PASSENGERS have been misled by Scotrail over compensation claims when trains are delayed or cancelled, according to a consumer watchdog.

Which? claims train companies, including the Dutch-owned Abellio ScotRail, are failing to properly inform customers what they are entitled to when journeys are disrupted.

The Which? analysis came as it emerged ScotRail received £28 million of public money as redress for track problems last year.

The organisation says ScotRail and other firms regularly tell passengers, often via social media, that they cannot claim back all the money they spent as a result of the disruption.

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They say that only the cost of tickets can be reimbursed and not the cost of consequential spending such as taxi journeys or hotel bookings.

However Which? says this is incorrect and passengers are entitled to other expenses under the Consumer Rights Act.

After intervention by the the Office for Road and Rail (ORR), the regulator says the National Rail Conditions of Travel, the train companies' terms and conditions bible, to be "much clearer" when they are published but could not say how.

They currently state that except for certain circumstances "train companies will not accept liability for any loss, including consequential loss, caused by the delay and/or cancellation of a train services. However, they will consider additional claims in exceptional circumstances."

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A Which? spokesman said: "Rail companies have been giving blanket advice wrongly telling passengers they cannot make a claim, leaving people losing out on money owed when they may be entitled to compensation."

The watchdog has now called for train operators’ terms and conditions to remove the misleading claim as the law says passengers are entitled to claim for additional losses when an operator has "failed to provide the service with reasonable care and skill".

Which? said it hopes the forthcoming T&Cs changes, will "ensure passengers are not misled about their ability to claim compensation and their entitlement to seek consequential losses under common law".

It said it hoped the ORR will ensure passengers "will not be given the impression compensation is not available to them in circumstances where they might legitimately be able to claim".

But rail firms including ScotRail take the view it will still be difficult to claim for consequential losses as it will require clearing “a high legal hurdle”.

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Which? has called on all train companies including ScotRail to "explicitly state" that passengers can claim for additional losses when faced with a delay or cancellation which is the train company’s fault.

Alex Hayman, Which? public markets managing director, said: “For over a year train companies have been misleading passengers about their rights to claim for out-of-pocket expenses when they have failed to deliver a good service.

“Train companies can now no longer hide behind misleading terms to avoid paying passengers. They need to go further and proactively inform passengers about their compensation rights. If they fail to uphold these rights, they should be held to account by the government and the regulator.”

ScotRail was one of the top five train companies that benefitted most from handouts from Network Rail last year, the publicly funded body in charge of Britain's rail infrastructure.

ScotRail is due £28.2 million from line issues in 2016/7 by Network Rail, more than double the previous year but only paid out £587,527 in compensation payments to disgruntled train passengers in the first nine months of the year.

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The sum has mainly been awarded mainly through 'Schedule 8' penalty payments which are the result of unscheduled disruptions' due to maintenance failures which lead to delays. Compensation is intended to cover fare revenue loss or costs, such as those associated with running replacement buses.

Last month it emerged ScotRail clocked up a record £3 million in financial penalties over the first nine months of this financial year for failing to meet required standards for running the nation's trains and stations, having posted a £3.5m after-tax loss for 2016.

A ScotRail source said that Which? make reference to – taxi fares or hotel bookings – are items that we already cover under the NRCoT if we are unable to get customers to their destination as a result of disruption to rail services.

A ScotRail Alliance spokesman said: “We understand customers’ frustration when things go wrong. When things don’t go to plan, we do everything in our power to get them where they need to be – this could be through agreements with other transport operators for our customers to use their services, use of replacement buses or taxis."

An ORR spokesman said: " Following concerns from Which?, the Office of Rail and Road worked with the Rail Delivery Group and the Competition and Markets Authority to rewrite the conditions to make it more clear that passengers may have rights under consumer law, in addition to industry arrangements, when they are delayed.

"This welcome clarification is part of the on-going actions by train operating companies to improve the information they provide to passengers and the way in which they deal with complaints."

The ScotRail Delay Repay scheme currently works as follows: • Arrival at destination 30 – 59 minutes late: 50% refund of the cost of a single ticket / 25% refund of the cost of a return ticket.

• Arrival at destination 60 – 119 minutes late: Full refund of a single ticket / 50% refund of the cost of a return ticket.

• Arrival at destination over 120 hours late: Full refund of a single or return ticket.

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