Trainline is at the centre of a storm after charging its TMC
customers administration fees for refunding unused tickets during the
coronavirus outbreak.
While the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) and its members – the
UK’s train operating companies – are currently waiving the usual admin fee for
refunds and changes, Trainline is still charging a fee, typically £10, to its
TMC partners who are largely passing it on to their clients.
Trainline is not, however, levying the fee on ticket changes
or refunds claimed by those who booked direct with the platform.
Meanwhile, its principal competitor in the corporate sector,
Evolvi, is waiving the fee for all customers in line with RDG policy.
“We are disappointed Trainline is penalising the business travel
community by continuing to charge fees for refunds, when TMCs simply want to
return those monies to their corporate customers at a time when it’s
desperately needed,” says Clive Wratten, CEO of the Business Travel Association
(BTA).
“We have engaged with Trainline about this before, and call on
them to correct this without further delay. Collaboration across the business
travel supply chain is crucial if we’re going to weather the current crisis.”
A statement from Trainline said the company, like TMCs, is
experiencing reduced travel activity while demand from customers for aftersales
support is at higher levels than before.
“To meet this demand, we have
scaled up our operations team and invested in platform development, making
sure that TMC customers receive swift support. The contractual refund fee helps
with this investment.”
An independent industry source told BTN Europe: “TMCs are
generally passing the fee on to clients and neither party is happy about it. For
those who book a lot of rail travel the fees can amount to thousands of pounds.
And right now, every penny counts.”
The source added: “Morally, Trainline should be putting
relationships before profits. You do have to be mindful of suppliers’ issues
too, but you have to be pragmatic or get creative.”
They suggested the accrued fees could be used as credit against
future bookings when the market comes back.
“Trainline is not charging leisure travellers the fee as they
are more fickle,” they added. “They can easily change their booking behaviour
in the future but corporates are committed to choices made by their TMC.”
Meanwhile, Evolvi has extended its automated refunds process
to cover unrestricted ticket types and Advance fares without the usual RDG
administration fee.
It has also suspended its standard ‘uplift’ fees for TMCs
not meeting the company’s usual qualifying spend threshold while the
coronavirus pandemic persists.
“As an industry, we are all finding it difficult during the
current pandemic and subsequent restrictions on travel,” says Andrew Cantrell,
Evolvi managing director. “Although a small gesture in the scheme of much wider
issues, every little helps.”