Should I ask for compensation for delay?

[colobok]

My trip to CVS from TPA on 06/29 ended up getting to CVS at 3:30am instead of 9:50pm.

I understand it was because of damage cause by bad storm.

Now I thought - maybe I could get some compensation for that? At least some AGR points?

(my trip was paid by AGR points)

Or it's worthless idea?

 

[amamba]

They are very unlikely to give you AGR points, but if you call 1800-USA-RAIL and ask for customer relations you can try for a voucher for future travel.

However, for a weather related delay, I wouldn't bother. That is just my personal opinion. Amtrak doesn't control the weather. I don't think you should get a voucher for a train delayed due to weather.

edited for clarity.

 

[MrFSS]

You might want to read the responses in THIS thread.

 

[TimePeace]

In my experience and also from my reading here, I would say there is no exact voucher policy in place, and so it is ALWAYS worth making the phone call.

This is a very different scenario but is also based on delays: Last summer I was held up for a week due to Western LD trains being cancelled on account of floods and fires. I had a roomette reserved on the CZ EMY-CHI, and then coach on the LSL to Boston. I made my return trip a week late after multiple cancellations, and received a $400 voucher for my inconvenience. (It's getting me to ABQ in Sept!)

But on another trip, I was several hours late on the LSL into Boston, as a result I missed last bus of the day back to Maine and had to sleep for a few hours on VERY uncomfortable benches in South Station. There was no compensation given.

Anyway - I'd call if I were you.

 

[Linda T]

My trip to CVS from TPA on 06/29 ended up getting to CVS at 3:30am instead of 9:50pm.

I understand it was because of damage cause by bad storm.

Now I thought - maybe I could get some compensation for that? At least some AGR points?

(my trip was paid by AGR points) Or it's worthless idea?

Yeah, like I'd love to collect from the electric company for the five days without power in the 100 degree heat index. Not gonna happen. You may get a small travel voucher, or maybe a handful of points back, but it's their choice. As Amtrak says in the disclaimer of liability (which is very similar to the airlines)

Amtrak's fares, time schedules, equipment, routing, services and information (hereinafter "Amtrak services") are not guaranteed and are provided "as is" without any warranties of any kind, either express or implied, and Amtrak disclaims all warranties, express or implied.

Linda.

 

[DingDong]

My train (the Vermonter) was delayed for six hours back in June and Amtrak called me up and offered a voucher for the value of my ticket. So it doesn't hurt to ask; they might even offer before you ask. That wasn't directly weather-related, though; it was a problem with the tracks

 

[daveyb99]

worthless idea. why do people think they deserve something every time they encounter a delay.

there was a bad storm. crews no doubt working into the night to get the tracks open. AMTRAK did get you there.

and you want some "compensation". sorry to be smug -- but NO

 

[the_traveler]

I have to agree. If anyone should be compensated, it should be the men and women who were out there working during the storm so your train could get thru!

 

[Anderson]

I've chewed this over, and in general I'm inclined against asking for a voucher unless one of several "triggers" is met:

1) The problem is primarily/exclusively mechanical. While Amtrak may disclaim any warranty, if they use an engine that breaks...well, that's sort of on them since you can argue that it is their job to make sure they used working equipment. Put another way, if they were to skimp too badly on the maintenance, their "no warranty" disclaimer probably shouldn't get them around selling a defective product.

2) OBS breaks down. This is a big one...basically, if food and beverage service run out (and I do mean run out, not "don't have your dish of choice"), Amtrak fell short on accounting for potential delays; I'll even add a proviso that on a sufficiently delayed train, such as one of the infamous Empire Builders we've all heard about, Amtrak should make a provision for giving some station staff some overtime to run out to Wal-Mart with an emergency shopping list.* But if something like this happens, especially if you're in a sleeper, I think you should get some money back.

3) Conditions become unhealthy. I don't think this needs too much explanation, but there are things that can go very wrong if a train is badly late.

4) You miss a connection and get a particularly bad forced downgrade. Here, it's not "just" getting the downgrade refunded/vouchered that I want...I'm sorry, but to make a not-so-light example, there are long-distance trips that if I have a choice between coach on Amtrak and either driving or just not going, the trip won't happen. Anything over one night definitely falls into this category, and the idea of a "surprise" night in coach isn't my favorite, either.

*Of course, if I ever do the Builder or Zephyr in the middle of winter, Lord help me but I'll have an MRE at the bottom of my suitcase just in case.

 

[me_little_me]

Yeah, like I'd love to collect from the electric company for the five days without power in the 100 degree heat index. Not gonna happen. You may get a small travel voucher, or maybe a handful of points back, but it's their choice. As Amtrak says in the disclaimer of liability (which is very similar to the airlines)

Linda.

Not the same thing. Since the electric company charges you for your use and because of the outage, you didn't use any electricity, you didn't pay anything.

Different from cable or phone service where you pay a certain amount per month and didn't get the use of that service for which you paid for that period of time.

I agree with you though that compensation for 4 hours lateness is not justified except under special circumstances. I'd say this one was not one of them.

It would be different if there were small children or elderly/sick people involved.

But for customer relations, it would behoove Amtrak to provide something. Actually offering all passengers a 5% discount off their next trip on something like that might be something Amtrak should do.

 

[Linda T]

Yeah, like I'd love to collect from the electric company for the five days without power in the 100 degree heat index. Not gonna happen. You may get a small travel voucher, or maybe a handful of points back, but it's their choice. As Amtrak says in the disclaimer of liability (which is very similar to the airlines)

Linda.

Not the same thing. Since the electric company charges you for your use and because of the outage, you didn't use any electricity, you didn't pay anything.

Different from cable or phone service where you pay a certain amount per month and didn't get the use of that service for which you paid for that period of time.

I agree with you though that compensation for 4 hours lateness is not justified except under special circumstances. I'd say this one was not one of them.

It would be different if there were small children or elderly/sick people involved.

But for customer relations, it would behoove Amtrak to provide something. Actually offering all passengers a 5% discount off their next trip on something like that might be something Amtrak should do.

Yeah, it's not. I said that more tongue in cheek. :giggle: Part of what gets me is when people are a few hours late due to a catestrophic storm, when the storm was so much bigger than them. I don't even really consider myself a victim of the storm cause we were only out for five days, and had no destruction on our farm, though neighbors had quite a number of trees down on homes and barns. Many in West Virginia were hit harder than us and were without power for almost two weeks! I also think about all the people stuck on the Cardinal for wasn't it something like 20 hours? The storm greatly affected Amtrak what with many trains being down for many days due to power outages, debris on the tracks...

 

[Mackensen]

My train (the Vermonter) was delayed for six hours back in June and Amtrak called me up and offered a voucher for the value of my ticket. So it doesn't hurt to ask; they might even offer before you ask. That wasn't directly weather-related, though; it was a problem with the tracks

Heh, my wife had the same trip. In our case we got a same-day 100% refund, no questions asked.

 

[Anderson]

Yeah, like I'd love to collect from the electric company for the five days without power in the 100 degree heat index. Not gonna happen. You may get a small travel voucher, or maybe a handful of points back, but it's their choice. As Amtrak says in the disclaimer of liability (which is very similar to the airlines)

Linda.

Not the same thing. Since the electric company charges you for your use and because of the outage, you didn't use any electricity, you didn't pay anything.

Different from cable or phone service where you pay a certain amount per month and didn't get the use of that service for which you paid for that period of time.

I agree with you though that compensation for 4 hours lateness is not justified except under special circumstances. I'd say this one was not one of them.

It would be different if there were small children or elderly/sick people involved.

But for customer relations, it would behoove Amtrak to provide something. Actually offering all passengers a 5% discount off their next trip on something like that might be something Amtrak should do.

In defense of the OP, the delay was 5:40. More to the point, it's not just that it was 5:40, it's when the hours were. To put it another way, if a train is expected to get in somewhere at 10 PM I'm probably going to be fine in coach. If it is due in at 3-4 AM, there is a very good chance I'll want a sleeper, and those hours in Regional-style coach...yeah, I could be a little sore, and in more ways than one.

 

[Johanna]

I don't see why it's ever wrong to ask for compensation. If Amtrak doesn't think the delay warrants it, they can always say no.

You don't have to be a jerk about it - you can say "I was on train X that was delayed for Y hours, and I'm calling to request a voucher in compensation for the inconvenience."

 

[Peter KG6LSE]

I don't see why it's ever wrong to ask for compensation. If Amtrak doesn't think the delay warrants it, they can always say no.

You don't have to be a jerk about it - you can say "I was on train X that was delayed for Y hours, and I'm calling to request a voucher in compensation for the inconvenience."

This is true !