Missed Job Interview

The Issue

The consumer was due to travel on the 17.12 from a London terminal to her usual destination station, a journey of about 1 hour on a fast train.  However, on this occasion, she needed to alight further up the line so planned to use a stopping service on that particular day to attend a job interview.

The Claim

The consumer was claiming delay repay for the delay to her journey.

The Response

The Rail Service Provider responded stating that when she had applied for her Delay Repay compensation she stated her journey was via her regular commute for which she has a season ticket, travelling on the 17.12 service, her usual train. Based on this information, they said, the Delay Repay team correctly declined the claim as the delay was under 30 minutes. Based upon her usual commute, the consumer could have caught a fast train and arrived at her destination with less than a 30-minute delay. However, when dealing with her complaint, the Rail Service Provider acknowledged that her subsequent response, in which she explained why she had to disembark at a different station on that occasion, had been open to misinterpretation. They made an offer by way of mediation.

The Mediation

The Rail Service Provider confirmed that had the consumer set out the actual journey in her Delay Repay claim, she would have been entitled to £9.90 in compensation. This is based on her journey being delayed by over one hour. In addition, they rounded her payment up to £20 to say sorry for the additional emails she had to send as they felt this issue could have been successfully handled when she provided more information.

The Outcome

The consumer accepted the offer in the form of a cheque and the case was closed as a successful mediation.

Note to Consumers: The Consumer in this case study made no claim for loss of chance (since she did not make it to her job interview). The Rail Ombudsman would not consider such an award, as the success of the job interview will depend upon many other factors which are outside the control of the Rail Service Provider.