Strike - Refunds

Mark Gleeson · 18-08-2014, 11:48

So as we all now know the unions have decided to through with some pointless strike action

If you bought a ticket online for the dates in question - full refund to the card used
You currently cannot book online for the strike dates

For single/return tickets bought at the station in advance? unknown but likely

For weekly/monthly/annual, paid cash? unknown but likely

Taxsaver tickets? Unlikely due tax issues (Irish Rail indicate yes but we know the revenue won't like it) Bear in mind you don't own the ticket, your employer does

grainne whale · 18-08-2014, 12:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

So as we all now know the unions have decided to through with some pointless strike action

If you bought a ticket online for the dates in question - full refund to the card used
You currently cannot book online for the strike dates

For single/return tickets bought at the station in advance? unknown but likely

For weekly/monthly/annual, paid cash? unknown but likely

Taxsaver tickets? Unlikely due tax issues (Irish Rail indicate yes but we know the revenue won't like it) Bear in mind you don't own the ticket, your employer does

If you buy a bus ticket you should be entitled to you money back as you are effectively paying on the double for your journey.
Infact this whole episode will make up my mind as to whether I renew my Taxsaver Rail Only Ticket or not, as I find I can get to work quicker by getting the 67X instead of the train and the Dublin Bus Taxsaver Ticket is cheaper.

James Howard · 18-08-2014, 14:03

I would suggest that you should be entitled to a refund for whatever costs you incurred getting to work on that day. I can imagine that the only option for those of us in Longford will be to drive as Bus Éireann will see adding capacity as scabbing.

However, for me it is relatively minor inconvenience as I can work from home on the affected days. For somebody having to attend a medical appointment for which they've been waiting six months, it is a different matter entirely.

Bear in mind that the bus journey is going to be a lot worse than normal on a strike day so it would be a good idea to compare on a normal day.

comcor · 18-08-2014, 14:27

While I understand the tax issues make a refund next to impossible, there should be no issue with extending the validity of the ticket for the day.

Presumably we'll get an announcement that tickets will be accepted on Bus Eireann/Dublin Bus (or will the unions refuse that?). If that were to happen, how would it work for Leap-based tickets that won't be recognized by the vus's validator.

grainne whale · 18-08-2014, 14:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by comcor

While I understand the tax issues make a refund next to impossible, there should be no issue with extending the validity of the ticket for the day.

Presumably we'll get an announcement that tickets will be accepted on Bus Eireann/Dublin Bus (or will the unions refuse that?). If that were to happen, how would it work for Leap-based tickets that won't be recognized by the vus's validator.

I really can't see Bus Eireann/ Dublin Bus accepting rail tickets are I'm sure pickets would be out immediately and the strike would escalate.

Mark Gleeson · 18-08-2014, 15:00

Validity extension is another problem

We have had long conversations about this with Irish Rail as EU law from December makes things much more passenger focused

James Howard · 18-08-2014, 16:21

This strike has been brewing for months if not years at this stage. It is beyond comprehension why Irish Rail haven't figured out the contingencies for various categories of customers at this stage. Their twitter widget on this page (http://www.irishrail.ie/industrialaction) indicates that they are replying to queries on twitter saying that an announcement re annual passes will be made early in the week. Again, why can't they say this as a matter of general publication.

The normal mechanism in the event of a 2 hour delay is to issue vouchers to the value of 1/480th of a pass, so I would guess we'll get vouchers to the value of 1/240th for each missed weekday if we ask. In theory you should also be able to ask for the Sundays as well, but they might be a bit stickier about that. While the tax people might have a problem with it, I would think it would be a waste of effort to put in a mechanism for collecting the resulting revenue.

What is of concern is that it all appears to have gone very quiet in the media. So either there are proper talks going on and nobody wants to bugger them up by making statements, or the unions just want to haul everyone out to make a point. My money is on the latter.

18-08-2014, 11:48	#1
Mark Gleeson Technical Officer Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Coach C, Seat 33 Posts: 12,669	Strike - Refunds So as we all now know the unions have decided to through with some pointless strike action If you bought a ticket online for the dates in question - full refund to the card used You currently cannot book online for the strike dates For single/return tickets bought at the station in advance? unknown but likely For weekly/monthly/annual, paid cash? unknown but likely Taxsaver tickets? Unlikely due tax issues (Irish Rail indicate yes but we know the revenue won't like it) Bear in mind you don't own the ticket, your employer does __________________ Unhappy with new timetable - let us know

18-08-2014, 15:00	#6
Mark Gleeson Technical Officer Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Coach C, Seat 33 Posts: 12,669	Validity extension is another problem We have had long conversations about this with Irish Rail as EU law from December makes things much more passenger focused __________________ Unhappy with new timetable - let us know

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18-08-2014, 14:03	#3
James Howard Really Really Regluar Poster Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Sligo Line Posts: 1,115	I would suggest that you should be entitled to a refund for whatever costs you incurred getting to work on that day. I can imagine that the only option for those of us in Longford will be to drive as Bus Éireann will see adding capacity as scabbing. However, for me it is relatively minor inconvenience as I can work from home on the affected days. For somebody having to attend a medical appointment for which they've been waiting six months, it is a different matter entirely. Bear in mind that the bus journey is going to be a lot worse than normal on a strike day so it would be a good idea to compare on a normal day.

18-08-2014, 14:27	#4
comcor Really Regular Poster Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Cork-Dublin, Cork Commuter and occasionally DART and Dublin-Wexford Posts: 855	While I understand the tax issues make a refund next to impossible, there should be no issue with extending the validity of the ticket for the day. Presumably we'll get an announcement that tickets will be accepted on Bus Eireann/Dublin Bus (or will the unions refuse that?). If that were to happen, how would it work for Leap-based tickets that won't be recognized by the vus's validator.

18-08-2014, 16:21	#7
James Howard Really Really Regluar Poster Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Sligo Line Posts: 1,115	This strike has been brewing for months if not years at this stage. It is beyond comprehension why Irish Rail haven't figured out the contingencies for various categories of customers at this stage. Their twitter widget on this page (http://www.irishrail.ie/industrialaction) indicates that they are replying to queries on twitter saying that an announcement re annual passes will be made early in the week. Again, why can't they say this as a matter of general publication. The normal mechanism in the event of a 2 hour delay is to issue vouchers to the value of 1/480th of a pass, so I would guess we'll get vouchers to the value of 1/240th for each missed weekday if we ask. In theory you should also be able to ask for the Sundays as well, but they might be a bit stickier about that. While the tax people might have a problem with it, I would think it would be a waste of effort to put in a mechanism for collecting the resulting revenue. What is of concern is that it all appears to have gone very quiet in the media. So either there are proper talks going on and nobody wants to bugger them up by making statements, or the unions just want to haul everyone out to make a point. My money is on the latter.