The Trainline Customer Service Issues

On October 26, [redacted], I bought 3 return tickets to London with transaction ID [redacted]53 totaling £26.25, including a booking fee. Leading up to our travel date on December 23, Southwest Railway (SWR) announced strikes on our route, causing uncertainties. The updated timetable was only released on December 21, revealing a detour at Eastleigh with a 20-minute wait and no seat guarantee. Since we were traveling with our 9-year-old granddaughter to see the Christmas lights, this change was concerning, especially as my wife has had a knee replacement. Upon receiving an email from Trainline on December 19 regarding the industrial action and disruptions, I opted for a refund due to the lack of seating and potential discomfort with the wait. The email presented a refund option for either leg of the journey, and I selected a refund for the entire trip. Although the email stated a 15-day processing period, we have not yet received the refund. I seek clarification on the status of the refund process.

I reserved my trip with a Senior Railcard a month ahead and got my tickets a week later. I requested passenger assistance in advance but was informed that it could only be arranged a week before travel. When I inquired about this service, I was informed that due to my short connection time of 6 minutes at Derby station from Nottingham, assistance was not guaranteed. I argued that this stipulation was not clearly communicated beforehand, especially since Derby is not a large station like St Pancras or Birmingham New Street. Ultimately, I convinced them to provide assistance with the condition that if my initial train was delayed, assistance might be unavailable. I suggest that this 10-minute rule be more widely publicized, especially for Senior Railcard holders who rely on planning their journeys efficiently.

I made a booking for the 5th of February, but received a ticket for the 6th of February instead. I had obtained an advance deal that helped me save money, but due to the mistake, I had to purchase a full-price ticket for £93.25 from Hull to Cardiff to make my journey on the correct date. I am a student and was attending an interview, so this unexpected expense has significantly impacted my budget. It means I will now have less money available for attending future interviews.

I had a frustrating experience with my train tickets from Oxford Parkway to Marylebone. I initially purchased two adult return tickets for £50.40, but upon boarding the train, I was told I couldn't travel on the 9:45 train as I had hoped and had to pay an additional £22.00. On my return journey, I was again denied boarding an early train and had to pay more due to ticket restrictions. This unexpected expense brought my total cost to £[redacted].50. I have always believed my tickets allowed me to travel on any off-peak train, and this experience with Chiltern Trains was a first for me. I usually book through Trainline and have never encountered such issues. I am requesting a refund of £22.20 and £56.00 as I found the whole situation pricey and inconvenient.

I have recently booked two advance tickets for my daughter and me to visit London in April. Unfortunately, due to my responsibilities of caring for elderly and vulnerable individuals in sheltered housing, I cannot risk traveling to London. I attempted to cancel or change the trip, but I discovered that I am unable to get a refund. The alternative tickets for a later date are considerably more expensive and uncertain if I can commit to the trip later in the year. Affording the increased prices is not feasible for me, resulting in me losing nearly £80, which is quite distressing. I am disappointed that I may lose this hard-earned money. I appreciate any assistance or options you may provide in this challenging situation. Thank you for your understanding during these tough times. Warm regards, Mrs. A. Evans

I had a return journey booked with Eurostar via Trainline between London and Paris, which got canceled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Both Eurostar's and Trainline's Customer Terms and Conditions state that I should receive a full refund. Eurostar directed me to request the refund through Trainline, but their online refund process redirects me back to Eurostar, who only offer a voucher for future travel instead of a refund, which I do not want. Trainline does not provide an email for contact, and their phone lines are down. When I tried to reach out to them via "[redacted]," they denied responsibility stating they are not the ones who made the tickets. Despite their Terms of Sale clause 5.3 mentioning compensation for cancellations, the situation remains unresolved. I have contacted Eurostar at "[redacted]" and will follow up with a phone call since they have active phone lines.

I recently purchased a return ticket to Burley Park for 09/10/20. Shortly after, I wanted to change my booking to an earlier date (08/10/20). Expecting a more expensive fare for changing dates, I opted to book a new ticket and seek a refund for the original. However, upon trying to request a refund, I was unable to find this option. As a result, I now have two tickets for the same destination on different days. I kindly request a refund for my initial ticket, considering that I booked it well in advance. If a refund is not feasible, I would appreciate a voucher for future travel.

I bought two First Class tickets for a journey from London Paddington to Penzance on the 12th of September, [redacted], departing at 10:03 am. The trip was disrupted, leading us to switch trains at St Davids Exeter, which did not have first-class coaches. The conductor suggested claiming a refund for the inconvenience. Although I have a Trainline account, I have not received any communication regarding this issue. I am unsure how to proceed with requesting a refund as I cannot locate a claim form on the website. My attempts to contact customer service via phone have been unsuccessful. I would appreciate guidance on the refund process. Thank you. Best regards, F. Baker

I recently purchased the ticket from Trainline for a journey from Cwmbran to Hereford on 28 September. Although I received the email confirmation of the booking, I did not receive the subsequent email containing the actual ticket. When I attempted to download the ticket from the app, it displayed a message stating that the ticket would be available in [redacted] hours, which translates to about 7 days later on October 5th rather than the correct date of September 28th. I traveled with only the email confirmation but no physical ticket and fortunately was not asked for it during the journey. I would like to understand what caused this issue and seek assurance that this was a one-time occurrence before considering future bookings directly with the train provider. Please see the attached picture for more information regarding the ticket status.

Yesterday, I took a train from Liverpool to Hull with a connection in Leeds. A family member purchased the ticket for me since I'm a new student and currently unable to cover the cost of the journey from University back home. Unfortunately, the ticket inspector informed me that the ticket was incorrect, leading me to buy another single ticket at a higher price. Typically, such a ticket for an 18-year-old without a rail card is around £25 or less. However, I was charged £65 for a ticket labeled 'The Day Single,' which was quite distressing. As a student relying solely on my student loan to pay for accommodation, going home for a week to work is essential as I have no other source of income. Losing £65, equivalent to a full day's wages, and being delayed over 15 minutes in Leeds made me late for work, causing additional stress. The financial impact is significant for me as a new student. I also feel that I was overcharged compared to the regular price of a day single ticket for the same journey. I am seeking assistance in either refunding some of the money or obtaining compensation for the inconvenience of the delay. Your help in resolving this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

I purchased an advanced ticket for a work trip today which got canceled due to the lockdown. I asked for a refund but was told about a £7 administration fee, almost 50% of the ticket cost of £14.50. Despite being unhappy, I understand the process and am willing to wait for the refund. They quickly approved it and processed it by Monday early morning. I wonder who works such late hours handling administration. The efficient response makes me think the system might be automated. Regardless, I find it frustrating to lose money on a canceled work trip during these tough times.

I recently received an email saying that my Trainline account has been temporarily blocked due to a high level of refund requests. The email asks for an explanation before the block can be removed, but I haven't used my account for train bookings since last December. I've only requested two partial refunds previously, neither of which were recent. Additionally, the email states that I can't reply to it, which is confusing and frustrating.

URGENT: Hello, I just purchased a round-trip ticket from Geneva to Paris for [redacted].63 CHF at 11:27 this morning (departure on Saturday morning). I confirmed the transaction with my Visa card ending in [redacted], but I cannot locate the email confirmation in my inbox or spam folder (this has happened before with other emails to [redacted]). Could you please resend the ticket confirmation to [redacted]? Best regards, AC AYER

I booked tickets for my wife and myself to travel from London KX to Edinburgh and back. We were supposed to depart on December 10th at 10:30 a.m. and return on December 14th at 11:00 a.m. We paid £[redacted].10 for the tickets and an additional £4 for insurance. Due to the changing COVID restrictions, we are unable to make this trip. I requested a refund online, but I was informed that the tickets are non-refundable. This is confusing, especially since we purchased insurance for situations like this. We are seniors and time is of the essence. Your assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Bert R.

I tried to purchase a new railcard after mine expired. I visited the trainline website and faced some challenges during the process. I had trouble remembering if I was already registered, but managed to proceed. Everything went smoothly until I had to upload a photo, where I encountered difficulties. Assuming I failed to upload the photo, I began the process again without providing payment details. Once I successfully entered my passport information and uploaded the photo, I proceeded to payment, unknowingly purchasing two railcards for £60 each in my name with my photo on them. Now, I am seeking a refund of one £30 charge to be credited back to my bank account.

Hello, I'm Francesco Rauseo. I booked two tickets on March 15, [redacted], through your website for flights from Stuttgart to Amsterdam and then back. Due to the evolving situation with the coronavirus pandemic, specifically the quarantine requirements now in place when returning from the Netherlands to Germany, I am unable to travel to Amsterdam due to the risk it poses to my work. I have been trying for a week to get a refund for the tickets since it was originally possible to do so at the time of booking, even though I opted for the more expensive ones. I am disappointed that I am being offered a voucher instead of a refund. In these challenging times, I would like to request a refund of my money as an alternative, as I cannot afford to lose this investment.

We made a group booking for four tickets to travel to London on July 9th and return on July 11th to see the Great Brunch afternoon show. Yesterday, we received an email informing us that due to circumstances beyond their control, the event is canceled. We are hopeful to reschedule between the end of July and September. We are currently waiting for confirmation to move the booking to September 4th, which would require us to travel on the 3rd and return on the 5th of September. When we receive the confirmation, will we be able to change the train tickets we have already purchased to match these new dates?

I work at GWR and have noticed discrepancies in the Trainline app where direct services are advertised, like Bristol TM to Great Malvern. This incorrect information has caused disruptions and disappointment for our customers. This issue needs to be addressed to prevent further inconveniences. Thank you for your attention.

I purchased an e-ticket for my son's journey from Ebbsfleet to St Pancras through Trainline. Unfortunately, he couldn't get a physical ticket at the station since he didn't have a debit card. Southeastern Rail issued a penalty notice, but after an appeal, they refunded the penalty with a deduction for the train fare. I explained to Southeastern that the ticket was from Trainline, but they directed me to seek a refund from them. I've used Trainline for bookings without issues before. I'm requesting a refund for booking reference 9[redacted] [redacted] on 15/04/[redacted] at 17:48. The ticket wasn't issued and wasn't an e-ticket for some reason. The payment was made via PayPal. Please process the refund. Thank you, A. Singh

I have not yet received the tickets for a trip scheduled for Saturday, July 3rd. Unfortunately, I did not get a confirmation email either. The payment has already been deducted from the account. The traveler is an elderly gentleman approaching [redacted] years old, and he won't be able to use the ticket machine to retrieve the tickets. Would it be possible to email the tickets to [redacted] so that we can print them ourselves? The booking is under the name of Mr. R Davis for a train journey from Cheltenham Spa to Manchester Victoria departing at 10:15 am on the 3rd of July and returning on Monday, July 5th at 12:27 am. The collection reference number is N4VVN9GGC.