If you have a complaint


Rail services

If you have a complaint about the railway or the service you have received from a train company then you should complain to the service provider involved. Most complaints can be resolved in the first instance by dealing directly with the company responsible.

We cannot become involved until the train company has had a chance to resolve the matter for you, but we are happy to give you advice about the best way to make your complaint.

If you are unhappy with the outcome of your complaint or you do not feel the train company handled it appropriately you can ask us to follow it up.

Bus and coach services

If you have contacted a bus or coach operator and have not received a satisfactory response, you may wish to contact one of the following organisations who deal with bus and coach passenger complaints in your area:

England

The Bus Appeals Body
c/o BUS USERS UK
PO Box 2950
Stoke-on-Trent
ST4 9EW
Telephone: 01782 442855
www.busappealsbody.co.uk

London

London TravelWatch
6 Middle Street
London
EC1A 7JA
Telephone: 020 7505 9000
www.londontravelwatch.org.uk

Scotland

Bus Passengers’ Platform
Area 2-D Dockside
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQ
Telephone: 0131 244 1709
www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Transport/ptuc/Signposting

Northern Ireland

The Consumer Council
Elizabeth House
116 Holywood Road
Belfast
BT4 1NY
Telephone: 0800 121 6022
www.consumercouncil.org.uk

Wales

Bus Users UK
PO Box 1045
Cardiff
CF11 1JE
Telephone: 029 2022 1370
www.bususers.org


British Transport Police
If your complaint is about the British Transport Police or the conduct of its Officers or Staff then you should complain directly to the British Transport Police.

Case of the week

Each week we will feature a new case where Passenger Focus has been contacted by a passenger who has already been turned away or given an unsatisfactory response from a train operating company.

Sometimes these cases will be successes where we have managed to get the passenger their money back or even compensation.  However, we will also highlight cases where we have not been successful and detail the reasons behind this.

Each month on average we get over £4800 back for passengers who have already been turned down by the train company. 

The Case:

Four passengers will receive a refund of £544 from Virgin Trains after being issued Unpaid Fares Notices (UFN).

The passengers had Advance tickets for the Manchester Piccadilly-Euston 11.15 service on 12 December. Upon arrival, they asked a member of staff on platform if the waiting train was the Euston train which they were informed it was. They boarded the train and waited for it to depart.

However, at 11.20 they noticed there cleaners onboard and started to worry as there was no announcement about the train being delayed. They also asked the cleaners if this was the Euston train. When the train departed at 11.35, they were informed by the train manager that they were on the wrong train and that the 11.15 train departed from platform 5. They were on platform 6 on the later service. As a result they were issued with UFNs of £123.50 each.

The fact that information about the trains departing from the platforms was not sufficiently announced was escalated to Virgin Trains. Passenger Focus deemed it unfair to charge the passengers an additional charge of £123.50 as they had already purchased valid tickets on the previous service. The revenue for the incorrect train was taken unfairly.

As a result, Passenger Focus has reminded Virgin Trains that timely and accurate information should be provided to all passengers about platform alterations to avoid confusion.

See Also