We're sorry to hear you're unhappy with part of our service and would like to make a complaint. Whatever has happened, we'll try our best to straighten things out as quickly and simply as possible.
Where appropriate talk to staff at the station or on the train. If they can, they’ll fix the problem straightaway.
There are a range of ways you can choose to make a complaint.
We aim to respond to enquiries as soon possible, but please be aware that it may take up to 20 working days for you to receive a response.
Try to include the following information about your train journey or booking:
The time and date of your journey
The stations you travelled to and from
The names of any staff involved
Copies of your train tickets and any other documents that might help
You can ask a friend, family member, guardian, support worker or carer to make a complaint on your behalf. We’ll need your permission first, although this doesn't apply if you are the parent or guardian of a child aged 16 or under.
Our Passenger Assist team are also on hand to support you if you have a visual (0800 107 2149) or hearing impairment (0800 107 2061).
We aim to respond to complaints within 20 days of receiving them. Sometimes it can take longer, depending on the length of time needed to thoroughly investigate the issue. If that’s the case, we’ll try to let you know. For full details on how we handle complaints, and on how you can get in touch with us, please read through our Complaints Handling Plan.
Please give us the opportunity to try to resolve your complaint. If you’re unhappy with the response you receive, you have the right to appeal to the Rail Ombudsman. The Rail Ombudsman is there to help resolve complaints between us and our customers. It’s free to use their services and they are independent of the rail industry. They don’t take sides, but just look at the evidence available. They will help us both to try to reach an agreement, but if this doesn’t happen, they will make a decision based on the evidence they’ve received. If you agree with their decision, then we have to act on what they say.
You can appeal to the Rail Ombudsman if:
• You’re unhappy with our final response to your complaint which will be contained in a letter or email (sometimes called a ‘deadlock letter’); or
• We haven’t resolved your complaint within 40 working days of receiving it; and
• No more than 12 months have passed since we sent you our final response.
There are some complaints that the Rail Ombudsman won’t be able to look into, for example if it’s about the way one of our services has been designed, industry policy, or if your complaint relates to an event which took place before the Rail Ombudsman service was established. If that’s the case, then they’ll contact you to let you know. If possible, they will transfer your complaint to another organisation that may be able to help you further, such as Transport Focus, the independent consumer watchdog for the rail industry. They will independently review your complaint and where appropriate, follow things up on your behalf.
www.railombudsman.org
Telephone: 0330 094 0362 / 07427 580 060
Textphone: 0330 094 0363
E-mail: info@railombudsman.org Rail Ombudsman
FREEPOST,1st Floor, Premier House, Argyle Way, Stevenage SG1 2AD
Online Dispute Resolution
The European Commission’s Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) service offers an alternative for EU residents who are unhappy with the way their complaint has been handled.
As we already work with Rail Ombudsman and aren’t obliged to use the ODR service, we only suggest this route if you live outside the UK.
If you decide to use the EU’s ODR, you’ll need the following details:
TransPennine Express, 7th Floor, Bridgewater House, Whitworth Street, Manchester M1 6LT
email: tpecustomer.relations@tpexpress.co.uk
Resolution body: The Consumer Ombudsman
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