"Helpful advice & guidance in Fares dispute"

A dispute with Northern Rail over Fares charged via on-platform machine.
Rosie, ombudsman, was very helpful in helping me understand charging structures for rail tickets, together with background info on the industry position. Rosie was instrumental in procuring an acceptable settlement for me

"Great and quick service"

Great and quick service from Rail ombudsman. Gwr started being awkward making it difficult to recieve what was agreed. One email to advise and was quickly sent agreed settlement.

"Good clear fair responses now on…"

Good clear fair responses now on several occasions. Could be a little quicker though.

"Closed case - no resolution"

My issues not actually been resolved, so honestly can’t say I would recommend using them,
The RSP allegedly sent a response to me almost a month ago. The Ombudsman don’t seem to be understanding that I’ve not received it.
They’ve taken the RSPs word for it and closed my case.
Not entirely sure what the point of them is if they’re not actually helping.

"Helped with getting compensation for delayed travel"

I got got nowhere with a Rail Service Provider, who sold the ticket on their website, over claiming a 100% refund from them for my whole journey, even though the journey involved another rail company as well.
I therefore contacted the Rail Ombudsman service in order to get the refund which was due to me.
I quickly got a reply from them indicating that I had a legitimate case and that they would take the case on.
Shortly after, the RSP contacted me with a full apology, a full refund, plus giving me a voucher which I could use as payment for any future journeys with them.
The Ombudsman service was simple to use and kept me fully informed throughout, as well as providing helpful advice over the phone when I started the process. Thankyou to all involved.

"Great service."

After getting nowhere with my complaint to West Midlands trains I turned to the Ombudsman for assistance. It has taken a long time but is now successfully resolved. Without their help I think the train company would have continued to ignore me. Thank you.

"TFL Taxi Refund + Compensation"

One day I was going to the airport and all trains got cancelled in East London. I was advised to get a cab because there were no alternative routes to get to the airport by a TFL staff member. He said I could claim a refund. Then, later on, TFL refused to pay me. I rang them, filled out their forms online, and I even sent them a detailed letter explaining my case. It took months of frustration as they would reply with repetitive simple answers "We don´t refund taxis, sorry" when my letter was pages long, including the law and their obligations. I felt disregarded and neglected. Finally Rail Ombudsman resolved my issue and I got a refund for the taxi´s fee plus compensation for how the TFL had dealt with my case.

"They got West Midlands Trains to actually reply to me"

I had a complaint with West Midlands Trains ongoing for 9-10 weeks with no reply. Their twitter account just stated I was in a queue of unknown length whenever I enquired. After the allotted time elapsed I raised this with the rail ombudsman. This was a simple process and they got WMT to reply promptly and resolve my issue.

"Terrible. Don't waste your time."

I have to agree with what has been written so far. They are biased, unprofessional and petty as stated previously. They spent so little time 'investigating' my case that they even got my name wrong in their final decision correspondence. No amount of reasoned argument or evidence will sway them from their path of keeping the disgraceful behaviour of the train companies in profit.

"The Rail Ombudsman is NOT impartial"

Contrary to what is written on its website, The Rail Ombudsman (ROM) is NOT impartial. It is funded by the Rail Service Providers (RSP).

The RSP are voluntary bound to the ROM. Should the ROM make too many decisions that are not to the RSP's liking, the RSP are at liberty to terminate their agreement.

Even though the decision is not binding on the consumer, once there is a ROM decision, it is doubtful how much a judge will listen to your arguments. Therefore, it may be advisably to skip the ROM, and go directly to the Minor Claims Court and save yourself unnecessary hassle & aggravation.

When I complained that Avanti West Coast (AWC) had unlawfully cancelled a ticket, and even though I provided AWC with documental & recorded evidence, AWC made false statements in all three stages of the complaints-procedure, plus several additional mishandlings of complaint. In her decision, the lead ombudsman Rosie Tackley, totally ignored what I had written & discussed with her several times, namely the hassle, stress & time waste I had to endure because of “the false statements at all stages”, necessitating the lengthy procedures, failing to mention this in her decision. Awarding the paltry sum of £50.00 for the errors in complaint handling!

When listing the evidence I supplied, the lead ombudsman omitted some of the evidence & documents that relates to the aforementioned “false statements at all stages”.