This is Essex --A PAIR of frustrated train commuters have come up with an ingenious business idea – a new app that makes claiming compensation for delayed journeys a breeze.
Gavin Davies, 35, from Witham, and Mark Mainwood, 42, from Colchester, met at a seminar and soon got chatting about their daily commute to London.
Four months later and the pair have launched their own smartphone app to encourage commuters to claim money back for delays.
"Mark and I both commute into London each day and found that we didn't always claim for compensation when our trains were delayed," said IT project manager Gavin.
"We believe we have created the perfect solution for commuters to keep track of their delays and make claiming for them a lot simpler."
The app, available on iPhone and Android, comes in a free-to-download version, and a superior version that costs 69p.
It covers 15 train lines nationwide, including the Greater Anglia and C2C lines, and stores the details of each of their repayment policies.
The free version shows users all the possible train data, including the available journeys that can be claimed for.
But the 69p full version can fill out the required forms and e-mail them directly to you.
Mark commutes from Colchester to London Liverpool Street every day to work as an IT project manager in the City, paying £500 a month for his travel.
"The original idea came to me when I was on a weekend service about ten years ago that was delayed; after speaking to Gavin we felt we could make a go of it.
"With price rises that came into effect earlier this month we feel that it's a good time for commuters to start thinking about refunds.
"We're not anti-train companies, we're just pro-commuter.
"I know that, personally, I have been on a train journey and have not claimed the money back that I'm entitled to because of the hassle involved. We have managed to put together all of the claimable delays for 15 different train services in one place – which takes away all the hassle.
"The service even fills out the delay form ensuring that commuters claim what is rightfully theirs."
Greater Anglian's refund procedure entitles you to claim for 50 per cent of the cost of a single ticket, if delayed by 30 to 59 minutes, and 100 per cent on some occasions, if delayed over an hour.
The app helps you keep track of delays and then claim for them in two clicks and you can input the details of your train ticket, enabling you to automatically see the claimable delays on your train line.
An e-mail will be sent to you with instructions and an attachment which just needs to be printed, signed and put in the post.
The train company will review your compensation claim and contact you directly afterwards.
Gavin has commuted into London for the past 12 years and says that his journey has become more frustrating with reduced carriages, delays and cancellations.
He said: "We believe that this is a way for commuters to demand they are listened to and that we will no longer accept a poor service at inflated prices." Reported by This is 14 hours ago.