More than a million train passengers could be in for a payout after a train company agreed to a massive settlement.
Up to 1.4 million passengers who used South West Trains could make a claim after its owners agreed to a £25,000,000 package.
A class action claimed passengers with Travelcards may have overpaid for part of their journey between 2015 and 2017.
Even claimants without proof of travel may be eligible to apply, but they need to do so before the deadline in the new year.
It is thought to be the largest ever compensation package awarded in a UK collective action.
Justin Gutmann, the Class Representative, said: ‘After yet another summer of travel misery for UK train passengers, I’m delighted to say there is good news at last, and that money is finally going back to passengers.’
Gutmann urged all South West Trains passengers at the time to ‘come forward and collect the money they may be entitled to under the settlement.’
Why can passengers get compensation?
It comes after a claim brought in the Competition Appeal Tribunal by Gutmann, a consumer champion, along with Charles Lyndon, a law firm specialising in consumer litigation.
Many passengers with Travelcards who purchased a rail ticket in London are believed to have overpaid for a section of their journey, the claim said.
Those travelling beyond the zones covered by the card should have been charged only from the edge of the Travelcard limit, not from the station where they began their journey.
This is known as a ‘Boundary Fare,’ but many passengers were not offered the option and ended up paying more.
The South West Trains network was run by Stagecoach South Western Trains Limited at the time.
The financial settlement was reached without any admission of liability by the company.
A Stagecoach spokesperson told Metro.co.uk: ‘We are pleased that the Competition Appeal Tribunal has now approved the collective settlement that we have agreed with the claimant, without finding or providing an admission of liability in this long-running case related to historic matters.’
How to make a claim
Who is eligible to make a claim?
Any Travelcard holder who travelled on then-South West Trains between October 1, 2015, and August 20, 2017, could be eligible – even without evidence of the journeys.
What is the ‘Boundary Fare’?
For example, if a passenger owned a Travelcard for Zones 1-4 but needed to travel from Waterloo to Reading, they should be able to purchase a ticket from the edge of Zone 4 to Reading because they have already paid for the part of their journey that cover Zones 1-4 with the Travelcard.
How to make a claim
You can check your eligibility by visiting the Boundary Fares claims website here.
You can then submit the online form or make a claim by post.
Making a claim is free of charge and it takes less than five minutes to complete.
For any queries, claimants can contact the Class Representative at info@BoundaryFares.com or by post at 22 Eastcheap, London, EC3M 1EU.
When to apply
The deadline for compensation claims is January 10, 2025.
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