Rail Ombudsman Opiniones 

Matter largely resolved in a reasonable amount of time.
Two train operators were at fault, but only the first was investigated.

Resolved my issue, professionally and swiftly.

It is a sad indictment of the system that they have to get involved to resolve a minor issue EMR agreed to pay compensation on then ignore me for 8 weeks.

Even one star is too much for these disrespectful and unprofessional people telling lies, this is what my personal experience shows.

At the top of that they try to hide the feedback of the public members and ignore any request for further updates.

They state that they are not paid for doing their job. So, it has to be an excuse for such a work performance?!

As others have said, and now from my own experience, this ombudsman appears to exist in order to act on behalf of the rail operators and to find any excuses they can to protect those interests and help them avoid refunding costs, especially taxi fares on cancellation of train services.

No wonder our railways are in such a bad state and have such awful customer satisfaction, as there just doesn't seem to be any accountability, and without accountability, there appears to be no incentive for them to improve.

Basically, from my recent experience, the operators can just cancel a train with half an hour's notice, leave a customer stranded outside a dark, locked, station at 0330 with no screens, not provide any information or acceptable alternative onward transport, give misleading information, and even contradict themselves with differing responses when later queried, and all this is deemed acceptable by the ombudsman in backing up the rail operator by denying a refund of a claim for a taxi which was needed in order to avoid forfeiting an expensive holiday, and all because they can just cancel a pre booked service whenever they like with no repercussions.

As previous reviewers have said, it seems a total waste of time contacting this rail ombudsman and I really wish I hadn't bothered expending time and energy on this soul destroying process.

I shall also avoid using our railways now if I have any other option, So much for our railways, so much for the ombudsman, another dissatisfied customer.

Found in favour of Avanti… pease don't waste your time!

Agreed that it’s a waste of time. Don’t know what they’re doing. A one hour trip took 5 hours due to delays and I can’t even get compensation. No wonder the train companies think they can get away with it when this is the “impartial adjudicator”

Don’t waste your time! Found in favour of Avanti even though we repeatedly told them that what Avanti told them was different from what they instructed us to do on the day and this left us considerably out of pocket. Avanti apparently provided evidence which we failed to do as we didn’t think to record the instructions of a staff member. Avanti completely lied and the Ombudsman completely failed to listen to what we told them.

Let me start by saying that my experience with the Rail Ombudsman was nothing short of frustrating and disappointing. As a consumer seeking justice for abysmal service from a rail service provider, I turned to the Rail Ombudsman in hopes of a fair and impartial resolution. However, what I encountered was a blatant disregard for evidence and a clear bias towards the service provider.

Despite presenting concrete evidence of the service provider's failures and breaches of their own charter, the Rail Ombudsman seemed more interested in bending interpretations of the service provider charter to favor them. It's as if they were determined to find any excuse to side with the service provider, regardless of the validity of the evidence presented.

The so-called independence of this organization is nothing but a facade. They claim to be an impartial mediator, but in reality, they are nothing more than a puppet of the rail industry, dancing to their tune and turning a blind eye to consumer grievances.

My advice to anyone considering seeking recourse through the Rail Ombudsman is simple: don't waste your time. If you have a compelling case against a rail service provider, bypass this toothless organization altogether and head straight to the small claims court. At least there, you stand a chance of receiving a fair hearing and justice for the mistreatment you've endured.

In conclusion, the Rail Ombudsman is a sham of an organization that prioritizes protecting the interests of rail service providers over serving the needs of consumers. Save yourself the headache and frustration and explore alternative avenues for seeking justice.

I had been waiting for the rail company to refund me for a taxi. They kept making errors then not replying to my emails. I eventually got the ORR involved and within about a month they had rectified the issue and even got me compensation for the way it was handled. Would recommended the ORR for all they've done. If you are in need of help then speak to the ORR.

The biggest waste of my time ever. Claim to be impartial, yet only took note of comments made by TFW and ignored mine. The message saying ruling was not in my favour was the least surprising message I’ve received as throughout the whole process, I felt completely ignored and was in no doubt about the outcome.

I've had issues with this ombudsman previously, but this is about a case running from Oct 2022 which took a year to get sorted. I was reluctant to use TRO but failing to get my refund for a train failure with SWR, I turned to the ombudsman in December.

I immediately had problems - their unlawful terms were thrust at me to agree to proceed, which I pointed out was legally wrong. I was cut off with a rude email by the chief ombudsman.

My issues contined (Transport Focus were once again unhelpful) and I felt it unfinished so I returned to TRO to try and get justice from the rail company and themselves. TRO made an adjustment to accommodate - which they could have done before Christmas.

This still took several months and a cure - much less than asked for all the delay and trouble (cf what train companies charge us in penalty fees) - was finally worked out between the rail company and myself, without their help.

TRO seemed to take sides (not mine) in the way that they summarised the case and in allowing unfair forms of compensation which put me at a disadvantage

***(I can't go into that here, and TRO et al is forbidden to speak of the protected issue)***

It was likely then that when they finally looked at my case, months after having it brought to them, that the award they came up with - which was far less than I asked and deserved - was negated, since I wouldn't receive it. And it was clear that they had washed their hands of me and wouldn't do anything about that

So I was still without the money I was owed, and it was getting close to a full year!

It took many months for them to look at their own behaviour, from their emails from 'triage' - what does that say about their ethos? to their automated "Case closed" notices, no reply, to their strung out process. The Adjudicator was no such person; after waiting 10 months for TRO to handle an internal complaint, I had an insulting little report showing lack of understanding and little investigation. It was very partial and apparent without repeal or appeal.

Her 'decision' was in fact 1 line, without any evidence behind it. It felt pre-ordained, and calculated to annoy and obstruct justice.

They awarded nothing and made no apology and continually downplayed my complaint.

Despite my response, I heard nothing more from them

I once again see that this ombudsman is not fit for purpose

After posting this, I was bullied into removing the name of the independent assessor and chief ombudsman by them and by trustpilot, but Trust Pilot kept removing it even though there is no breach. I am likely to share these elsewhere and see this as further evidence against TRO

After no response from the rail provider, the ombudsman bought a settlemenmt to my claim. Thank yo9u.

After getting home nearly 3 hours late due to problems with the train operator, I wrote to complain and ask for compensation.
I received an acknowledgement email but after that every other email I sent over a period of 3 months was totally ignored.
After I contacted the rail ombudsman, I received an offer of compensation within 2 weeks.
Very pleased with the service 👍.

I raised a long standing issue with the Ombudsman regarding a delay repay claim that Cross Country Trains simply refused to communicate on. On raising it with the Ombudsman it was swiftly resolved. Excellent customer service.

A delay/replay claim became protracted by rail operator stalling on settlement after initially denying responsibility. Rail ombudsman informed and kept me updated on progress. Very professional.

The rail ombudsman is completely useless.
They will only look at a complaint if you have a deadlock letter but Avanti West Coast won't provide this so I can't take forward my complaint.

The Rail Ombudsman is NOT fit for purpose.

DO NOT waste your time raising a complaint with The Rail Ombudsman.

Having followed the internal complaints handling process with Thameslink, taking 2 months, with no conclusion a case was raised with The Rail Ombudsman.

6 weeks later my case against Thameslink was closed by The Rail Ombudsman IN MY FAVOUR yet more than 2 months after being informed by The Rail Ombudsman that Thameslink should award me compensation, nothing has been received.

So far I have waited nearly 6 months for a resolution.

The Rail Ombudsman have ignored countless emails regarding the issue, will not investigate further and have not 'come good' on their own advice.

AVOID AVOID AVOID

Bethany Smith took on my complaint that LNER agreed a refund finally, after going all around the houses with other operators, but twice my refund 'failed', then they said they closed my case. Bethany communicated with them when twice again my payment 'failed' even though a previous claim had reached my account in days. Finally after nearly 4 months I have a refund and a £15 compensation fee. She responded quickly to my emails, and followed up every single one, keeping me constantly informed of progress. I feel that since she became involved, she progressed the matter as quickly as LNER allowed. Pursuing my refund became a matter of principle, which was only achieved with her help.

I’ve had a really positive experience with the Rail Ombudsman having never even considered using them, until a frustrating experience with a TOC left me very disappointed.

Jessie my case handler took me through everything step by step even when I had supplied slightly the wrong information, the end result was a full refund which was what I felt I was owed and an additional £20 as an act of good faith from the TOC.

I would definitely recommend the Rail Ombudsman to anyone who is not getting a resolution to their complaint through their Train Operator.

Excellent service. After being rejected by GWR I appealed to the Rail Ombudsman who agreed my claim. I would not have got my refund without them. It is important to ensure that you have full documentation - which I had - to enable them to assess a claim and get the Rail Operating Company to apply common sense.