can you claim a refund?

Less polluting than the plane, less tiring than the car and less long than the bus, the train is one of the preferred modes of transport French women and men during the holidays. Only, no one is safe from a delay or a cancellation. While many of you have chosen your low-cost destination to go with your family or the most reassuring places to go on a solo trip, the station billboards are stressing you out. Well Named.

During the 2022 summer holidays, strike movements may cause uncertain, delayed or even canceled departures. If for the time being, the SNCF and the trade unions have agreed on a wage increase and therefore the end of all the planned strikes, it is important to know what your rights are. Indeed, if your train is late or if it no longer leaves, can you claim a refund? If so, under what conditions? While you have already learned about the trick to paying for your Ouigo train ticket cheaper, here is how to discuss your refund with SNCF customer service.

Delayed or canceled train, what are the compensations?

The rights of passengers using the railway lines are governed by the European code which obliges companies such as the SNCF to pay minimum compensation: “The traveler who suffers a delay between the place of departure and the place of destination indicated on the ticket may, without losing his right to transport, demand compensation from the railway undertaking“, can we read in European regulations. Thus, depending on your train, you will have different allowances.

• TGV Inoui or intercity train: in case of delay you can claim compensation “up to 25% of the purchase price, only in voucher up to 59 min late, and in voucher or bank transfer from 1h to 1h59“, details the Ministry of the Economy. Note that to access it, you need a delay on arrival of between 30 minutes and 2 hours. Between 2 hours and 3 hours, you can claim 50% of the price of your If the ticket is more than 3 hours late, the ticket is reimbursed at 75% of its purchase price.
• Ouigo train: duringa delay of 1h to 2h, Ouigo compensates you up to 25%“in voucher”. If the delay exceeds two hours, the ticket is refunded at 50%, always in voucher. In the event of cancellation, you can choose to exchange your ticket free of charge for another TGV Ouigo, or get a refund, again in a voucher.

In contrast, delays on TER are not reimbursed by SNCF.

You will be able to receive your refund after one month from the day of the claim. Be aware that you can ask to be reimbursed in cash, if you ask for it beforehand. It should also be noted that people holding a subscription or transport card can automatically claim a refund.

How to claim your compensation in the event of a delayed or canceled train?

We know that embarking on the administrative paperwork to claim a refund is not always easy and scares away more than one. However, you have to go through it. Thus, for start the compensation procedureyou can either do it online directly via this formor by post to the SNCF postal service: Service G30 SNCF – CS 69 150 – 14949 Caen Cedex 9.

If you prefer the feel of paper and mailing, you can download your form refund to be printed. In this case, do not forget to indicate the reference to 6 letters written on your ticket, it is actually your file number, as well as the date of the trip, the train number, your personal information and your postal address. For all refund requests, you must provide an original delay slip, given to the station by a controller.