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Coronavirus Ticket Refund Policy – Update 4th January 2021


Ticket Refund Rules

Anytime and Off-Peak Ticket Refunds
Unused tickets purchased on or after 24th November up to and including 19th December to travel between 23rd and 27th December, can be refunded free of charge.

Usual ticket refund rules apply for tickets purchased before 24th November or after 19th December, and therefore refunds are available on any unused or part used tickets in cases where the customer is unable to travel, provided the refund request is made no later than 28 days from the expiry date of the ticket.

Advance Purchase Ticket Refunds
Unused tickets purchased on or after 24th November up to and including 19th December to travel between 23rd and 27th December, can be refunded free of charge.

Usual Advance Purchase ticket refund rules apply for all tickets sold before 24th November or after 19th December, and therefore for these tickets, refunds are not permitted but can be exchanged re a change of travel plan.


Administration Fees

Refund Administration Fees for Anytime and Off-Peak Tickets
The administration fee for all Anytime and Off-Peak ticket refunds, of no more than £10, should be charged for any ticket booked on or after 7th September (except for tickets purchased on or after 24th November up to and including 19th December to travel between 23rd and 27th December).

Administration Fees for Advance Purchase Ticket Changes
Following the government’s announcement this week regarding the revision of Medium, High, and Very High areas across the country, the DfT have confirmed an extension of fee free changes to Advance tickets.

This is in addition to the current fee free arrangements for Advance tickets, whereby customers with Advance tickets purchased on or before 26th November to travel on or after 3rd December 2020 and up to and including 2nd January 2021, are permitted to change their journey free of charge. This rule applies for journeys from any station to any station across the network.

Following the announcement this week, customers with Advance tickets purchased between 27th November and 14th December, to travel after 16th December to or from a High or Very High area, are permitted to change their journey free of charge.

Further to this, in future when an area changes from Medium to High or High to Very High, Advance tickets purchased before that announcement, for travel to or from a station in that area, may be exchanged for another ticket free of charge.

This also includes travel to a National Rail station outside of a High or Very High area but with onward travel via another means.

For all Advance Purchase change of travel exchanges, customers must request the change before the original travel date and should note that if the new tickets are more expensive when requesting a change of travel plan, they will have to pay the difference.


Advance Tickets Purchased After an Announcement
Advance tickets from a Medium or High area, to a High or Very High area purchased after the change to the alert level has been announced will not be eligible for this relaxation of the change of journey fee, or for customers to surrender their Advance ticket for credit. Tickets may still be exchanged to travel on another day, but normal fees will apply.


Verified Stations in High or Very High Local COVID Alert Areas
A list of every National Rail station is available on the internal National Rail website at https://internal.nationalrail.co.uk/258996.aspx with information on whether that station or local authority has travel guidance advice in place.

 

Grand Central / Hull Trains

Grand Central services will be suspended between 8th January and 28th February, and so any tickets purchased for journeys on their services during this period can be changed for free or are eligible for a full refund, without any fee.

Hull Trains will suspend services from 9th January 2021, so any ticket booked for travel on a Hull Trains service for travel from 9th January onwards, can be refunded free of charge.
 

Timeframes for Refund Submissions

Normal timeframes for refund applications apply for all ticket types booked on or after 7th September.

Therefore, your customers must submit tickets for refund to your agency no later than 28 days from the expiry date of the ticket. Your agency should then ensure that the refund application is submitted during the same accounting period.


TARS and Auto Refund Systems

TARS and all Auto Refund systems reverted back to normal refund processes for all tickets purchased on or after 7th September.


For all up to date travel advice, please refer your customers to the National Rail Enquiries website at www.nationalrail.co.uk/coronavirus  


Rail Delivery Group Travel Agents Team

 




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