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French train delay compensation voucher

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We traveled in France via trains last month and encounter 2 significant delays. Both trips were OUIGO plus tickers purchased at SNCF website.

One was 2 hours and 45 minutes delay. We received a 50% voucher close to Eur 150 within 48 hours to be used before 12/01/2025 or be credited to bank according to the Google translation of email. Of course, I would like to be able to credit back to our credit card since it is very unlikely, we can use it before 12/01/2025. Did anyone have similar train delay experiences and able to get refund via credit card refund? How? SNCF website Q&A sections do not offer much help.

Another trip was 100 minutes delay. We received an email promising 25% voucher, which should value around Eur 80. However, we never received any voucher via email within 3 days as promised in the initial email. How to contact SNCF via email to inquiry about the promised voucher?

Posted by
2108 posts

If the credit goes back to your bank, instead of your credit card, just pay that amount to your credit card bill.

Posted by
907 posts

I would guess that getting the amount of the voucher put back to a credit card, or even to
a US bank account, is going to be difficult, despite the fact that it would seem to be very
straightforward to people like us.

You will need various identifiers such as the IBAN number for the bank and your account
number for a bank transfer. If you can get those, give it a try.

Alternatively, you could try setting up an account on an international payment platform such
as Wise, which is geared towards this kind of thing. If you can get the $ xferred to Wise, then
moving it to a US bank account is easy. In addition, the fee structure for Wise is pretty low,
and your home bank may charge more to accept an international payment.

SNCF makes no mention of a credit card option on the website as far as I can see. Maybe
that's too easy....

Posted by
11110 posts

The one time I bothered to claim it, it went into my SNCF account for me to use, and I couldn’t figure out how to validate it for my ticket.

Otherwise, I’ve never bothered to claim it for the following reasons though certainly there are people for whom this money back is a lifesaver: it’s not SNCF’s fault when thieves steal the wires for the metals, or someone chooses the tracks to end their life which is a horrid situation, or someone has left a package that has to be exploded to be sure it’s not a bomb. These are typically 2 hour or more delays. I’ve had each of these situations and many more, delaying the train over two hours. In fact, my trains here in France are delayed a lot but it’s not due to negligence by SNCF. So I let it go.
On the other hand, if my plane is late, and we’re eligible for compensation, it’s only when it is truly the airlines fault. We aren’t compensated for factors out of the airline’s control such as weather. There I file EU261.

Posted by
17381 posts

You probably can't get the credit to your card but can to your bank. It's not difficult at all.

You will need:

--your account number

--your bank's routing number (they can supply this)

--your banks BIC/SWIFT number for non US dollar transfers (your bank can supply this)

--the banks address for transfers (they can supply this)

Many banks have this information on their websites. If not, one phone call or using their chat function will get this for you.

No need to set up separate accounts somewhere else.

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