Railway refund

Press, 24 September 1983, Page 16

Railway refund

Sir,—On September 9 I purchased two travel tickets: one for the 6.40 p.m. railcar to Greymouth; the other to return the following day by bus at 12.25 p.m. Both tickets were obtained from the Christchurch Railway Station. In Greymouth on September 10 I cancelled the return bus trip as I had obtained other transport back to Christchurch. The cancellation was accepted in Greymouth, where I was told a refund would be made on my return to Christchurch, with the standard 10 per cent deduction. On Sunday night in Christchurch I lost my ticket. On application for a refund, despite the fact my original booking and cancellation were not disputed I was told that, because there was no ticket, there could be no refund. The reason given was that the ticket had been lost after the bus departed. This is a little confusing in that the Railways Corporation knows the ticket was not presented by another person, is in fact lost, and collects $18.50 for nothing. I now know how their $24 million profit was achieved.— Yours, etc., V. CLUTTERBUCK.

September 15, 1983. [Mr R. Campbell, the District Traffic Manager of Railways, replies: “Application for a refund or reissue of lost tickets may be made at railway booking offices up to and including the date of travel. This allows the corporation to cancel the reservation and check that the ticket is not presented by another person. Booking office staff are instructed that refunds are not generally made where loss is reported after the date of travel, but to advise the passenger he may represent .the matter, in writing, to the District Traffic Manager of Railways, who will treat each application on its merits. Corporation tickets are negotiable documents and can be refunded at any railway booking office or accredited travel agency throughout New Zealand, up to three months after the date of travel. In this case, because the cancellation was made before travel and the ticket information can be confirmed, a refund less 10 per cent would be approved if your correspondent makes the necessary application.”]