'I want Trainline to refund my 'First Class' ticket after I paid £70 extra for 10 minutes in First Class!'

Do you have an issue you need put right? Which? is here to help get your consumer problems sorted.

Dear Which?,

In May, I used Trainline to purchase a ticket for a five-hour journey from St Ives to Bath Spa. 

Trainline’s website offered a £34 Standard Class ticket or a £104 First Class ticket. Because it was a long journey, and also because of Covid, I decided to buy the First Class ticket.

Upon arriving at the station I found that the only First Class element of my five-hour journey would be for the last 10-minute leg, between Bristol and Bath Spa.

I feel ripped off. I shouldn’t have been offered and then sold something that pretended to be something it was not.

I complained to Trainline and it told me it was an issue with ticket pricing set by Great Western Railway. But when I complained to Great Western Railway, it didn't agree that it was responsible for the ticketing error and only refunded me £8.30 to reflect the price between First Class and Standard Class for the 10-minute journey.

Can you advise?

Marie-Helene Milner, Bath

Put to Rights

Lauren Deitz, Which? consumer rights expert, says:

It's no wonder you feel ripped off, Marie-Helene, paying an extra £70 for virtually nothing would be enough to make anyone's blood boil.

The vital detail about First Class only being available on part of your journey was visible on the second page of the booking process and on your physical ticket after buying it. However, I looked at Trainline’s website and agree that the information given about the differences between a First Class ticket and a Standard Class ticket at the point of sale wasn’t very clear. 

The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulation bans retailers from carrying out misleading actions. In this case, we believe that the Trainline could be in breach of the regulations by not providing enough clear information about tickets.

We raised our concerns to Trainline and it explained that if First Class facilities aren’t available it believes it prominently highlights this during the booking process at the seat option selection stage and again before payment is taken. It added that ticket prices are set by the rail industry, not by Trainline. 

I'm pleased to say that Trainline apologised to Marie-Helene and issued a refund of £69 - reflecting the price difference between First Class and a Standard Class ticket. It also noted that it's looking at ways to make the availability of First Class facilities even clearer. 

Need to know

• All retailers must comply with the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations, which bans misleading behaviour. 
• If you feel you've been misled by a sale or offer, you should complain directly to the company and explain why you felt misled and provide as much evidence as you can.
• If the retailer doesn't act on your complaint, or dismisses it, you can report the issue to Trading Standards. 
• In the case of train tickets, you could also escalate a complaint to the Rail Ombudsman.

Get in touch. If you've got a consumer rights problem you need putting right, email us at yourstory@which.co.uk. 

Please be aware that we can't help with, or respond to, every email that we receive. The inbox is monitored periodically during office hours, Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.