The UK has experienced its hottest temperature on record this week, with temperatures of 40.2C recorded at Heathrow in London. Predictably, this has had a detrimental effect on the rail industry's ability to run services with Network Rail issuing "Do Not Travel" directives and train operators such as Avanti cancelling all services in the afternoon of Tuesday 19th July following a number of infrastructure issues.
We understand a great number of our customers will be looking to get a refund, so we're going to explain how you can request a completely automated refund for travel on these heatwave dates using our refunds system.
If you are able to, then using our online refunds system will mean you get your refund much more quickly and allow our support team to focus on more complex cases.
Step 1: Provide your journey details
To get started, visit the TrainSplit refunds site and enter your booking reference and email address:
Step 2: Indicate that you're claiming a refund due to the heatwave
Some of the most common reasons for wanting a refund are listed. Pick the "I would like a refund due to the heatwave" option:
Step 3: Pick the option that describes your circumstances
We expect that - for most customers - they will have decided not to travel during the heatwave in line with the instructions from train operators and Network Rail. If other circumstances apply, select the relevant option.
Depending on your answer, you may be directed to other more appropriate avenues to claim compensation.
Step 4: Accept your fee-free refund
If we are able to automatically confirm your service was disrupted we will offer you an instant fee-free refund. Carefully review the amount to ensure it is correct, and then click the green Accept refund button. That’s it. The money will be refunded to your payment card and credit your bank account within a few working days.
More complex cases
If we cannot confirm from our data sources that your service was affected by the heatwave, or industry systems think you may have travelled, the refunds website may ask you to contact our customer support team. We will endeavour to review these requests as soon as possible but ask for your patience due to the increased volumes of queries we are working through.
If you need to, you can always talk to a real person by emailing customer.support@trainsplit.com or using the help feature built into the Android and iOS TrainSplit apps.