effective being done about it? Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on August 16, 2017, 22:57:49 No. Because GWR don't care. And because there is no-one with a big enough stick to beat them into shape.
They've lost focus on the main thing their business is about - passengers. More concerned with image and rebranding. A turd will only take so much polish. What's needed is a Customer Panel with teeth and a regulator with that big stick. Until then it's thinly veiled contempt, and meaningless platitudes, for passengers daring to claim. You can understand why there is no desire on GWR's part to introduce Delay Repay. That, according to the Franchise Agreement, requires "good faith". An alien concept for GWR at the moment. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on August 16, 2017, 23:59:53 Ever get the feeling you are being watched? My previous post was made at 2257 and I changed my forum signature straight after.
At 2307 the following email lands in my inbox: Quote Dear Mr ****** I am writing regarding your claim for compensation that we received on 05/07/2017 following your delayed journey with Great Western Railway. I can confirm your claim is now processed and a payment of £50.00 has been issued in the form of cheque. If it’s not already with you, it will be very shortly and should not take longer than 2 weeks to arrive. Please accept my apologies for the time taken to handle your claim. We have experienced some high contact volumes, but despite that we aim for a faster response than you have experienced. Should you have a query please contact our Customer Support team on 03457 000 125 (available between 0600 and 2300, 7 days a week) quoting the reference number at the top of this email and we’ll be happy to help. Thank you for your time and for travelling with GWR. Yours sincerely ***** **** Customer Support Manager Great Western Railway Now, I've had dealings with ***** ****, Customer Support Manager, before. Catalogued elsewhere on this forum, viewable to established members. Those dealings included a face to face meeting with said CSM after some shockingly poor treatment by FGW (as was) front line staff. To receive an email from him (from the general GWR Customer Service address, but late at night, and personally signed), immediately after a post critical of GWR can be no coincidence. So, hello *****. I hope you are taking onboard the criticisms in this thread, and in the press, and doing something about them. In truth, I hope you are regretting the decision to hand over one of the most important parts of any business, customer services, to the woeful outfit that is Crapita. I hadn't made any follow up query as to the status of my claim from early July, nor complained about a delay in paying compensation. It was only made on 7th July 2017 and five weeks is nothing compared to some of the waits people have had for a meaningful response from GWR Customer Services. As catalogued here and in the press. I now feel guilty that, because I'm "known" to GWR Customer Services, I've been given preferential treatment. Now, that cheque. I've moved since I made the claim. So there will have to be a phone call to Customer Services tomorrow. Hopefully not yet issued. And again, some guilt that I'll have to name drop when quoting the email. To those still waiting a meaningful response. I empathise. And please don't hate me for what seems like queue jumping. Neither sought nor wanted. :-\ Oh and *****. This forum is open to everyone. You have the right to reply. ;) Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: Chris from Nailsea on August 17, 2017, 03:26:59 Ever get the feeling you are being watched? Administrator comment: Yes, we know that senior members of staff at Great Western Railway do read this forum. This particular topic must be of particular interest to them, and I am delighted to see that it has prompted such a positive response in your case, Justin. It will be very interesting to see whether other members of the Coffee Shop forum receive similar attention to their claims for compensation. Chris from Nailsea. :) Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: t0m on August 17, 2017, 21:04:27 Quote Administrator comment: Yes, we know that senior members of staff at Great Western Railway do read this forum. This particular topic must be of particular interest to them, and I am delighted to see that it has prompted such a positive response in your case, Justin. It will be very interesting to see whether other members of the Coffee Shop forum receive similar attention to their claims for compensation. Chris from Nailsea. :) Not I.. think I must get the reverse..they bump my Nov 2016 void day claim back to the bottom of the queue each time I post something! The Transport Focus stats are revealing - for 2017 (I assume YTD) GWR top the league tables for most complaints.. 26% of the complaints have been about GWR (and that doesn't include unresolved complaints), where only 6% of passenger journeys were on GWR. http://data.transportfocus.org.uk/train/complaints/tocs/ I can't possible imagine why. Edit to clarify quoting - grahame Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: grahame on August 17, 2017, 22:38:51 To confirm - we know that the GWR team read "The Coffee Shop" from time to time. It's a resource for them; organisation have traditionally taken a keen interest in how they're covered in the press, and in some ways the forum is a modern day piece of press from that angle. So their reading is natural. At 26,000 user sessions in the last month pages read, with the average session being 6 pages long, 19 out of 20 being from the UK, there are lots of other readers too!
Now ... forum names can be used to separate your identity here from your real life identity. And where someone used that capability in such a way that it hides their true identity, the posts become in some ways anonymous to the reader. And, alas, if the reader has the authority and tools to actually sort out an issue reported, that anonymity can prevent the issue being sorted ... just a thought. Might it be, tOm, that your post has been read but the reader has no way of knowing which of 1000 Toms you are in the queue, even assuming your real name's not Colin? Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on August 17, 2017, 23:02:22 In my case my forum name and real name are known to the person who emailed me last night.
That link was made when another forum member, a GWR employee who knew me off forum, forwarded posts of mine to GWR management. Without permission and against forum rules. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: didcotdean on August 17, 2017, 23:15:32 Dealing with customer relations is one area where the competence and ability of the operating company can shine through (or otherwise).
Some operators seem to shower you with vouchers for the slightest observation on their services; GWR has difficulty replying at all even in areas where they have a contractual obligation. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: IndustryInsider on August 18, 2017, 11:31:00 Ever get the feeling you are being watched? My previous post was made at 2257 and I changed my forum signature straight after. At 2307 the following email lands in my inbox: (details removed for quote) Now, I've had dealings with ***** ****, Customer Support Manager, before. Catalogued elsewhere on this forum, viewable to established members. Those dealings included a face to face meeting with said CSM after some shockingly poor treatment by FGW (as was) front line staff. To receive an email from him (from the general GWR Customer Service address, but late at night, and personally signed), immediately after a post critical of GWR can be no coincidence. Could also just be a coincidence. Even if they'd read your post at the exact time you posted it (which is of course very unlikely), ten minutes for details to be checked and a reply to be constructed and sent is very quick indeed. It was late at night, but then again the email says the are open for telephone enquiries until 23:00 and I should imagine late evening is when telephone enquiries are thin on the ground so they can catch up with the emails backlog. However, I'm certainly not defending the recent Customer Services performance which has been woeful in the extreme. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: Sixty3Closure on August 18, 2017, 16:04:06 Just gone down to my local ticket office to see if I could claim cash for the void days as the promised comms were obviously never coming. Interesting experience. Took nearly 20 mins for 2 of us to collect our money. Ticket Office staff were great but they're obviously struggling with GWR systems and processes. Manual forms to fill (heading was about industrial action), information asked for that's not on the ticket then logging onto another system to type something in, then processing refunds on another system, couple of stamps on paperwork, write it all down on a sheet and finally some money. I think GWR really need to invest in some new IT systems. A central database of season tickets might be a start. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: John R on August 18, 2017, 16:31:47 But would you invest in something that will probably take a year to deliver when there are only 20 months left of the franchise. Especially if you think that it will have absolutely no bearing on your chances of retaining the franchise.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: Sixty3Closure on August 18, 2017, 22:52:46 But would you invest in something that will probably take a year to deliver when there are only 20 months left of the franchise. Especially if you think that it will have absolutely no bearing on your chances of retaining the franchise. I wouldn't but so far as I can tell as a customer there's been no investment in these type of services for many, many years. I'm sure I could have written a business case to justify the investment if it had been my organisation but I think it would need a cultural change to succeed. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on September 01, 2017, 09:04:53 Its an ATOC/RDG issue.....development by them then available to 'rent' by any franchise TOC in membership with them.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on September 11, 2017, 10:26:23 Ever get the feeling you are being watched? My previous post was made at 2257 and I changed my forum signature straight after. At 2307 the following email lands in my inbox: Quote Dear Mr ****** I am writing regarding your claim for compensation that we received on 05/07/2017 following your delayed journey with Great Western Railway. I can confirm your claim is now processed and a payment of £50.00 has been issued in the form of cheque. If it’s not already with you, it will be very shortly and should not take longer than 2 weeks to arrive. Please accept my apologies for the time taken to handle your claim. We have experienced some high contact volumes, but despite that we aim for a faster response than you have experienced. Should you have a query please contact our Customer Support team on 03457 000 125 (available between 0600 and 2300, 7 days a week) quoting the reference number at the top of this email and we’ll be happy to help. Thank you for your time and for travelling with GWR. Yours sincerely ***** **** Customer Support Manager Great Western Railway Now, I've had dealings with ***** ****, Customer Support Manager, before. Catalogued elsewhere on this forum, viewable to established members. Those dealings included a face to face meeting with said CSM after some shockingly poor treatment by FGW (as was) front line staff. To receive an email from him (from the general GWR Customer Service address, but late at night, and personally signed), immediately after a post critical of GWR can be no coincidence. So, hello *****. I hope you are taking onboard the criticisms in this thread, and in the press, and doing something about them. In truth, I hope you are regretting the decision to hand over one of the most important parts of any business, customer services, to the woeful outfit that is Crapita. I hadn't made any follow up query as to the status of my claim from early July, nor complained about a delay in paying compensation. It was only made on 7th July 2017 and five weeks is nothing compared to some of the waits people have had for a meaningful response from GWR Customer Services. As catalogued here and in the press. I now feel guilty that, because I'm "known" to GWR Customer Services, I've been given preferential treatment. Now, that cheque. I've moved since I made the claim. So there will have to be a phone call to Customer Services tomorrow. Hopefully not yet issued. And again, some guilt that I'll have to name drop when quoting the email. To those still waiting a meaningful response. I empathise. And please don't hate me for what seems like queue jumping. Neither sought nor wanted. :-\ Oh and *****. This forum is open to everyone. You have the right to reply. ;) It's now approaching 4 weeks since that email from the Customer Support Manager. The email saying my compensation should be with me within 2 weeks. It won't surprise anyone to learn that the compensation hasn't materialised. "Should" is the get out word of course, but you'd expect the CS department's head honcho to be able to keep his word. Unless of course he's got no control of the shower of 5h!t that is Capita. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on September 11, 2017, 10:33:46 Have you replied and asked for further assistance? I suspect they don't know it hasn't materialised
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on September 11, 2017, 11:00:09 Yes.
Called before posting. Told up to two weeks further to wait. Emailed the Customer Support Manager too. They do know it hasn't materialised. Told it's been processed but not sent. Couldn't get a coherent reason for that from advisor on the phone. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: John R on September 11, 2017, 11:02:06 To pick up on a post in another thread, I guess the shambles that appears to have been the customer service department for as long as we can remember isn't the fault of Mark Hopwood and his management team, but that of Network Rail too?
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on September 11, 2017, 11:05:15 Why? How would NR be involved? Unless you are referring to the number of claims being root cause?
My understanding is that the transfer of CS to Capita was Capita underestimating the number of lodged claims before they took over, and being unable to cope? I'm not sure that cause is anything to do with NR. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: John R on September 11, 2017, 11:08:03 Sorry ChrisB, it was meant to be ironic, but clearly didn't come across as such.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: Timmer on September 11, 2017, 11:18:49 My understanding is that the transfer of CS to Capita was Capita underestimating the number of lodged claims before they took over, and being unable to cope? :D :D :D Well they sure know now don't they? Bet they are well pleased they took on this contract with GWR.Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on September 11, 2017, 14:16:41 Second advisor I spoke with today had rather a loose tongue. When I was critical of Capita they said, "You're not alone. We're not happy working for them either." This advisor went on to explain they were formerly directly employed by FirstGroup.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on September 11, 2017, 14:24:11 yup - those that wanted to would have TUPE'd over.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on September 13, 2017, 20:34:39 The thick plottens...
Recieved this email today from a third party to whom Fake Western Railway have obviously forwarded my contact details: Quote Great Western Railways and the industry regulator The Office of Rail and Road are working together to improve the way rail travellers' complaints are handled in future. They have jointly commissioned this research to find out how satisfied you were with the handling of your complaint to Great Western Railways which was made on 25/07/2017. Our short survey should take no more than 5 minutes to complete. Thank you very much in advance for your help. Yours sincerely, *** **** Director, Critical Research Now, my complaint (I've only made a compensation claim and chased it up after the input from the Customer Services Manager - not a complaint per se) is as yet unresolved so the survey is a little premature. It's good that Fake Western Railway and the ORR are reviewing complaint handling on Fake Western Railway I wonder who instigated that? However I'm concerned by the unsolicited email from a research company. Are Fake Western Railway permitted to pass on my email address (and possibly other personal details from my correspondence with them) without my permission? Murky data protection waters there methinks. :-\ Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on September 14, 2017, 09:47:42 Are you signed up for marketing emails? Might be covered by that (assuming no details of your current case have been mentioned - so all they may have passed on is your email address)
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on September 14, 2017, 09:52:16 Marketing emails to different address.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: t0m on September 14, 2017, 18:59:21 However I'm concerned by the unsolicited email from a research company. Are GWR permitted to pass on my email address (and possibly other personal details from my correspondence with them) without my permission? Murky data protection waters there methinks. :-\ I feel the opposite. GWR used my marketing opt out (which they set themselves - they never asked me!) as a reason for not telling me how to claim compensation for void days on my season ticket. A rather convenient excuse on their part.. I bet because marketing preferences are set as 'off' by default! Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on September 14, 2017, 19:08:40 You win your bet as Data Protection law require you to opt in, or at least physically accept a ticked box.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on September 20, 2017, 11:21:37 As I've had no further replies to emails sent to Jason Ness, Customer Support Manager* (he who told me I'd have my cheque by 30th August), I've now logged a complaint with Transport Focus.
This after another call this morning to chase up. I was told in this call by the *Yes, I've named him now. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on September 21, 2017, 21:13:46 And another thing.
Fake Western Railway/Crapita now send unsolicited text messages, asking, "How did we do?" after you call customer services from a mobile. That should be an opt in. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on September 21, 2017, 22:01:23 Not necessarily, as it may not be marketing
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on September 22, 2017, 00:10:34 There's an existing customer relationship so GWR can send the messages. They should though contain an opt out to stay legal. The ones I've received don't.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on September 22, 2017, 08:02:14 Thats certainly true in emails. Not sure that the requirement is there for texts? If it were, there wouldn't be sufficient characters left to say anything useful
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on September 22, 2017, 10:27:44 Opt out? Text STOP.
That's less than 20 characters. A single SMS has a maximum of 160. Concatenation allows for many multiples of 160. Offering the opportunity to feedback is providing a service. That means the sender must provide an opt out. From Ofcom: Quote It is against the law for anyone to send you spam texts unless you have previously given them permission. However, if there is an existing customer relationship between you and the sender, it can send you spam text messages about similar products and services, as long as you are given the ability to opt out of receiving such messages. I telephone customer services. That sets up a 'relationship'. Fake Western Railway send an unsolicited text offering a follow-up service - "How did we do?" That follow-up should have an opt out. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: John R on September 22, 2017, 10:40:31 Asking for feedback is not offering a product or service though.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: Timmer on September 22, 2017, 10:45:39 GWR/Crapita now send unsolicited text messages, asking, "How did we do?" after you call customer services from a mobile. That should be an opt in. I thought you would have jumped at the chance to let them know how they did?Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on September 22, 2017, 12:00:30 Asking for feedback is not offering a product or service though. Having just raised the issue with the ICO, they agree that the law covers sending unsolicited requests for feedback. I've lodged a complaint about this and the unsolicited emails sent by a third party on behalf of Fake Western Railway. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on September 22, 2017, 13:15:08 Well, I hope the ICO contact all commercial entities, because many, many do this, not just GWR. The ICO needs to clarify its rules in this respect
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: John R on September 22, 2017, 15:46:21 I'd agree ChrisB, as it's not at all clear that it constitutes a service.
I can think of many more things to harangue GWR for at the moment than an obscure breach of the data protection rules. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on September 22, 2017, 17:39:53 I've had emails from Jason Ness' deputy today.
My claim for compensation was processed on 18th August and sent to my old address. Nobody in the call centre was able to tell me that in the numerous telephone calls I made chasing this up. Fake Western Railway had my new address details before the cheque was sent. ::) So, original cheque to be cancelled, new one to be sent. Shall I hold my breath?! Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: grahame on September 22, 2017, 19:06:28 GWR had ... I've been back through this thread trying to work out the abbreviation "GWR" - not found it, and it's not in our list of acronyms and abbreviations. At first, I confess, I though it was a typo for "GWR" but as you've used it a number of times, clearly it's not that. Please tell! Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: Adelante_CCT on September 22, 2017, 19:13:03 Probably use your imagination for the 'F'
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on September 22, 2017, 19:48:21 GWR had ... I've been back through this thread trying to work out the abbreviation "GWR" - not found it, and it's not in our list of acronyms and abbreviations. At first, I confess, I though it was a typo for "GWR" but as you've used it a number of times, clearly it's not that. Please tell! There's nothing 'great' (excepting most front line staff) about the current operator of the Greater Western franchise. F is for... whatever you think appropriate. ;) Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on September 23, 2017, 08:48:46 I think that acronym refers to the rail route, hence the removal if the company name?
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: Western Pathfinder on September 24, 2017, 11:42:00 Flat as in most of the GWML ?.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on September 24, 2017, 12:37:34 Sorry, I meant GWR, not that false one
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on September 24, 2017, 13:07:31 Sorry, I meant GWR, not that false one That's the way I see it too. There's GWR, a great railway company from the 19th and 20th centuries. Then there's the current false one, who I shall henceforth name Fake Western Railway, shamelessly appropriating a great name, but in no way great themselves. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ellendune on September 24, 2017, 18:44:18 That's the way I see it too. There's GWR, a great railway company from the 19th and 20th centuries. Rose coloured spectacles? In the 19th Century the GWR was known for being slow. The fastest way from Swindon to London was from Old Town via the M&SWJR to Andover and then the LSWR to Waterloo! It was only at the start of the 20th Century that the GWR started to live up to the G in its name. It then speeded up its services, built shorter routes etc. I would say the Golden Age was from 1910 to 1939. Its post war modernisation plan that was overtaken by nationalisation IIRC was not very forward looking and was IMHO unlikely to have recreated that Greatness after the war. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on September 26, 2017, 15:38:26 So, I've told Fake Western Railway on three occasions now that I don't want to be surveyed, I don't want unsolicited emails from third parties.
My request was confirmed by Jason Ness's deputy Simon Pritchard, by email 4 days ago. Today I received yet another "How did we do?" email survey from a third party on behalf of Fake Western Railway. A different company to the previous one. After asking Fake Western Railway to stop, they've just ignored me. More evidence to send to the ICO. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on September 26, 2017, 15:47:08 You need to give them a cooling off period - 4 days isn't sufficient to get an address removed from a (third party) list, IMO - you need to be realistic. A week, maybe two.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on September 26, 2017, 16:01:27 GWReffortsurvey@gwr.com
I made my first request for G Fake Western Railway to stop sending emails or texts, unless they were direct human responses to my correspondence, on 13th September. Nothing changes the fact that these emails and texts, being unsolicited, shouldn't be sent in the first place. Nothing changes the fact that GWR, as data holder, should not be forwarding personal details to third parties without permission. The latest survey email comes from a physical company address of: CEB | 1919 North Lynn Street | Arlington, VA 22209 | USA God knows what they'll do with my personal information. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on September 26, 2017, 16:06:05 ahhh, but is transferring info outside the EU caught in this legislation you are referring to? Certainly, different rules apply
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on September 26, 2017, 16:16:29 ahhh, but is transferring info outside the EU caught in this legislation you are referring to? Certainly, different rules apply Fake Western Railway (not their real name - just my interpretation of the modern upstart) are the data holder. It matters not one jot who they forward it to. If they don't have permission they are breaching the DPA. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on September 26, 2017, 16:30:51 That is true. But you still need to give them time to get your name removed from lists they've supplied while you were registered/not opted out
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on September 26, 2017, 16:34:55 I have.
You said one week, maybe two. They've had 13 days since my first request. I had confirmation 4 days ago from Customer Services Manager. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on September 26, 2017, 16:40:04 Would suggest from the date of confirmation. You aren't the only customer the guy is probably dealing with.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on September 26, 2017, 16:44:53 Confirmation that something has been done should mean just that.
But carry on defending the indefensible ChrisB. It's your forte. You are brilliant at it. May I suggest applying for a job with Capita/GWR customers services. You'll fit right in. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on September 26, 2017, 20:41:28 I'm simply being realistic.
I suspect the ICO will agree with me. By the time the ICO will have investigated, that time will have elapsed. I'm not defending anyone. Simply being reslistic over timing Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on September 26, 2017, 20:44:21 Would suggest from the date of confirmation. Nope. A very welcome and prompt reply this evening, after I asked CS Manager why I was still getting the unsolicited emails. Quote Justin, this is disappointing. I will investigate to understand why my previous request was not actioned and ensure its not repeated. Thank you for highlighting. As to the ICO. Just because something finally stops before their investigation into DPA breaches is completed doesn't mean they'll say there was no case to answer. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on September 26, 2017, 20:54:46 If the breach is sorted before they investigate, they would accept that
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on September 26, 2017, 21:07:22 If the breach is sorted before they investigate, they would accept that :o :o :oI'll remember that the next time I break the law. "I did it before you started investigating, officer." ::) Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: John R on September 26, 2017, 21:11:08 From the ICO Website:-
The Act says that you should stop processing for direct marketing purposes within a reasonable period. When considering whether you have done so, we take into account that a particular marketing campaign might already be underway when you receive a notice, and that the individual may subsequently receive further marketing material. However, we expect that in normal circumstances electronic communications should stop within 28 days of receiving the notice, and postal communications should stop within two months. So notwithstanding that you were told to the contrary, the ICO would seem to think that 13 days is a not unreasonable length of time not to have actioned a request. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on September 26, 2017, 21:38:03 From the ICO Website:- The Act says that you should stop processing for direct marketing purposes within a reasonable period. When considering whether you have done so, we take into account that a particular marketing campaign might already be underway when you receive a notice, and that the individual may subsequently receive further marketing material. However, we expect that in normal circumstances electronic communications should stop within 28 days of receiving the notice, and postal communications should stop within two months. So notwithstanding that you were told to the contrary, the ICO would seem to think that 13 days is a not unreasonable length of time not to have actioned a request. Very tellingly you left out the final sentence of that part of the Act. Besides which, the DPA is not the only legislation in play in such cases. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: chrisr_75 on September 26, 2017, 21:52:00 Sorry to be controversial, but wouldn't any normal person just divert said emails to trash/spam or to the relevant customer service manager, forget about it and just get on with their lives.
I'm sure the ICO has bigger fish to fry than dealing with, frankly somewhat vexatious, complaints like this. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: John R on September 26, 2017, 22:19:17 From the ICO Website:- The Act says that you should stop processing for direct marketing purposes within a reasonable period. When considering whether you have done so, we take into account that a particular marketing campaign might already be underway when you receive a notice, and that the individual may subsequently receive further marketing material. However, we expect that in normal circumstances electronic communications should stop within 28 days of receiving the notice, and postal communications should stop within two months. So notwithstanding that you were told to the contrary, the ICO would seem to think that 13 days is a not unreasonable length of time not to have actioned a request. Very tellingly you left out the final sentence of that part of the Act. Besides which, the DPA is not the only legislation in play in such cases. I didn't quote from the Act. I quoted (in full) from the Q&A, which gives guidance as to how the ICO interpret the Act in this regard, with the question "Do I have to suppress details immediately?". But I'm inclined to agree with chrisr_75 that most people would find more important things to do with their lives than spend their time pursuing a vexatious complaint against GWR. It's odd that you seem to spend a lot of time travelling on GWR for leisure purposes when you seem to hate them with a vengeance. https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/principle-6-rights/preventing-direct-marketing/ Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on September 26, 2017, 23:40:19 But I'm inclined to agree with chrisr_75 that most people would find more important things to do with their lives than spend their time pursuing a vexatious complaint against GWR. It's odd that you seem to spend a lot of time travelling on GWR for leisure purposes when you seem to hate them with a vengeance. I'm not most people. I'm me. The issue of data protection is important to me. I live my life how I chose not how others think I should live it. If that means doggedly complaining on an issue important to me then that's my choice. If that dismays you John R then, frankly, tough titty. Hate and vengeance are very emotive words. Totally unnecessary. Disappointed and seeking redress, not hating or seeking vengeance. I've not travelled with Fake Western Railway since July 5th 2017. My only planned forthcoming trip is October 16th. By my reckoning I've only made use of Fake Western Railway five times in 2017. Hardly a 'lot of time'. The past incidences of poor service, denial of travel with valid tickets, threats of prosecution and the like, have largely put me off Fake Western Railway. There's hope every next time I travel that things will be better. Hope that is all to frequently dashed by a TOC that has lost its way. Having the option to drive instead has made a difference. The leisure travel budget now mostly goes elsewhere than Fake Western Railway. As an example, there's a new Pullman menu. In past years I'd be there trying it out and reviewing here. Despite the excellent Pullman staff I'm unlikely to dine anytime soon. I can't conscionably justify giving Fake Western Railway the money. I'll keep you informed of the progress of the complaint lodged with the ICO. Presumably one of the many they fail to filter out for being vexatious. ::) Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: Chris from Nailsea on September 26, 2017, 23:53:16 Hate and vengeance are very emotive words. Totally unnecessary. Disappointed and seeking redress, not hating or seeking vengeance. Justin, I do understand your passion on this subject - but, to be fair, John R only suggested that you 'seem' to feel so. That is, perhaps unintentionally, the way you come across sometimes, when you post here. :-\ Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: WelshBluebird on September 27, 2017, 11:38:46 At the end of the day, data protection laws are exactly that, laws.
If a company is not sticking to the law, then they have only themselves to blame and anyone should be more than able to take them to task about it. I am not as concerned about the subject as bignosemac is, but that does not matter. GWR need to follow the law, and for good reason. A lacking in following data protection in one area usually indicates a lacking in following it in other areas too, and we have seen just how vulnerable many websites / databases have become to vulnerabilities, sometimes caused by poor practices regarding data protection. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: Sixty3Closure on September 27, 2017, 12:31:59 As WelshBluebird says for me this is symptomatic of the poor approach across the company to their customers of which data protection is part of. They're a bit relaxed with my email address but does apply to my phone number, my credit card details and so on. I've been denied compensation because they said I'd opted out of marketing material even though they send it to me.
Its not unique to GWR though and it starts to take up more and more time trying to filter my emails and texts although I'm more concerned about how my data is stored. I'm with bignosemac on the whole in that if I ask a reputable company (i.e. a large or listed company) not to contact me and/or delete most of the data they have on me then I expect them to honour that. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on September 27, 2017, 13:15:10 As do I....but I also understand that it can take a reasonable amount of time to do so, and I'm relaxed enough that a few weeks is ok with me. After a month, I might start getting agitated, not just in a few days. Frankly, I see that period of time as unrealistic. And it appears from what's quoted above that the ICO agrees with me.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on September 27, 2017, 13:53:39 Quote The organisation must stop marketing within a reasonable period. The DPA does not say it has to stop immediately. For example, if a particular mass marketing campaign is already underway, it might be difficult to prevent one individual from receiving any further materials. However, in most circumstances we expect that calls, texts or other electronic communications should stop within 28 days of receiving the objection, and postal communications should stop within two months. And if the organisation can reasonably stop sooner, it must. Remember, I had it confirmed my details would no longer be used for anything other than direct human correspondence. Told I would no longer receive unsolicited texts or emails. That confirmation didn't say this would happen at some date in the future, so it's reasonable to infer the requested action had been taken and communications had stopped. Only for, a few days later to receive another unsolicited communication. And for the record the ICO have told me that surveys and feedback requests are covered under 'marketing'. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: chrisr_75 on September 27, 2017, 14:49:40 Why not just contact the person with whom you had previous contact and simply ask them to confirm the exact time and date they were referring to when they said all non-direct correspondence would stop?! You might get a simple answer followed by a simple action that pops your recent frothiness into the 'that was a bit silly' box.
You can't really name and shame people at GWR on a public forum if you've not asked questions pertinent to the answers you seek, that's just not fair play is it? Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: Tim on September 27, 2017, 16:57:39 BNM, Personally I wouldn't have the patience to pursue the data protection stuff, but as you say the law is the law and although it is hardly the crime of the century GWR really should be getting this right. Bottom line is their greed drove them to outsource their CS dept to a company with a dreadful record of CS and BNM is holding them to account. Don't suppose it will make any difference, but still.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on September 27, 2017, 17:04:31 Why not just contact the person with whom you had previous contact and simply ask them to confirm the exact time and date they were referring to when they said all non-direct correspondence would stop?! You might get a simple answer followed by a simple action that pops your recent frothiness into the 'that was a bit silly' box. You can't really name and shame people at GWR on a public forum if you've not asked questions pertinent to the answers you seek, that's just not fair play is it? See post #94. So, yes. That was a bit silly. On Fake Western Railway's part. Vexatious? Frothy? Give me a break. ::) Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on September 28, 2017, 22:42:37 I got my delay compensation for my last Greater Western TOC journey on July 5th 2017. A most welcome cheque.
Interestingly the cheque and remittance advice are headed with the 'First Great Western' logo. No one's bothered to update the cheque printer it seems. Only two years since the name change. :) Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: John R on September 28, 2017, 22:52:20 I got my delay compensation for my last Greater Western TOC journey on July 5th 2017. A most welcome cheque. Interestingly the cheque and remittance advice are headed with the 'First Great Western' logo. No one's bothered to update the cheque printer it seems. Only two years since the name change. :) Are you planning to complain and seek further compensation on that point? Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on September 28, 2017, 23:26:00 Are you planning to complain and seek further compensation on that point? I rather think the smiley face answers that question. Don't you? Had you added one to your reply it wouldn't seem* like an unnecessary dig. ::) *ref back to reply #102 Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: NickB on September 29, 2017, 07:17:31 I got my delay compensation for my last Greater Western TOC journey on July 5th 2017. A most welcome cheque. Interestingly the cheque and remittance advice are headed with the 'First Great Western' logo. No one's bothered to update the cheque printer it seems. Only two years since the name change. :) I noted the same thing when I received my cheque. Curiously I received another cheque the same week and that came on gwr paper. The account numbers were the same which put an end to my theory of a slush fund hangover from 2012 so I am guessing that different refund departments have different stocks of blank cheques. If I recall correctly my FGW cheque was larger - £80 - to cover my taxi fares home, and I imagine that this might have been processed by a different team/authoriser than 'I had to stand with a first class ticket' which was my other (regular) refund. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: WSW Frome on September 29, 2017, 12:21:02 I have to report a compensation SUCCESS. My wife was booked on the 09.50 WSB-PAD on 3 Sept. which was cancelled. Travel on the next service ensured about a 75 min overall delay. An online compensation claim was submitted the next day.
The claim was accepted by e-mail within about 4 days and a cheque promised. The cheque arrived approximately within the estimated time. The cheque was for an amount of 115% of the Super Off Peak Return ticket in question. This in spite of only the outward journey being affected. New policy or good fortune? As the following outward service from WSB was stated to be full and standing, she headed straight for First Class and was not approached to pay the Weekend First supplement. More good fortune? Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on October 02, 2017, 13:56:03 From Transport Focus October newsletter (https://www.transportfocus.org.uk/news-events-media/news/transport-user-voice-case-study-4/)....
Quote Mrs G buys her son his Great Western Railway (GWR) season ticket from Guildford station as he uses the train to travel to and from school. A number of cancelled trains meant Mrs G had to collect her son from school herself. As GWR season ticket holders have the right to claim compensation for delays upon renewal Mrs G went to Guilford station to ask if station staff could process this. Staff at the station advised they were unable to do as this was a South West Trains (SWT) station and that Mrs G must apply for compensation through GWR. When she called GWR it advised she must go to the station. Mrs G kept on being passed back and forth between the two train companies and found the whole process frustrating as she simply wanted to claim back the compensation she was entitled to. This is when she contacted Transport Focus to see if we could help. We contacted GWR on Mrs G’s behalf and it advised that it had given the correct information. Mrs G should have been able to get the five per cent discount on renewal and SWT staff have been given the information to process this. Despite the fact that it was not the fault of GWR it agreed to send Mrs G a cheque for the five per cent discount instead to resolve the issue quickly as they appreciated the inconvenience this has caused her so far. When GWR saw that the compensation due was only £1.88 it offered to send Mrs G £20 in rail travel vouchers as a gesture of goodwill for the inconvenience. Mrs G was very happy with this outcome and we felt this demonstrated good customer service. The issues that Mrs G experienced with renewing the season ticket have been fed back to staff to prevent the same issue occurring in the future. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: Sixty3Closure on October 02, 2017, 18:01:16 Maybe I've misunderstood but wouldn't good customer service have been resolving it without the intervention of a third party? In this case Transport Focus?
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on October 02, 2017, 18:05:31 Ask SWT.....
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: TaplowGreen on October 02, 2017, 18:50:05 Ask SWT..... I think the point that has clearly flown 6' over your head is that GWR & SWT could have put the customer first, talked to each other and sorted it out between them rather than sending her from pillar to post, but that would have involved an imaginative attitude to customer service, which as we know is lacking on the railways. Why put yourself out for a pesky customer when you can fold your arms and say "not my problem mate". Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on October 02, 2017, 18:59:16 And how do you suggest station ticket staff at Guildford are talked to by customer service staff at GWR, assuming those are the staff she dealt with?
It would need high level intervention on both sides. I suspect the internal processes within the railway as a whole need attention & thus not likely possible by the staff actually involved. So yes, TF are likely to have spurred the high(er) level staff at both companies into amending processes (we can hope) Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: grahame on October 23, 2017, 15:53:13 Speaking with GWR customer service about the cancellation of the 18:39 Westbury to Swindon (trying to work out what to do about passenger counts and surveys), they were advising passengers to wait for the next available train which was the 19:41. "As it's over an hour's delay, they can claim a full refund"; I asked how long that would take and was informed the current estimate is 28 working days.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on October 23, 2017, 15:59:32 Nearly 6 weeks....I guess that has dropped slightly
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: t0m on October 23, 2017, 18:13:23 Nearly 6 weeks....I guess that has dropped slightly You would be lucky to get a reply to an email in that timeframe! Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: t0m on January 19, 2018, 22:38:10 So the compensation saga continues..
I renewed my HSS season ticket in December only to find the ticket office refused my 5% season ticket renewal discount because they couldn't find any record of my season ticket on their computer systems (apparently because I purchased it online). They told me to write to the customer relations team. Customer relations managed to reply within 3 weeks (must be a record) but to tell me that they don't deal with such compensation claims. Stations do. So from pillar to post.. I still have a zero% success rate in getting GWR to pay out compensation without unbelievable pain. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: TaplowGreen on January 20, 2018, 09:05:53 So the compensation saga continues.. I renewed my HSS season ticket in December only to find the ticket office refused my 5% season ticket renewal discount because they couldn't find any record of my season ticket on their computer systems (apparently because I purchased it online). They told me to write to the customer relations team. Customer relations managed to reply within 3 weeks (must be a record) but to tell me that they don't deal with such compensation claims. Stations do. So from pillar to post.. I still have a zero% success rate in getting GWR to pay out compensation without unbelievable pain. email Hopwood directly and cc it to as many newspapers/MPs/Local Councillors as possible, in my experience that tends to light a fire under their arses and provokes a very swift response. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: t0m on January 20, 2018, 21:45:04 email Hopwood directly and cc it to as many newspapers/MPs/Local Councillors as possible, in my experience that tends to light a fire under their arses and provokes a very swift response. I did eventually get my last one resolved via that method.. took 6 months. Went back to the station today. They once again denied they could help. Have agreed to investigate and call me back at some point.. at least someone has finally taken some responsibility! Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: JayMac on February 13, 2018, 00:00:47 I've had no correspondence with GWR for many months.
But guess what? Despite all the requests, despite the promises to cease and desist, made directly to me and through the ICO, the marketing muppets have started sending me unsolicited and unwanted emails AGAIN. Which means they still hold personal information about me that they promised would be deleted. I'm not giving GWR any chances this time. Straight back to the ICO. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: martyjon on April 23, 2018, 07:43:30 Is Capita in trouble ?
Heard on BBC Radio 4 that Capita has announced a £500 million loss and are asking investors to stump up £700 million of new money by way of a rights issue, Capita being the organisation responsible for GWR compensation claims and refunds. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: CyclingSid on April 24, 2018, 17:23:53 Despite the news local authorities are still pushing contracts at them. They also do the London Congestion Charge, so a lot of people would be happy if that fell over.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: martyjon on April 24, 2018, 20:45:35 Is Capita in trouble ? I posted that yesterday and today I have had a chance to browse their published 2017 Accounts more especially the Balance Sheet and the following figures are from there and are quoted in £ millions ;- Total assets 4,421.2 Total liabilities 5,351.0 Net liabilities [929.8] Deficit attributable to owners of the Company [999.0] Non-controlling interests 69.2 Total deficit [929.8] The figures in square [] brackets are stated in the published document in () brackets but posting to the forum converts the closing ) to a smiley. Now if I had assets of £4,421.20 let alone that number in millions and liabilities of £5,351.00 let alone that number in millions I know where I would be, in the brown stuff. Additionally, I have never seen an entry in a Balance Sheet before of a Deficit attributable to owners of the Company and believe me I have viewed a fair number in managing my investments. What does this mean ? Is it an indication of the extent that a company pension fund is that much in deficit ? Is it an indication of the sum that the shareholders, who are in effect the owners of the company, will have to stump up in the event that the company slides down the swanny ? Yesterdays announcement that the company was embarking on a £700 million rights issue to pay down debt still leaves a deficit of 229.8 million. I'm puzzled, any accountants on this forum able to enlighten me ? The link to the document I used to prepare this post is ;- http://investors.capita.com/~/media/Files/C/Capita-IR-V2/documents/financial-results-2017.pdf Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: martyjon on April 26, 2018, 08:32:48 Is Capita in trouble ? I posted that yesterday and today I have had a chance to browse their published 2017 Accounts more especially the Balance Sheet and the following figures are from there and are quoted in £ millions ;- Total assets 4,421.2 Total liabilities 5,351.0 Net liabilities [929.8] Deficit attributable to owners of the Company [999.0] Non-controlling interests 69.2 Total deficit [929.8] The figures in square [] brackets are stated in the published document in () brackets but posting to the forum converts the closing ) to a smiley. Now if I had assets of £4,421.20 let alone that number in millions and liabilities of £5,351.00 let alone that number in millions I know where I would be, in the brown stuff. Additionally, I have never seen an entry in a Balance Sheet before of a Deficit attributable to owners of the Company and believe me I have viewed a fair number in managing my investments. What does this mean ? Is it an indication of the extent that a company pension fund is that much in deficit ? Is it an indication of the sum that the shareholders, who are in effect the owners of the company, will have to stump up in the event that the company slides down the swanny ? Yesterdays announcement that the company was embarking on a £700 million rights issue to pay down debt still leaves a deficit of 229.8 million. I'm puzzled, any accountants on this forum able to enlighten me ? The link to the document I used to prepare this post is ;- http://investors.capita.com/~/media/Files/C/Capita-IR-V2/documents/financial-results-2017.pdf I posted on another forum as 'son of a tiger', a financial one, and got a response of which I quote ;- It means the shareholders have negative equity. Capita is technically insolvent .... Full response here ; http://www.iii.co.uk/investment/detail?code=cotn:LSE:CPI&display=discussion I thought that under the 1986 Insolvency Act if a business continued to trade when an insolvent position had been identified then the directors of that business were personally liable. It is quite clear from Capitas published accounts for 2017 they are in deep trouble so why are they still trading ? Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: eXPassenger on April 26, 2018, 09:41:18 Insolvency is also defined as an inability to pay debts as they come due.
The cash flow statement in the accounts will show if they are generating or consuming cash and there will be bank overdraft facilities. That said the banks will be very uncomfortable extending those facilities in these circumstances. They are down and teetering, but not yet out. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: Sixty3Closure on April 26, 2018, 18:06:35 Private Eye had some more background on how badly their Army recruiting contract is going. From what I've read and heard with people who deal with them they've under-invested in their IT systems which is possibly one of the reasons they're struggling. You can only keep buying other companies and services for so long.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: rogerw on October 22, 2018, 16:54:12 Perhaps it is time to bumb this thread in view of my recent experience with GWR (non)customer service. During my recent all line rover I experienced major delays on three of my journeys - 2 caused by LNER and 1 caused by GWR arriving late into Paddington and causing me to miss my Edinburgh service from Kings Cross. LNER acknowledged both claims and asked for further information on one. I have now been notified that the cheques are in the post. GWR acknowledged and then replied saying it was not their fault and that they have passed the details to Cross Country and Virgin. GWR did not ask me for further details as to my route but just made assumptions, wrongly, that I travelled via Bristol and Birmingham. Needless to say I quickly put them right and also gave very low scores on the follow up customer survey. I am still waiting to hear further. I have heard from Cross Country and have told them that it is not their problem. No word from Virgin as yet.
Incidentally the route assumed by GWR may not even been valid on my ticket as I as the Cross Country Train arrived at Birmingham at 0958 and the terms of the rover state that you cannot board or alight from a Cross Country train at Birmingham prior to 1000. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: grahame on October 22, 2018, 18:16:15 Incidentally the route assumed by GWR may not even been valid on my ticket as I as the Cross Country Train arrived at Birmingham at 0958 and the terms of the rover state that you cannot board or alight from a Cross Country train at Birmingham prior to 1000. That's an actual not a scheduled time restriction. Quote The All Lines Rail Rover is not valid for boarding or alighting train services operated by CrossCountry, East Midlands Trains, London North Eastern Railway or Virgin Trains before 10:00 Mondays to Fridays at the following stations: Birmingham New Street As the train in question arrives is not scheduled to leave Birmingham until 10:03, as I read it you are perfectly entitled to travel up on in from Bristol, and dally on board at New Street until 10:01 ...when you can legitimately get off. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: rogerw on October 22, 2018, 18:54:26 That's what I would have done had I used those services. In any case I cannot see how the restriction can be enforced if you don't leave the station and even then how can they prove that you used a Cross Country or Virgin service.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: rogerw on October 31, 2018, 10:15:23 As a follow up, the cheques have now been received from LNER (and banked). Still no word from GWR 21 days from the initial claim
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: martyjon on October 31, 2018, 10:50:48 I'm still waiting for a claim I made to GWR on the 17 July 2018 for a journey the previous day which was delayed, by a cancelled service due to lack of drivers.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: TaplowGreen on October 31, 2018, 11:26:04 I'm still waiting for a claim I made to GWR on the 17 July 2018 for a journey the previous day which was delayed, by a cancelled service due to lack of drivers. Email Hopwood directly & cc it to a newspaper giving details of how long you've been waiting, the inconvenience suffered etc etc. You'll be surprised how quickly one of his minions contacts you.....worked for me. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: Adrian on November 05, 2018, 19:39:56 I had one from GWR a few weeks ago that took 13 days including postage - the quickest I can recall.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: rogerw on November 12, 2018, 20:02:45 I have now received a reply from GWR - the cheque is in the post. The time line for this is: initial claim 10 October, first response (with wrong assumption), correction sent 19 October, request fro further information received (and sent) 31 October, final response received 12 November. Although the whole matter took 33 days, all responses were within the promised 14 days.
However this should be compared to LNER who gave a final response to one claim in 8 days and to the second (after a request for further information) in 11 days so GWR could do better. In contrast Virgin Trains who are supposed to give excellent customer service took 23 days to even acknowledge the passing of the claim from GWR. Could do better. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: Fourbee on November 13, 2018, 10:20:14 I'm still waiting for a claim I made to GWR on the 17 July 2018 for a journey the previous day which was delayed, by a cancelled service due to lack of drivers. Apologies if this has been asked before - is there a way after the event to establish the reason code for a cancellation? I've just had a claim rejected due to weather related disruption which I wouldn't have bothered claiming for in the first place. The site I consulted said the service was cancelled due to the delay of an inbound service which masked the 'real' reason (weather). Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: CyclingSid on November 25, 2018, 11:57:23 Another view on compensation for "non-journeys" on railways: https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/train-delays-cancellations-network-rail-south-western-railway-southern-northern-compensation-a8647221.html (https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/train-delays-cancellations-network-rail-south-western-railway-southern-northern-compensation-a8647221.html), or should Simon Calder stick to his specialist subject of air lines and flying?
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: Timmer on November 25, 2018, 14:43:33 Put a claim in with LNER Wednesday evening. Woke up to an email the following morning confirming payment is being made. Now that’s service. Put a claim in the same evening with GWR. Wonder how long that will take? ::)
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: Timmer on December 06, 2018, 10:31:42 GWR finally get back to me about my claim for the chaos on Sunday the 28th of October saying no compensation because the train was only running 26 minutes late which is true, but it started from Reading, my wife was in London!
Journey time between Waterloo and Reading is 75 as apposed to 25 minutes Paddington to Reading so she would have had to have left London a lot earlier in order to meet the train at Reading. I was not happy for her to travel with luggage between Waterloo and Reading as trains were absolutely rammed that afternoon and the alternative route via Basingstoke and Salisbury was closed due to engineering work. As GWR advised tickets were valid for travel on the Monday because of the major disruption we opted for her to travel on the Monday instead. So as far as I'm concerned we are well over the 2 hours that you can claim compensation. So I have replied to GWR customer services outlining the above. If I get no joy with them then it will be an email to Mark Hopwood. You shouldn't have to do this when its clear there were major issues that afternoon and many hundreds of passengers were badly inconvenienced with many never getting any compensation. edit to correct spelling Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: rogerw on December 06, 2018, 15:53:11 18 working days after I was told that the cheque would be sent "as soon as possible" I am still waiting. I shall give them until the beginning of next week and then put in a formal complaint
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: ChrisB on December 06, 2018, 16:14:08 20 working days is the default response time.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: rogerw on December 06, 2018, 16:57:00 This matter has been running since 10 October and is well over the default response time. I am awaiting the cheque that was promise 18 working days ago "as soon as possible". Any decent company should be able to dispatch a cheque within 5 working days. LNER did.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: rogerw on December 09, 2018, 13:11:31 On my return today from my time away I find that the cheque has arrived ;D ;D
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: TaplowGreen on December 09, 2018, 15:30:08 On my return today from my time away I find that the cheque has arrived ;D ;D Glad you've finally received your cheque. These are the type of unacceptable & unreasonable delays that the new Ombudsman will (should) be all over. One would hope that it will make GWR up their game, as this aspect of customer service (amongst others) has been very poor for a couple of years now. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: Jason on December 12, 2018, 09:56:06 What the hell is a cheque ? ;) ;)
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: Timmer on December 12, 2018, 17:00:09 Is it possible for someone to confirm Mark Hopwood’s email address by PM?
I think I know what it is but just want to confirm. Thanks in advance. I shall soon by escalating my claim if Capita don’t get back to me in the next few days. I’d rather not have to do this but the railway messed up so a refund is due. BTW, like BNM, I too got a survey from them asking how they did. Suffice to say I left them in no doubt I was very unhappy with their response. Not that they didn’t pay out but that the reason for not paying out was totally incorrect. Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: TaplowGreen on December 12, 2018, 17:59:08 Is it possible for someone to confirm Mark Hopwood’s email address by PM? I think I know what it is but just want to confirm. Thanks in advance. I shall soon by escalating my claim if Capita don’t get back to me in the next few days. I’d rather not have to do this but the railway messed up so a refund is due. BTW, like BNM, I too got a survey from them asking how they did. Suffice to say I left them in no doubt I was very unhappy with their response. Not that they didn’t pay out but that the reason for not paying out was totally incorrect. I believe it's Mark.Hopwood@gwr.com Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: rogerw on December 12, 2018, 19:01:36 What the hell is a cheque ? ;) ;) It's what they send you if you don't want to give them your bank details. Very much a dying breed :D ;DTitle: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: Timmer on December 12, 2018, 20:22:12 Thanks TG, what I thought.
Title: Re: GWR’s compensation scheme is all delay and no repay Post by: welshman on December 12, 2018, 21:08:41 Speak as you find. Went CDF to PAD on 13 June but was diverted via Bath because of a failed train in front. Lost an hour and a bit. Made a claim on line the following day and had an immediate acknowledgement. The payment appeared in my bank account on 10 July.
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