Missed flight due to strikes help needed!

lynchy6789

lynchy6789

lynchy6789

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Joined
6 Feb 2008
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1,246
Hello,

This is on behalf of a friend to see whether any of you can offer any advice.

My friend who is on placement over in france came back for a few days and had there return flight arranged to day from Stanstead. However, due to the East Midland Train strikes it has resulted in a cancellation of the train and no other service or alternative service is running. This is resulted in my friend being unable to get to airport and catch her flight.

This means she need to purchase a new train ticket and flight for tomorrow costing ~£150-170

Is there any sort of finicial compensation route to undertake? I have mentioned about checking small print on Travel Insurance see if that is possible. Won't be able to get any compensation on the credit card due to it being less then £100
 
Aren't these strikes required to give plenty of notice? So surely she would have had ample time to procure alternative transport?
 
MoNkeE said:
Well then, there you have it. Just terrible planning on her behalf I'm afraid :(
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Its cause she lives in a different country for the last 3 months. I was aware of them but completely forgot (feeling a little bad at the moment) about them and though she was getting a cross country train but that was the 2nd leg of the journey. I do believe the train wasn't originally cancelled.
 
give her some mustard flavoured pancakes as consolation ?

pancake_day.jpg
 
Best thing would have been to get a taxi... I would imagine it would have been less than the money it would cost for a new train ticket, and flight.
 
Thats what I said but my the time for what ever reason other options were looked at it was to late. I guess it just one of those, things live learn etc...
 
Why would you just give up, taxi, pay a mate there are other options surly. Strikes have to be announced 14days in advance so she didn't check at all.
 
I'm going to Scotland on Sunday coming bank on Wednesday are there any strikes planned?

Is there a strike comparison website.

Do you regularly look up holiday destinations to see if 14 days in advance strikes have been mentioned?

To be honest I didn't know about the strikes until I read it on BBC website this morning (wasn't on the Belgian news funny that. :D )
 
The national rail site would have had strike info a good week in advance of the strike.

Her fault for bad planning, should have made alternative arrangements.
 
Glaucus said:
Why would you just give up, taxi, pay a mate there are other options surly. Strikes have to be announced 14days in advance so she didn't check at all.
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Taxi works out more money then re booking a flight for Saturday. Don't live near Stanstead I think its a good 2-3hours train journey. Most of her mates are at University, or dont have cars or at work so we tried. Not something you really check and as she has been in France for last few months is not something that is reported over there. I did see the strikes but though she was just getting a cross country train so didn't think it would matter.


I also would have expected possibly trainline whom she booked her tickets through (belive they are owned by EMT also) to at least send out an email of some sort making customers aware. May be when the strike was first announced it was in the newspaper headlines and on the news but as she has only been back for a few days I think seeing family and friends was more important and took up most of her time then making sure she watched the news and read the news paper. Certainly wasn't mentioned in the ITV news yesterday (was only one of this quick interval one though).

Just one of those things.
 
it is something you check, they don't have most people's contact numbers.
Also check that they're running on time especially something inflexible and costly as a flight.
Why would you need to check the news, two mins online to check trains are still running, be it flooding, engineering work, strikes or anything else.
 
-Ad- said:
The national rail site would have had strike info a good week in advance of the strike.

Her fault for bad planning, should have made alternative arrangements.
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Didn't realise you were always suppose to check the national rail before you get the train.

I don't think it is to much of trainline or other online ticket agents to send out an email or text. Seem to be able to send out enough marketing emails.

I am not saying it is not her fault at all but when you main train service is usually northern rail and cross country you just presume things are running. If flights are cancelled or changed you get an email, text or phone call so I don't see why the train service don't. It is them who are on strike so it should be them who make sure they inform all passengers and I would think the best point of contact is by email. As I have said it is not mentioned in France.


ubersonic said:
Same here, nothing about it in the local papers and I don't watch the news.
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Wasn't even mentioned in the metro when i got the train back the other day. And even the posters in the station weren't exactly visible just looked like all the other health and safety posters etc.
 
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Of course you check such things for flights, flights are titaly inflexible. It's not like work where you can phone up and say you'll be late.
Mind boggling you don't think you should check stuff for flights.
 
Glaucus said:
Of course you check such things for flights, flights are titaly inflexible. It's not like work where you can phone up and say you'll be late.
Mind boggling you don't think you should check stuff for flights.
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She checked the times but on trainline, where they do not say they have been cancelled. 7 out of 10 of my flat mates didn't know about the strikes either. Would you not agree that an email or some sort of contact that you fill out when booking tickets would have been appropriate?
 
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Tbh can't say I've ever checked to see if there's a strike due that could affect any trains or flights I'm booked on
 
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