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Update:
- Class certification has been granted for a complaint accusing Thameslink Rail Service of swindling its customers by abusing its dominance of the market.
- Rail travellers have argued that Thameslink is overcharging its customers by setting different prices depending on the brand of train and for charging extra for purchases made with a debit or Oyster card.
- The green light for the class action lawsuit was given by the U.K.’s antitrust court.
- Travellers will now be able to register online to join the £400 million opt-out class action lawsuit against Thameslink.
Thameslink Rail Service class action overview:
- Who: Rail travel campaigners sued Thameslink on behalf of travellers over ticket pricing.
- Why: The campaigners argue Thameslink overcharged customers by setting different prices for different brands of trains and charged more for debit or Oyster card purchases.
- Where: Thameslink provides cross-London train service between Bedford/Peterborough/Cambridge and Brighton/Horsham/Littlehampton/East Grinstead, and between Luton/St Albans and Sutton/Wimbledon/Rainham; plus services between London and Sevenoaks.
(Aug. 04, 2021)
Thameslink rail service abused its market dominance and caused passengers to lose money due to unfair pricing on its London travel routes, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
The class action lawsuit was filed by rail travel campaigners, Edward Vermeer and David Boyle, who allege that the company overcharged customers by setting different prices for different brands of trains, and also charged more for debit or Oyster card purchases, Law360 reports.
According to the claim, passengers “suffered loss and damage” by paying inflated prices for tickets. U.K. law states that companies cannot issue tickets that restrict passengers to one certain service over another as Thameslink does, the claim argues.
The rail campaigners asked the Competition Appeal Tribunal to allow them to bring the claim on behalf of Thameslink travellers who have had trips dating back to 2015, Law360 reports.
The pair say the case it is ripe for a representative case in the tribunal, given the large number of riders with shared claims.
Govia Thameslink Railway Ltd., and the rail line’s parent companies — The Go-Ahead Group PLC and Keolis (U.K.) Ltd. — run a range of services between London and Brighton, including Southern Railway, Thameslink, and the Gatwick Express, Law360 reports.
However, the tickets the company sells restrict passengers to one of the three services. If a customer wants the flexibility to travel on any service, they must pay a higher price. Vermeer and Boyle allege that that should not be the case, and passengers should be able to travel on any of the services if they are ticketholders.
Penalties and fines, they say, are unfair. Those who bought higher priced tickets have “suffered loss and damage by paying higher prices for travel rights they should be afforded in any event,” they allege.
Also unfair, they argue, is that the company charges a higher price when travellers use an Oyster travelcard or debit card, rather than a Thameslink ticket.
According to the claim, travellers fined by train inspectors for using a certain Thameslink ticket on a differently branded train should receive damages.
A spokesperson for Thameslink told Law360 that the case should not go ahead and they disputed the allegation the company had breached competition law.
“We work in a highly regulated industry and consider that our ticket pricing is lawful and consistent with the terms of our franchise agreement with the Department for Transport. We will make out Page 2 of 2 submissions to the tribunal in due course.”
Do you think it’s fair for a rail company to restrict tickets to a certain train service? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!
The campaigners are represented by Maitland Walker LLP.
The Thameslink Unfair Tickets Class Action Lawsuit is David Courtney Boyle & Edward John Vermeer v. Govia Thameslink Railway Ltd. & others, Case No. 1404/7/7/21, in the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
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