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  • This is a money saving announcement.

  • Have you been delayed on the train again?

  • Last year there were 47 million delayed rail journeys in Britain.

  • Yet only 80% of us bothered to claim compensation,

  • even though that could have cut the cost of a ticket by more than half.

  • I completely understand.

  • I'm a commuter, I've got all my stuff.

  • I've got my FT subscription, I've got my travel mug, I've got my season ticket,

  • what I don't have is any knowledge about how to claim for a delayed journey.

  • There's no information anywhere at my station.

  • Well, forewarned is forearmed.

  • The best place, the best source for how to claim back cost on a delayed rail journey is the website of the train operating company that's running your service, find out what it is.

  • In the past, I have even gone on to the website while I've been on the delayed train to download the online form to claim back the compensation.

  • However, not all train companies will tell you what you're legally entitled to.

  • For example, there's now a system called Delay Repay,

  • where you must get compensation if your journey is delayed by over half an hour, not many people know that.

  • Um, also, train operating companies often don't mention that you can get cash instead of vouchers as compensation.

  • You're good at claiming, aren't you? But you have had vouchers in the past.

  • Yeah, I once claimed on a really delayed journey. I got back 120 pounds.

  • But that's a huge amount of money to spend on a rail journey.

  • Anyway, you'd have to go a really long way or go first class, so cash frankly would have been better.

  • And if you look at the National Rail Conditions of Carriage, there online you can download them onto your smartphone and brandish them at people,

  • it does say that you're allowed to ask for your refund in money as well as vouchers.

  • Now, some train companies are further ahead of the curve than others. For example, Virgin Trains.

  • If you're delayed on one of their trains, they're offering some customers an automatic refund back onto the card that they've used to book the ticket.

  • However, you've got to book in advance, you have got to have booked on their website, or via their app.

  • But why aren't the other train companies doing this?

  • Simply Claer, they don't have to.

  • Retailers now have to pay your refund in the form that you bought the item,

  • so if you paid on your Visa, you get it back on your Visa.

  • But the government's given rail companies until October 17 to sort this out,

  • so until then, while you can always ask for cash, you may not get it.

  • If you're fed up with delays to your train journey and want help reclaiming the money back, go online now to read our free guide, ft.com/raildelay.

  • And don't delay!

This is a money saving announcement.

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