Trains ombudsman service created as last resort for passengers making complaints

Retrospective claims are barred, so passengers embroiled in disputes about the botched new timetables cannot use it

At the end of a year of turmoil for many rail passengers, the industry has appointed an independent ombudsman to resolve disputes.

Train companies say the move was designed to “to build greater confidence in their services and deliver on their commitment to increase customer satisfaction”.

Passengers must first complain to the train operator, or to Network Rail in disputes about services provided at stations it manages.

The ombudsman will serve as the last resort in what the industry believes is 1 per cent of unresolved cases – when the traveller is unhappy with the final response from a rail company (known as a “deadlock letter”) or if their complaint has not been resolved within around eight weeks of the rail company receiving it.

The service is free, and the ombudsman has the power to make rail companies act if it identifies failings.

“That means it will no longer be possible for a complaint to remain deadlocked between a rail company and a customer,” says the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), representing train operators and Network Rail.

The RDG’s managing director of customer experience, Jacqueline Starr, said: “This new nationwide process will put the customer at the heart of resolving complaints and give them even greater confidence that we’re doing as much as we can to get to a fair outcome.”

Action stations: the procedure for settling disputes (Rail Delivery Group)

The service will apply only to problems encountered from 26 November 2018 onwards; passengers who are embroiled in disputes about the botched introduction this summer of new timetables in southeast and northwest England will not be able to use it.

The newly appointed rail minister, Andrew Jones, said: “This is a significant step forward for passengers’ rights.

“Rail firms must take this opportunity to improve their complaints process and to increase customer satisfaction.”

The service is provided by Dispute Resolution Ombudsman, which describes itself as “an independent, not-for-profit, government-approved organisation set up to help resolve retail disputes”.

Its chief executive, Kevin Grix, said: “With our legal foundation and decades of experience, we are well placed to support rail companies to better listen to their customers and help to improve their services.”

Alex Hayman, managing director of public markets for Which?, called it “a wakeup call for train companies to step up and start delivering good customer service when things go wrong”.

Since The Independent called for more realistic compensation for long delays, readers have come forward citing examples of minuscule recompense.

Caroline Hornberger said: “I got 66p back on my season ticket for being half an hour late.” And Claire Differ reported: “I made a claim for a 45-minute delay and I got a whopping 88p back.

“Not much of an incentive for the train companies to get it right in the first place.”