From May 20th 2018 - TL and GN started running a new timetable which was much publicised. However for 2 months they had severe operating issues which fell below the usual standards of service that is expected.

A statement can be found below;

GTR Copensation Scheme

 

GTR has today announced details of an additional industry compensation scheme for those season ticket holders on Great Northern and Thameslink most affected by issues relating to the introduction of the May timetable.

 

Refunds on fares are being offered to customers in agreement with the Department for Transport and in recognition of the recent disruption.

HERE - Credit - TL Rail

Millions of people will have been affected by this - Whether you are a tourist or a regular season ticket holder then you will have had to endure persistent overcrowding due to cancelled trains / revised trains, lack of rolling stock / trained drivers, etc.

Thameslink and Great Northern are offering up at a maximum of 1 months season ticket financial compensation for the poor service.

More info can be found below;

HERE - Credit - Govia TLR

If you have been affected the the scheme will run in 3 phases...

Phase 1: We have now completed contacting 63,000 eligible season ticket holders who we had identified from sales records. If you have received a letter or email from us but have not yet finalised your claim, please do so by 30 November 2018.

Phase 2: Eligible season ticket holders who have not been contacted as part of phase 1 can make an online claim between 25 September and 30 November 2018.

Phase 3: We aim to open the scheme to eligible non-season ticket holders by 30 November 2018. We'll confirm the exact dates as quickly as possible. In the meantime please hold onto any tickets, receipts, Oyster PAYG or contactless journey histories or other proof of travel.

This is correct as of the 24th September 2018. A further scheme for Northern will open soon and people should keep an eye out for that.

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PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

I write this as someone who has been affected by this and i warn people to triple check their compensation amounts.

 

I was told that my email would arrive during this period. They didnt know when. When it did turn up after a formal complaint on the 13th September - They shafted me out of £140 of compensation. They calculated a week instead of a month - What was £85 should be £220 - After me pushing the complaint further with GTR - They admitted it was incorrect and needed ot be adjusted and to send an email to them with my season ticket details on...

 

If only they hadn't forgotten that I use their "Key" Smartcard and use their website to get my tickets. So they already have all the information on their system but still insisted I sent them screenshots. GTR shut off their Smartcard team from the public so no one can verify stuff properly which is disgraceful.

 

After all the messing around, i managed to sort it finally and got a full refund. I had the email resent to me with my automatically pre-approved compensation and selected BACS as the payment method. They suggest it takes 28 days, but usually clears in 10 working days.

 

Had my confirmation on the 14th September - Received money on the 24th September. Thats including 4 non working days, so very quick turnaround.

 

But it took them ages to get to this stage. I would warn anyone who is applying for compo under this that you will need dig through files and files of stuff to try and get your compensation. So keep it all;

 

Bank Statements - Receipts - Oyster Card Logs etc

 

Also dont forget to check your eligibility - HERE

 

If you need any help or have any questions about your claim please give us a call: 0345 026 4700 (option 1 for GN and option 1 again or Option 2 for TL and option 1 again)

 

Would appreciate to hear anybody else's experiences.