Can I get a refund if my train is delayed or cancelled?

Did you know you can get a refund if your train is delayed or cancelled? Latest Deals is here to help you claim your train delay compensation or your ticket refund. 

Facts about delayed and cancelled trains

• You can always get a full train ticket refund if your train is cancelled.
• If your train is 15 to 30 minutes late, depending on the train company, you are entitled to train delay compensation. 
• To be able to get a refund or train delay compensation, you need to keep your train ticket. 
• To be able to get a refund or train delay compensation, you should claim within 28 days of the delay. 

Train Ticket Refund or Train Delay Compensation — What's the difference?

If your train has been delayed or cancelled, you can get a full train ticket refund if you choose not to travel anymore. 

If your train has been delayed, you can get a train delay compensation if you choose to still travel. 

If your train has been cancelled and you choose to take another train, you get a train delay compensation if this train causes you to delay. 

The train delay compensation is based on the train company policy, your ticket type, and how long the delay was. 

How to claim train delay compensation

You have different ways to claim train delay compensation: 

The first way is by the Delay Repay national scheme. The second is by the renewal discounts, which apply if you are a season ticket holder. The third is by the Consumer Rights Act Legislation, which includes compensation for additional financial losses that the train delay might have caused. 

• Make a Delay Repay claim

If you had any sort of delay of at least 15 min to 30 min, depending on the train company's policy, you are entitled to receive a full or a partial refund. 

Most UK train companies offer an easy process to make your claim by the Delay Repay national scheme. 

To make a Delay Repay claim, you need to access the train company's official website and follow the instructions. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: The Delay Repay compensation is usually 25% of your ticket price if you are 15 to 30 minutes delayed, 50% of your ticket price if you are 30 minutes to an hour delayed, a full refund for more than an hour delayed. Sometimes the train delay compensation is vouchers instead of cash. Usually, the train company will give you the option to choose. 

What to do if your train company doesn't offer Delay Repay

If your train company doesn't offer Delay Repay, you can still get train delay compensation. They will have a dedicated online page to this on their website. Usually, in this case, you will be paid less than you would with the Delay Repay national scheme. 

• Get a renewal discount

If you are a season ticket holder, you can get a renewal discount if you have experienced delays. 

The train company will inform their performance targets, and if they haven't met them during that season, you can get a renewal discount when you are signing up for the next season ticket. 

The renewal discount will differ depending on the UK train company of your choice. 

• Use the Consumer Rights Act Legislation 

If you don't qualify for the Delay Repay or the renewal discount and still feel you have experienced a poor train service that caused you any problem, you can use the Consumer Rights Act Legislation. 

In this case, you can also claim a consequential loss if the delayed train has caused you to spend more money by taking a taxi or an Uber or by missing a flight, for example.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You will need to prove that it was the train company fault and not a network rail issue and how your losses are linked to the delay. 

Train Companies Claim Information

Latest Deals has selected some of the most popular train companies available in the UK. Below, you can find the links to make your claim online with them: 

Train Company	Delay Repay	Minimum delay length in minutes	Claim refund
c2c	X	15	Here
Caledonian Sleeper	X	30	Here
Chiltern railways		30	Here
Chiltern railways		30	Here
East Midlands Trains	X	15	Here
Eurostar		60	Here
Gatwick Express	X	15	Here
Grand Central trains		60	Here
Greater Anglia	X	15	Here
Great Western Railway	X	15	Here
Great Northern	X	15	Here
Heathrow Express		15	Here
Hull Trains	X	30	Here
LNER	X	30	Here
London Northwester	X	15	Here
Merseyrail		30	Here
Northern Railway	X	15	Here
Overground		30	Here
Scotrail	X	30	Here
Southeastern	X	15	Here
Southern Railway	X	15	Here
South Western Railway	X	15	Here
Stansted Express	X	15	Here
TFL Rail		30	Here
Thameslink	X	15	Here
Translink	X	30	Here
TransPennine Express	X	15	Here
Transport for Wales Rail	X	15	Here
London Underground		15	Here
Avanti West Coast	X	15	Here
West Midlands	X	15	Here

IMPORTANT NOTE: Keep in mind that these train companies have their own company policy, which can differ from how much you can get. 

Also, some of them already have an automatic train delay compensation payment. For example, if you are a smart cardholder with c2c, you get automatic compensation for delays over 2 minutes. Great Northern, Southern, Thameslink Northern Railway, South Western Railway and Avanti West also offer automatic compensation for delays over 15 minutes. 

Complain to the Rail Ombudsman Service

If you are not happy with the answer you received from the train company, or you haven't received an answer in 40 working days, you can complain to the Rail Ombudsman Service. 

The Rail Ombudsman Service works with most UK train companies to help resolve a dispute between them and customers. 

To complain to the Rail Ombudsman Service, you will need to provide copies of all the correspondence between you and the train company, all the relevant receipts, and proof of your claims. 

To make your complaint, you need to contact the Rail Ombudsman Service. You can call them on the telephone number 0330 094 0362 or 0330 094 0363. You can also write them an email at info@railombudsman.org. Finally, you can access their website to send your complaint online. 

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