Train strike: tips to get reimbursed due to the strike? Personal experience

Thanks for the clear and helpful tips, Bets. I sincerely hope we'll not need to use them though for our trip beginning next week!

In 2014 we got caught up in a train strike in Germany. We had to rent a car to get us to Frankfurt to catch our flight the next day. The cost of the train tickets was credited back to the credit card I used for the purchase. It took about 6 weeks for that to happen. I wonder if that would be a possibility in France?

Andrea--it wasn't a possibility on the French SNCF website I used--which is the whole reason I wrote the post!
If reimbursement to my credit card had been a possibility, I wouldn't have taken the time and made the effort to warn others. Mentioning what happened with the German trains is perhaps confusing in this situation.

As of now, if you don't have a French bank account, and you don't want vouchers, then beware. Perhaps the SNCF/OUI application will allow reimbursement onto a credit card. If someone has been able to get reimbursed onto a credit card during this strike, using the app, please let others know. However, the SNCF application didn't recognize my ticket and name. The email I received telling me the train had been cancelled had a link to the page that reimbursed only to a French bank account or via vouchers.

So again, my advice is to try to be reimbursed on line while still in France. If it doesn't work, then go to a station or SNCF boutique to get your money back.

Edit: I believe an additional reason the SNCF application wouldn’t recognize my confirmation code is because the travel date had passed. Karen’s idea of a charge back might work as riders with tickets for canceled trains recieve emails stating even non-refundable tickets will be reimbursed. The key is avoiding a situation where your only choices are vouchers or bank deposit to an EU account.

You would think they would make it easier. If a concert or sport event is cancelled you can be reimbursed on your credit card. Another option would be to do a cc chargeback, and that would be a lot of trouble for SNCF. Think of all those chargebacks hitting their office, every one needing to be researched, etc. And then those office people go on strike...

Probably the reason that this is difficult is that most pre-purchased French train tickets are not refundable (which is not the same in Germany). The computers are programmed to follow normal refund rules according to fare type, not to make exceptions in the case of a strike.

Similarly, if you have bought your French ticket from Rail Europe, this is the procedure they describe:

If your train is cancelled, or if you prefer not to travel during a strike day, the below refund conditions apply:

If you are in France, you can choose to go directly to a railway station and ask the local railway official to assist with:
• Providing an update on the status of your train
• Providing alternate transportation options that will be covered by your existing train ticket (no extra costs)
• Changing the date or time of travel using your existing train ticket
• Endorsing your ticket as ‘unused’ if it will not be used for transportation provided by the railroad
One the ticket has been endorsed by a railway official, you would next contact Rail Europe to receive instructions on how to proceed with obtaining a refund. All relevant documentation needs to be received by Rail Europe within 45 days of the scheduled departure.

If you are not in France, you can contact Rail Europe before the train departure to start the refund process. DO NOT try to refund the tickets from your online account as this will incur the regular after sales fees for these tickets. After the initial refund request has been received by Rail Europe, you have up to 45 days after the train departure to forward Rail Europe all relevant documents.

Connecting trains, not operated by SNCF, may also be eligible for refunds. Please follow the same procedures as outlined above to apply for a refund for connecting trains impacted by the strike.
In case of Paper tickets please make sure you send the original unused ticket via express traceable mail as no refund can be guaranteed should the tickets not be received by Rail Europe. If applicable, also include any replacement tickets along with a letter explaining the occurrence. Once endorsed tickets are received, Rail Europe will submit to the railroad on the customer behalf. In case of dispute, any compensation is at the sole discretion of the railroad. We regret to inform you that no refund will be possible for tickets/requests returned later than 45 days from date of travel.

Should you choose to travel on a strike day:

• If your train is confirmed to be operating, we advise you to arrive at train station early. Due to a possible increase in passengers, you may experience longer than usual time reaching the departure platform and boarding the train.

• If your train has been cancelled once at the station, you can verify from the live departure board which trains are confirmed to be operating. You will be entitled to travel on any train on the same route of your original ticket within the same day without additional fees.

Seating cannot be guaranteed and no compensation can be claimed should you not be able to find a free seat on board, nor for any discomfort experienced during travel as this national strike is beyond the railway’s control.

Bets, it's really unfortunate that not only are people being inconvenienced but then they have to hassle with getting reimbursed. When I train to Paris in June I will plan around and avoid a strike day.

I think one thing that I meant to say in my post but didn't was that I had my ticket cancelled at the train station. That might have made all the difference. And having my German cousin there to sort things out for me was a definite advantage.

I received a full refund for TGV reservations with the money put back into my checking account. I had fully refundable tickets ( more expensive but we were concerned about making the connection between our flight into CDG and the train out of CDG). When the strike schedule was announced, it included our travel day. We made the request on the French rail website prior to the date of the reservation. Hope this helps.

rules about refundability should be entirely moot when the train doesn't run; passengers are not asking for a refund on tickets for a train but tickets for 'no train' which is not their fault. There is no excuse for 'those are not refundable so the computer won't let us do it.' Computers are tools of humans; this is a problem affecting many people, many of whom don't have French bank accounts; it is rather trivial to have a system in place to refund. Sounds like either enormous incompetence or passive aggressive theft by making it impossible to get refunded.

One might think that their credit card issuing bank would be helpful. As a purchase which was not delivered, perhaps they would simply charge it back to the provider, although on further consideration it may be a different situation for international purchases.

As an aside, it's been my experience that trainline.com is pretty accommodating in such matters, where perhaps SNCF is less service oriented.