advice on #97/#98 refund

[bwilburn542004]

I have tickets for vacation in Kissimmee leaving on March 31 from Cincinnati. We are taking #97 from Richmond on to Kissimmee. I know about the problem with the inspected cars and think my family will be okay then unless they cut out the route!

My brother is scheduled to take this same trip in 2 weeks and phoned an agent for information on options should the trains still be out of service. He was told that he could opt for a refund but depending on the method of payment (other than cash) it would take up to 21 days for that refund.

What would the experts here suggest, wait it out, or try for the refund. His refund would likely take more than 10 days. Time off work is already confirmed, children out while they were moving, and other reservations such as hotel and car made.

How timely and coperative is Amtrak on making refunds this far in advance in this type of situation? I think the agents are in the dark. Nobody wants to wait until the last minute to apply for a refund especially if the money is needed to purchase alternate transportation since Amtrak is not providing it.

Thanks

 

[AlanB]

Bwilburn,

Your brother is between a rock and a hard place I'm sorry to say. Here's why.

If he goes and asks for a refund right now, then he has two choices. One, take the refund in Amtrak vouchers and receive 100% of what he paid. Two, take the refund on his credit card or in cash if he paid that, and pay the cancellation penalty 10% to a maximum of $100 per reservation.

If he waits to see what happens, then should Amtrak cancel the train he would get his full refund. They can't charge him a penalty for their cancellation. However, as you've noted, without the refund he may not be able to take the vacation.

So I'm sorry to say there really is no easy answer. One thing he might look into is, can he switch now to trains 91/92. So far they've run most days, while 97/98 have been getting cancelled regularly.

Ps. If he can get to a station and turn in the tickets there, should the train be cancelled, then the credit would go on his card immediately. Of course even that is subject to the normal credit processing system, which would still mean that it takes 2 or 3 days, max 5 to show up on his account.

 

[bwilburn542004]

Alan-

My brother took your advice and checked into the idea of switching to 91/92 and was told that he can do that but pay the cancellation fee because Amtrak had not cancelled that train yet, as you stated.

He was advised that he could also wait and if the train is cancelled, he can rebook on the 91/92 if it is available and the fare he already paid for 97/98 would be honored with no penalty. If not back to the refund deal again. Since he is going coach he decided to wait and rebook if needed.

Worse scenerio, everybody does the same and train is packed!

Thank you and you are absolutely right, he is between a rock and a hard place. Hopefully all will go well and trains will be back to normal.

 

[GG-1]

Hopefully all will go well and trains will be back to normal.

Aloha

Is this anyway to run a business, let alone make a profit.

 

[trainboy325]

I think the fact that this is a coach trip makes this a lot easier. If, for example, the reserved trip on 97 comes to be cancelled, you could get in line for a trip on 91 the same day. The only wrench in this plan is that you'd need to be available to board 91 the day of the trip, and Amtrak has determined they're going to cancel 97 prior to 91 leaving your boarding station. As of now, my understanding is that Amtrak is giving notice of train cancelations in time, but not by much as to get into the station for your reserved train's scheduled departure.

On another note, yesterday I advised folks that Amtrak is making a conscience effort to run 91/92 and cancel 97/98 when equipment is not available. Today, for example, leaving MIA was 98 but not 92. So this whole thing about what train to book for your date to travel isn't much as an issue as rather you actually get the chance to take your trip at all as Amtrak obviously is doing this whole thing without any plan or pattern to work with. Good luck on your situation. At this point, leave everything alone and wait until about three days prior to the trip, check on the situation with the trains daily and see what, if any, pattern of operation is in effect the date of your trip.

Again, with this being coach, this is a lot easier as booking of sleeping car reservations would leave you with few options other than praying your train leaves the station and someone doesn't get booked into your ticketed sleeper prior to your boarding the train. This has happened hundreds of times, especially leaving WAS where multiple rooms get booked by two or three parties out of WAS due to missed connections and manual ticketing by agents not using Arrow to determine if room vacancies are actually there.

 

[AlanB]

My brother took your advice and checked into the idea of switching to 91/92 and was told that he can do that but pay the cancellation fee because Amtrak had not cancelled that train yet, as you stated.

There is no cancellation fee if he rebooks. Amtrak eliminated that charge for rebooking two years ago, back when it impossed the 10% cancellation charge.

He would simply be changing his reservation and rebooking another train. There is no penalty for doing that. It's only when you ask for the money back, that one is charged a penalty. If you rebook immediately or take the refund in Amtrak Gift Certificates then there is no penalty charged.

The whole point of the penalty is Amtrak doesn't want to loose the money/business. As long as they know that they aren't loosing the business, a la gift certificates or rebooking, there is no penalty.

You can view more on the refund policy here on Amtrak's site.

 

[AlanB]

I couldn't find this at first but after some searching, here you go:

Most Amtrak customers will never pay a service charge when their travel plans change and they have to get new tickets under a new simple and easy ticketing and exchange policy that goes into effect November 1.
Amtrak has long offered one of the most flexible ticketing policies in the travel industry with tickets that keep their value a full 12 months after purchase. Now, Amtrak is adding to this flexibility the elimination of service charges when re-ticketing for travel of equal or greater value.

"Passengers will no longer be charged a fee to exchange tickets of equal or greater value," said Barbara J. Richardson, Amtrak Vice President, Marketing and Sales.  "If a passenger finds the new ticket costs less than the original, they will have the option of getting 100% of the difference as a credit toward future travel."  If a customer instead wants the balance they are owed in cash or transferred to a credit card, a 10% service charge capped at $100 will be applied.

The full press release from October 2004 can be found here. If there has been a change in this policy, then Amtrak has not announced it publicly.

Of course take this with a grain of salt, since as Trainboy just pointed out, it now seems to be hit or miss as to which trains Amtrak is running. But the reality is, that your brother should be able to change trains even now if he wanted, with no penalty, unless 91 is cheaper than 97. And if it is, then he could take the refund in vouchers and avoid the penalty.

 

[x-press]

On another note, yesterday I advised folks that Amtrak is making a conscience effort to run 91/92 and cancel 97/98 when equipment is not available. Today, for example, leaving MIA was 98 but not 92. So this whole thing about what train to book for your date to travel isn't much as an issue as rather you actually get the chance to take your trip at all as Amtrak obviously is doing this whole thing without any plan or pattern to work with. Good luck on your situation. At this point, leave everything alone and wait until about three days prior to the trip, check on the situation with the trains daily and see what, if any, pattern of operation is in effect the date of your trip.

I wonder why they've chosen to run the earlier 91 southbound instead of 97? It would be one thing to tell 91's passengers that they have to wait a few hours for 97, but quite another to cancel afternoon committments and make the earlier 91.

I had to take the refund, rather than try 91, for just that reason (I was at work).

 

[Sam Damon]

I wonder why they've chosen to run the earlier 91 southbound instead of 97?  It would be one thing to tell 91's passengers that they have to wait a few hours for 97, but quite another to cancel afternoon committments and make the earlier 91.  
I had to take the refund, rather than try 91, for just that reason (I was at work).

Yet more ammunition for Bruce at URPA.