Five days of social action, 2 TVG out of 3 on average in circulation and more than 200,000 users at the quay.
Faced with the dismay of travelers who were preparing to join their loved ones to celebrate Christmas this weekend, the SNCF announced this morning exceptional compensation measures with a refund of the ticket price up to 200%.
"Not being able to travel in a period which is that of Christmas, sincerely it is unacceptable", regretted Christophe Fanichet this Wednesday at the microphone of Franceinfo, presenting the "apologies of the company".
The measure therefore concerns the French who would not find alternatives by train on the day of their initial trip, now canceled.
But what are the details?
The answers to the questions you are probably asking yourself if you are in this situation.
🗣 Strike at the SNCF ➡️ "I have decided on exceptional reimbursement measures. We will reimburse 200%. It's Christmas, this strike is unacceptable. This gesture, we had to", announces Christophe Fanichet on franceinfo. The strike “will cost several tens of millions of euros.”
pic.twitter.com/2HPRcckvo9
— franceinfo (@franceinfo) December 21, 2022
Is the refund in the form of money or a voucher?
If the refund of the initial ticket is in the form of money, it is a voucher for the amount spent for the ticket that will be paid to users.
"The additional 200% compensation will be made in a voucher", confirms the SNCF this Wednesday noon.
"In addition to the full refund of your canceled ticket, you will also receive a voucher for 100% of the ticket price", the company already replied on Twitter to a user at the end of the morning.
“You will be contacted directly by email in the coming days regarding the additional 100% refund in digital voucher”, she explains to another, surprised to have received “only” the sum of his ticket. .
The voucher is valid for one year.
Hello Gautier,
I assure you, you will be contacted directly by email in the coming days regarding the additional 100% refund in digital voucher.
I invite you to wait, have a
nice day.
– SNCF (@SNCF) December 21, 2022
Are refunds claimed before the announcement affected?
It was a fear of travelers who made their request for reimbursement on Tuesday, before the announcement of the CEO of the SNCF.
But this exceptional “200%” compensation scheme is indeed retroactive.
“If people received an SMS or an email yesterday and they have already canceled their ticket, they will be affected by this measure”, specifies the organization.
SNCF invites these far-sighted users to contact customer service.
Read also“All trains are full”: with the SNCF strike at Christmas, passengers forced to review their plans
How to request a refund?
In the event of cancellation of their journeys, customers are “informed by email or SMS”, indicated the SNCF on Tuesday.
They can benefit from “a free exchange on all trains where there is still space”, confirmed on Franceinfo Christophe Fanichet this Wednesday.
Important clarification, and which applies to all journeys, the request for reimbursement must be made at the request of the customer imperatively before the initial time of departure of the train.
Otherwise, it cannot be taken into account.
Reimbursement is then made either on the SNCF website, in the shop or at the station using your file number or by telephone at 3635.
Moreover, in the event of booking a round trip, and if only one of the two trains is cancelled, the SNCF explains to travelers that they must "wait until the return is made in order to make [the] request for repayment ".
SNCF Connect specifies, however, that it is possible to anticipate by making the cancellation by telephone at 3635.
For information, if you have a round trip with only one of the 2 trains removed and therefore you cannot cancel it, here is what they answer in private 👇 pic.twitter.com/Jk4YIghb5K
— Giulia (@giulia_urbina) December 21, 2022
And for the Ouigo?
Traffic is also disrupted on the SNCF low-cost sector, with three out of four trains maintained according to the latest forecasts.
"OUIGO is also concerned by the measure" of exceptional reimbursement, confirms the SNCF.
Two solutions are then available to travelers.
The first is to "exchange free of charge
» the ticket for another journey in Ouigo, between this Wednesday and up to seven days after the date of the initial journey.
For example, in the event of a trip scheduled for Thursday, December 22, it is possible to exchange your ticket for a trip between today and Thursday, December 29 inclusive.
All this within the limit of available places.
The second is the cancellation of the trip.
A refund “will then be sent by email within three
days, in the form of a re-creditable voucher", for the initial ticket ensures Ouigo.
These vouchers can then be paid into a bank account.
Here again on several conditions: the ticket must have been purchased with a bank card “totally or partially”.
“If the reservation has been fully paid for in a voucher, no recredit will be possible”, specifies the Ouigo site.
An additional voucher, up to the price of the ticket, should therefore also be offered to travelers.
The service specifies that without action on the part of the customer before the day before his trip, 11:30 p.m., it “will be automatically canceled”.
There will therefore no longer be an exchange possible, but the reimbursement of the ticket will be “sent by email in the form of a creditable purchase voucher”.
