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I recently had to cancel a number of (theoretically non-refundable) UK train bookings at the last minute for personal reasons and noticed there was an online cancellation option. I almost didn’t bother clicking through, as I assumed I wouldn’t be eligible for a refund, or that the process would be incredibly complicated. Fortunately, I was wrong…

I simply spent a few minutes filling in the cancellation form and within a week had ALL my tickets refunded as vouchers for future travel – even the tickets not on an LNER train.

This totally unexpected example of good customer service made me do a little research into what other train companies/booking platforms offer. I discovered that National Rail operates a “Book with Confidence” scheme which LNER must be part of. As long as you claim by 6pm the day before departure, you will be issued with a full refund in e-travel vouchers.

The scheme appears to operate on a rolling end-of-month cut-off basis, with the current cut off showing as 30^th November. When I cancelled my tickets in October, cut-off was 31^st October.

National Rail does point out that not all companies are part of their “Book with Confidence” scheme but (weirdly) doesn’t list which is and which aren’t, as far as I could see.

Bottom line

When things go wrong with travel arrangements, it’s annoying to say the least, so it was refreshing to deal with a company and a scheme that genuinely helped.

Have you benefited from this scheme before? I’d like to hear anyone else’s experiences with other train booking platforms, so we can get a clearer picture of who is in and who is out of this scheme.