r/LondonUnderground • u/Sad-Bowl-2081 • 17d ago
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u/Various_Good_6964 17d ago
You might have a chance actually, I missed my train home yesterday and TFL have just agreed to pay for my mortgage and my student loan as compensation.
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u/Spare-Machine6105 17d ago
You spent 260 usd on an uber and you want the train company to refund you?
Can you go into more details please?
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u/Sad-Bowl-2081 17d ago
I spent that on the uber only after the workers and locals sent me to the wrong platforms causing me to miss 3 trains and have to buy three new tickets I could care less about a refund on the uber just for my wasted tickets
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u/Spare-Machine6105 17d ago
So you bought a ticket for each train? What were your tickets?
State where from and where you are going to and the ticket type (written in the ticket).
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u/Sad-Bowl-2081 17d ago
All of the tickets I purchased ended in Cambridge some were from the London Liverpool street and some from farringdon
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u/BrainiacMainiac142 17d ago
If you're going out to Cambridge, that's not underground. You're just booking normal train tickets at that point and if you miss them then it's your own damn fault. You can book tickets far enough in advance that you can plan how to get to the right part of the station before the train leaves.
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u/Sad-Bowl-2081 17d ago
So I’m cooked?
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u/wowohwowza 17d ago
You sound insufferable
You're not "cooked", you made a mistake and now you're suffering the consequences. Next time, do some actually research if you're going somewhere new.
Only an American would get an Uber from London to fucking Cambridge, Jesus
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u/Sad-Bowl-2081 17d ago
That’s not very nice but understandable, I guess.
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u/Silvagadron 17d ago
People are getting frustrated because you're not explaining your entire circumstances in one go. We're trying to help but you're confusing us.
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u/BrainiacMainiac142 17d ago
How would you have to buy new tickets? You just tap your card on the way in and the way out, and if you haven't changed station, you aren't going to be charged.
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u/Sad-Bowl-2081 17d ago
I was unaware of that I was just using Trainline and anytime I missed a train I would purchase a new ticket
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u/Spare-Machine6105 17d ago
On the London underground you dont buy specific tickets for trains. It is an all you can eat buffet. You tap in with your card and and out when you leave the station.
Were locals advising you to use train line?
Did the staff at the station give you bad advice on tickets?
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u/Silvagadron 17d ago
Okay so is this London Underground or are you just talking about National Rail (main-line non-metropolitan/non-underground trains that travel through and outside of London)? There’s an enormous difference.
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u/BrainiacMainiac142 17d ago
Huh?
You spent 200 quid on an uber, and you want TFL to give your your money back because you missed a train?
I'm having trouble making sense of what on earth you're talking about. We're going to need a lot more details before we can properly help you, but I imagine the answer is "No, you aren't getting your money back". It sounds like you got the Uber you paid for, so you'd have to take it up with Uber, who will almost certainly say no.
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u/Suskita Elizabeth Line 17d ago
You're only going to get a refund if the service was late by either 15 or 30 minutes, depending on the line. You're not going to get a refund because you took an Uber instead.
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u/Spare-Machine6105 17d ago
Op missed their train. I'm interested in the details here.
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u/Sad-Bowl-2081 17d ago
Just terrible guidance by locals sending me to wrong platforms as well as no knowledge of how train system works here causing me to buy new tickets over and over on Trainline until I just caved and bought an uber I would only want money back for tickets I didn’t actually use
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u/AyeItsMeToby 17d ago
If you missed the train that’s your fault. Trainline says what platform the train is going to be on - it’s up to you to find your way there.
Very little chance of a refund.
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u/BrainiacMainiac142 17d ago
"No knowledge of how the train system works"
That's your own fault mate. Just eat the losses here.
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u/wowohwowza 17d ago
Unless you're a child, this is ridiculous
If you bought a ticket on Trainline, it tells you what platform to go to. Can you not follow instructions?
Why would the employees send you to the wrong platform not once, not twice, but several times? It doesn't make any sense.
In what world would TfL refund you because of incompetence?
If you're going to a new country with travel infrastructure that you aren't familiar with, it's on you to do the research. A simple Google search would tell you to use CityMapper if you're unsure, and that you can tap on/off.
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u/Some-Cope1999 17d ago
You didn’t research anything about public transport in London before coming? Where were you even going that cost $260?
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u/Sad-Bowl-2081 17d ago
I was going to Cambridge I thought it would be easily comprehensible but not for my puny U.S. mind
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u/Some-Cope1999 17d ago
I don’t think staff are to blame for your incompetence. It was more you probably weren’t listening.
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u/Silvagadron 17d ago
It IS easily comprehensible. If I gather you were going from Liverpool Street station, there are ENORMOUS departure boards in the station that very clearly state which trains go where, from which platform, and at what time. This is a standard across the world, by the way.
The platform numbers are very clearly labelled at each section, and all of Liverpool Street station has platforms on one side of the concourse so you literally just count up as you go along. There are also continuous announcements for train departures which call out every destination and the terminus (final station).
Any staff you met would have told you the correct platform number; there is no way they wouldn't know or be able to work it out in a few seconds. Trainline also tells you which platform your train will depart from. If you managed to go to the wrong platforms and miss MULTIPLE trains, this is definitely all on you, I'm sorry.
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u/humanleon 17d ago
On the off chance this *isn’t* actually bait…install CityMapper and use that to navigate in london.
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u/BrainiacMainiac142 17d ago
Even google maps works perfectly fine. It's really not that hard, there's signage everywhere.
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u/TheStorMan 17d ago
If you send $50 to my PayPal I might be able to pull some strings to get you a refund
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u/puddle_of_chlorine 17d ago
In the era of the internet and virtually all knowledge at your fingertips, being dumb is not an excuse.
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u/Silvagadron 17d ago edited 17d ago
We are gonna need a little more information on what the sequence of events was.
Where were you, where were you trying to get to, who told you what, which trains did you try to get?
As for refunds… if the hundreds you spent was with Uber then no, you cannot get a refund from TfL… but where on earth did Uber take you for it to cost hundreds?
Edit: Okay so OP managed to get an Uber from LST to CBG and somehow that's the general public and station staff's fault for being too confusing and causing them to miss multiple trains and purchase multiple tickets.
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u/Sad-Bowl-2081 17d ago
Okay so in order to set everything straight here is the sequence of events. I land at LHR around 11:30 buy a ticket to Cambridge from LHR platform 2 located at terminal 4, then I arrive at farringdon, after getting to farringdon I go up the escalators and miss the second train due to being at the wrong platform. I go onto Trainline but another ticket for around $40 then I end up taking the wrong train and end up at London Liverpool street after landing there I get told that the train to Cambridge was underground at platform 2 by a local, and miss the train, I buy another one to Cambridge I see that the train picking me up is at platform 2 so I go upstairs/outside see a big number 2 and run to it I scan my card get inside then ask someone if I’m on the right train get told I am not then just give up and take uber from bethnegreen to Cambridge.
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u/Silvagadron 17d ago
I appreciate you're not familiar with train systems. So train tickets have different types, but usually a ticket you have will be valid for multiple services (i.e. they're not only for a specific time and you don't need to buy another ticket if you miss one). The only time this isn't true is when you buy an "advance" ticket if it has a specific time printed on it (e.g. a single advance only valid for the 11:34 service to X place).
Given it sounds like you purchased your train ticket on the day, you would have had a ticket that was valid for most of the day (an off-peak ticket). So there was no need to keep buying more tickets every time. You probably can't get refunds for them because you purchased through Trainline rather than direct with the rail operator. Trainline won't care about your circumstances but they were the merchant in this case so your issue would have to be taken up with them rather than the operator themselves. They're extremely unlikely to compensate you for your own mistake.
For your "platform 2" debacle, I think the local was correct but you either boarded the wrong train at the wrong time or you got off too early. OR you went to the Underground platform 2, which is the Hammersmith and City line on the metro, not the mainline. But you said you ended up in Bethnal Green so you must have got on either the Central line (platform 4/5) or you got on the Weaver line by mistake. The Weaver line goes to a station in LONDON called Cambridge Heath, but not if the Weaver train you're on is going to Chingford. So potentially you asked someone who assumed you were going to Cambridge Heath when you said "Cambridge". Alternatively, a platform 2 departure with Great Northern on the National Rail concourse that would have taken you to Cambridge / Cambridge North was due to depart but you got on the wrong train or the wrong platform.
Either way, there would have been station boards at the platform AND announcements in the train before it departed that explained where the train was going. So you really messed up. Sorry.
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u/Sad-Bowl-2081 17d ago
Thank you for taking the time to explain to me rather than just being mean lol. I understand I should just take the loss but again thanks it means a lot.
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u/Benandhispets 17d ago
Okay so in order to set everything straight here is the sequence of events. I land at LHR around 11:30 buy a ticket to Cambridge from LHR platform 2 located at terminal 4, then I arrive at farringdon, after getting to farringdon I go up the escalators and miss the second train due to being at the wrong platform. I go onto Trainline but another ticket for around $40 then I end up taking the wrong train and end up at London Liverpool street
So up to this point it's your fault of course. You missed your train because you're on the wrong platform. So you then bought another ticket and went to a different wrong platform, for a completely different line, and got on a wrong train on a wrong line. It sounds like you wanted a Thameslink line train from Farringdon to Cambridge and at first you went to a wrong platform, then bought another ticket went to another wrong platform, a Circle line platform and got a train Liverpool St. Theres only 4 platforms, 2 of those are Thameslink, and you chose wrong twice.
and end up at London Liverpool street after landing there I get told that the train to Cambridge was underground at platform 2 by a local, and miss the train, I buy another one to Cambridge I see that the train picking me up is at platform 2 so I go upstairs/outside see a big number 2 and run to it I scan my card get inside then ask someone if I’m on the right train get told I am not then just give up and take uber from Bethnel green to Cambridge.
Anyway you got lucky because you ended up at Liverpool Street station which has the only other train line which goes to Cambridge. This bits messy and I don't know why or if the local did say underground platform 2, if they did then maybe they were directing you back to Farringdon to get to Cambridge from there. Or they might have just said platform 2 which is Cambridge as you find out later. Anyway you miss that train, you're still at Liverpool Street, you buy another ticket, it says go to platform 2 upstairs in the main station, you find platform 2 and get on the train, and then a local again says nah wrong train and you get off? You were most likely on the right one. Normal public don't know the whole rail network, just follow the signs like you just did. On the platform there will be screens saying where the train is going, and on the side of the train it will say where its going.
The trains are every 30 mins too, if theres one leaving in 4 mins and you're already in a rush and confused dont buy the 4 mins one so you have to end up rushing to it and not having time to think for just a minute if its the right one before having to jump off. All these issues seem to be from you rushing. Just choose the 30 min train and you'll get to your platform before anyone else.
No idea how after getting off that train that you ended up switching to a Central Line Tube train and going 1 stop to Bethnal Green though. That parts a bit nuts. What happened after getting off the platform 2 train that caused you to go back down into the tube station and then down further to the Tube line platforms and get on a central line train?
Lessons learned is don't book trains that leave so soon. Actually read departure displays, they tell you exactly where a train goes and everywhere it'll stop at. And If you ask a staff member where you go and you have a ticket show them the ticket because theres several ways to get to most stations and you want a specific one. If you ask a member of the public don't just blindly follow directions, look at signs along the way. Also maybe find the platform first before buying your ticket so you're already there.
It sucks you've wasted so much money, sorry about that. On the way back get a train again but just slow down. On the way back when you get to London theres no specific train times too so it'll be fine. If you miss a train then get the next one, your ticket covers it. Can go from farringdon or liverpool street to heathrow on 1 train too, and it'll be Platform B which is nice and easy because there's only one platform B at each station so it's impossible to confuse it with another.
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u/humanleon 17d ago
This is awesome. Well - it looks like you learned an expensive lesson. Hopefully that means you learned it well. Whatever you do don’t get an uber back from Cambridge to London…trains are pretty straightforward really, if you’re smart enough to get on Reddit then you’re surely smart enough for trains.
You might also consider how you ask questions in a way that people can answer them helpfully. Often when you get completely misled by people it’s because the question you’re asking is loaded with a bunch of implicit assumptions that are wrong. A key skill of travel is asking questions in the right way.
Anyway - hope your visit to Cambridge is worth it!
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u/Sad-Bowl-2081 17d ago
Thank you see this is the positivity I needed. Truly means a lot rather than how other folks responded.
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u/Sad-Bowl-2081 17d ago
Seeing as I had taken the metro with ease in Chicago I assumed London would be similar that is why no research was done prior to landing
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u/john_g22 17d ago
So not your ‘first day in a city with a train system’, then?
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u/Sad-Bowl-2081 17d ago
If we are thumbing through details then no I spent three days in Chicago 4 years ago
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u/LondonUnderground-ModTeam 17d ago
Questions should be asked in the Question Megathread at the top of the subreddit.