u/Jacktionman

Hey everyone, three months ago I posted my experience trying to get Delay Repay from the Caledonian Sleeper (original post) and I thought people might be interested in an update.

The original timeline was:

1. Train was scheduled to arrive at Euston at 8:45am
2. It arrived somewhat into Euston at 9:14:43am, came to a full stop, then started up again, moved forward again, and came to a stop again at 9:16am, with passengers disembarking from 9:17am.
3. I made a claim with the RSP for Delay Repay as, from my perspective, the train was 30+min late
4. The Rail Service Provider (RSP) said it had checked track data, and the train arrived at 09:14:43am, and so would not pay
5. I contacted Euston with a F.O.I. request; they provided a screenshot of the first time passengers could disembark - 09:17am
6. I raised the issue with the Rail Ombudsman. The Ombudsman stated that, although the image shows passengers first disembarking at 09:17am, it doesn't prove that the train didn't arrive at 09:14am. Thus, it cannot say the RSP was wrong to not pay, and closed the case.

Since then, it continues:

1. I contacted the Ombudsman stating if I could submit further evidence to re-open the case, which they replied that I could
2. I contacted Euston Station again, asking for video of the train pulling in. They noted that they can't provide that under a Freedom of Information requestion, but could provide it if I signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement ensuring I wouldn't share the footage beyond where it was needed for the case.
3. Euston Station provided me the CCTV footage showing the train pulling into the platform after 09:15am, finally letting passengers off at 09:17am
4. This footage was shared with the Ombudsman, who put it to Caledonian Sleeper. The Caledonian Sleeper team responded that "as they didn’t know when the CCTV system was last calibrated, their stance would not change."
5. The Ombudsman therefore stated that "on the balance of probabilities", it was "satisfied that the footage provided by the Consumer shows that the train arrived at the platform with a 30 minute delay."
6. The Ombudsman has ordered the Caledonia Sleeper to pay the 50% ticket refund.

So, after the incident on Dec 31th, the complaint raised on Jan 2nd, the Ombudsman being contacted on Jan 6th, a resolution has finally been found on May 13th. Phew.