October 25 2016.



Seaford Commuter Harold Warren is clearly not alone in his frustration with Southern Rail and its 'Customer Services' efforts, especially its Delay Repay System.

Here Harold shares a recent and ongoing email string. Most recent first....


Subject: Very poor Southern Rail Delay Repay system designed to fail... RE: web site and logging into account nightmares

Dear Daniel,

Thank you very much for your reply.

With regards to the fact that customers are now required to have their own email account to rightfully and justifiably reclaim fares due to Southern rails inability to provide a timely service is preposterous. Now I’m required to create what is an otherwise unnecessary email account just to deal with Southern Rail’s incompetence?

I fail to see the logic, other than it’s an active attempt on the part of GTR and Southern Rail to make what was an already a painful process more difficult for rail users lumbered with paying an exorbitant fare for shamefully poor service your firm provides, all the while hiding behind the introduction of the Consumer Rights Act claiming: “....we took the opportunity to simplify delay repay applications to streamline the process”. This is a total farce, and you know it.

Your advice below which I copied from your response and, in addition to suffering from bad grammar, suggests a ridiculous proposition for passengers at the end of their tether with your continued appalling service and endless excuses which have become nonsensical.


I appreciate you and your wife would like to claim using the same email address. However, this is not longer possible. To avoid any confusion and mistakes between claims I would advise you to create a new email account for either your wife or yourself to be able to claim your (or your wife's) compensation.


Furthermore, can you please advise as to how I am supposed to claim for the 75-minute delay I incurred this past weekend while travelling with my three children who are all minors and understandably without their own email accounts? Can you please explain to me how your recent simplifications to the system have made even this simple request almost impossible. Am I now required to create three additional email accounts for my children to deal with Southern Rail's failings?

I have endured Southern Rail’s ever worsening incompetence while commuting daily from Newhaven to London for a very long time. Isn’t it about time this nightmare came to an end for me and all the others suffering your poor service only because they have no other option. Or perhaps, one day, the government will finally step in and force something to happen, which in itself has been a long time coming.

I am copying my local MP - Maria Caulfield, Chris Grayling – Transport Secretary, Kyle Moore - GTR HQ customer relations and Charles Horton.

I look forward to your very prompt reply.

Harold Warren


#######


From: Customer Services [mailto:customerservices@gtrailway.com]
Sent: Tuesday, October 25, 2016 9:46 AM
To: Harold Warren
Subject: RE: web site and logging into account nightmares


Dear Mr Warren,
Thank you for getting in touch in regards to the changes to our Delay Repay process and website.

I am sorry you are unhappy with the changes we’ve made to our delay repay form.

With the introduction of the Consumer Rights Act, we took the opportunity to simplify delay repay applications to streamline the process. We consolidated what was two separate forms into one, allowing passengers to claim for their delay repay all in one place. We have also introduced a login facility that remembers passengers after their first claim, doing away with the need to input personal details for each subsequent claim. Passengers may now also receive their delay repay directly into their bank accounts and are no longer limited to delay repay vouchers.

I appreciate you and your wife would like to claim using the same email address. However, this is not longer possible. To avoid any confusion and mistakes between claims I would advise you to create a new email account for either your wife or yourself to be able to claim your (or your wife's) compensation.

Your comments are appreciated and have been passed over to the relevant team as feedback. Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Kind Regards,

Daniel Ribas


#######


Dear Southern,

What have you guys done to the process of filling on-line the delay repays? It’s gone from bad to comically almost unusable. It’s now so shaky and user unfriendly I feel like I’m working on a mid-1980’s IBM main frame system used by my university at the time. Surely you guys can do better than this….

Additionally, it’s impossible to open two southern accounts using the same email address. So, what am I to do when my wife and I share a home email address and we both have delay re-pays to submit? Without two separate accounts I’m not able to submit both delay repay claims because the system now requires confirmation I was the person with the ticket, (rather than submitting on behalf of someone else).

I have an account already with southern. How can I create a Southern account for my wife when the system won’t allow two separate accounts with the same email address?

Please advise for this seems like an all too familiar intentional step backwards by Southern, not forwards….

Thank you

Harold Warren