Why Great Western Railway hates me

I used to travel to work by train, which was a 1h30 commute each way on two different trains. I did this because it was a great opportunity and a fantastic firm to work for and it was cheaper than driving.

As I started needing to travel further (for studies and client visits) I began to drive. But this was also because Great Western Railway (GWR) had let the service slip.

I must have travelled by train for about 14 months, paying an eye watering £270+ per month for train tickets, which was still cheaper than driving but the train used to be delayed/ break down an awful lot.

Every time the train didn’t get me to work on time, I complained because it just wasn’t a decent service.

They used to try and bat me off but I fought back and must have received £800+ in compensation back from them over the course of this 14 months.

One morning the train just didn’t turn up so…

Since they didn’t offer a replacement bus or taxi in place of the train, I was able to recover my costs so I sent them an expense claim:

• 105 miles at 45p per mile

• Parking at £8 for the day

• Total = £55.25

All this for a ticket that effectively cost me £13.50 for the day.

Once I caught onto this little trick, I did it every time the train got cancelled as it was completely allowed and to be honest, the inconvenience it caused me was worth the constant complaints.

This probably makes me seem like some sort of old fart for complaining so much, but since I have stopped taking the train they have put in a new track and are running more regular trains. Dare I say influencer?

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Thomas, The Bank Engine

If you are interested in how to claim compensation for travel delays check out more info here.