Urgent Martin Lewis warning as train passengers have days to make compensation check
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Martin Lewis is urging millions of rail passengers to check if they’re owed compensation. If you travelled with South West Trains between 1 October 2015 and 20 August 2017 and had a Transport for London (TfL) Travelcard, you could have been overcharged. The deadline to claim is 10 January 2025.
The case, led by campaigner Justin Gutmann, argued that 1.4 million passengers were unfairly charged twice for parts of their journeys. South West Trains has now agreed to pay up to £25 million in compensation to affected customers, Money Saving Expert reports.
Why were passengers overcharged?. The issue concerns 'boundary fares', which ensure passengers with a TfL Travelcard only pay for the part of the journey outside the Travelcard’s zones. For example, if you had a Zone 1-4 Travelcard and travelled from London Waterloo (Zone 1) to Reading (outside the TfL zones), you should only have paid for the journey beyond Zone 4.
However, campaigners claimed South West Trains failed to properly inform passengers about boundary fares. Although the company denies liability, it has agreed to the settlement. How much can you claim?. Passengers can claim between £3.85 and £5.11 per journey. If you have no evidence, you can claim up to £30 for six journeys. With some proof (like a TfL Travelcard or train ticket), you can claim up to £100 for 20 journeys. If you have full evidence, there’s no cap on the amount you can claim.
