New licence requirements on train companies, set out in a code of practice, require them to provide passengers with clear information both before and during their journey about their entitlements to compensation when there are delays.
Train companies must now also improve how they process claims for compensation for train delays, and publish data on how well they are meeting these obligations.
From today:
- Clear and accurate information must be provided to passengers on their rights to claim delay compensation – during the booking stage, online and in stations.
- In the case of a delay, train companies must inform passengers via in-train or on-platform announcements and electronic notifications of their rights to claim.
- Simplified claims processes must be in place to make it easy for passengers to submit compensation claims for delays.
- Train companies will have 20 working days to process claims. If a claim is rejected, they must give passengers clear justification and details about how to contest the decision.
These new requirements will help close the ‘compensation gap’, between those who could claim compensation and those that actually do so.
In 2019-20, only 37% of passengers eligible for compensation actually made a claim, a figure unchanged in recent years. The low claim uptake is caused by many passengers not knowing when they are eligible to claim, or being deterred by complex claim processes.
Stephanie Tobyn, deputy director for consumers at ORR said:
Notes to Editors
- The Office of Rail and Road is the independent economic and safety regulator for Britain’s railways and monitor of performance and efficiency for England’s Strategic Road Network.
- Our passenger facing work derives from the licences we issue to train and station operators, including Network Rail for its managed stations, and from our powers and responsibilities under consumer and competition law.
- Improving access to delay compensation – ORR's new licence condition