A disgruntled train passenger living on the Southern train route has managed to claim a £2,400 refund from his credit card company by citing a little-known clause in the Consumer Credit Act.
The payout could trigger a flood of similar claims from commuters who have paid for tickets with a credit card.
Under section 75 of the CCA, the credit provider is equally liable with the firm that offers the goods or services if things go wrong.
In this case the annual season ticket holder raised a claim with American Express on the grounds that Southern Rail had failed to deliver the service it promised.
The news was posted on the blog of the Association of British Commuters, a campaign group that seeks to represent “the interests of the public in the face of the rail crisis”.
According to ABC, “Sean”, the commuter involved, submitted the claim last August, once his season ticket had expired.
As part of his evidence, he included punctuality statistics for Southern Rail. He requested 50pc of his money back based on his estimation that 50pc of his train journeys had been cancelled or disrupted.
