Irishman helps commuters claim back on Tube delays

WEARY Tube travellers dogged by delayed journeys across the capital may find some solace in a new website designed to channel their hard-earned cash back into their wallets.

Irishman Conor Kinnear has developed mytubewaslate.com to help fellow commuters claim back the fare refunds they are entitled to — if their Tube journey is delayed by more than 15 minutes.

The 33-year-old from Belfast, now living in Balham, is a regular Tube passenger. He claims the website has already helped commuters claim back thousands of pounds in refunds from Transport for London (TFL).

He told The Irish Post: “I came up with the idea after being delayed on an over ground train.

“The carriage was packed and I was suffering a slipped disc so I sat in a vacant seat in first class only to be fined £35. I was so annoyed about the delay which caused the problems that I looked what refunds were available.

“I later found claiming Tube refunds was easy, and available for delays of 15 minutes or more. “However, TFL doesn’t make this very obvious — their claim form has about 30 different fields to be filled in.”

Connor’s site asks commuters to register their regular Tube journeys and approximate times of travel. It then notifies them when a delay has occurred, will take details if they’re affected and submits a claim on their behalf.

“Many people forget about the delays. We remind them with an email of what occurred. If affected, they can simply submit their claim to TFL through our site.”

Mr Kinnear, head of marketing at a software company, has analysed figures regarding Tube delays and believes millions of pounds in refunds could be claimed back annually if all affected submitted claims.

“Our analysis showed in June 147 Tube trains were delayed and 19,726 refund claims were made. “If everyone eligible for a refund over the year made a claim the figures being paid back could be in the millions.”

For more information visit www.mytubewaslate.com

■ TFL will refund fares for delays of more than 15 minutes to a journey because of a fault by TFL, such as signal failures and strike action. It will not pay out for incidents beyond their control.