SSWT CLAIM FORM INSTRUCTIONS

  • Your claim must be submitted no later than 10 January 2025.
  • Please note that in order to file a claim, you will need to upload documentation: proof of residency, etc. Please read the instructions below to ensure you have all the required documentation before starting the claim filing process as you cannot save your claim.

WHAT IS THE CLAIM ABOUT?

The ‘Boundary Fares’ claim was filed in the Competition Appeal Tribunal by Mr Justin Gutmann on behalf of rail passengers who he alleged have paid twice for part of their journeys as a result of not being sold a Boundary Fare. A Boundary Fare is a form of extension ticket for use in conjunction with the Travelcard for travel from the outer boundary covered by the Travelcard to the destination. Boundary Fares allow passengers who own a Travelcard to travel beyond the zones covered by their Travelcard, paying only for the journey falling outside of the zones covered by their Travelcard. It would also be possible to buy a fare from the last station within the zones covered to the end destination. This would be known as a Point to Point Fare.

Stagecoach South Western Trains Limited (“SSWT”) and Mr Gutmann have reached a settlement in respect of the part of this claim relating to the period from 1 October 2015 to 20 August 2017 so far as the claim relates to fares for travel on SSWT's services. The settlement provides for the payment of up to £25,000,000 (twenty-five million pounds sterling) to eligible Represented Persons who submit a valid claim for compensation. The settlement has been reached without any admission of liability.

More information about the settlement, including a copy of the settlement agreement, can be found here.

WHO CAN MAKE A CLAIM

Only those who meet all of the eligibility criteria below may make a claim for payment from the settlement fund.

Eligibility Criteria

  1. You purchased a rail fare for yourself or another person, which was not a Boundary Fare or a fare for the portion of the journey from the last station covered by your Travelcard to your destination (i.e. a Point to Point Fare), between 1 October 2015 and 20 August 2017.
  2. You (or the person for whom the fare was purchased) held a Travelcard(s) valid for travel within Transport for London ’s (“TfL”) fare zones at the time of the journey.
  3. The rail fare was valid for travel in whole or in part on SSWT services, from a station within (but not on the outer boundary of) the zone that your Travelcard was valid to a destination beyond the boundary of those zones (a “Relevant Fare”). Only journeys outbound from London are covered. Please note that SSWT stopped operating the South Western franchise at 1.59am on 20 August 2017, so if you purchased your ticket from 1 October 2015 and to 1:59am on 20 August 2017 (the “Relevant Period”) but took the journey after 1.59am on 20 August 2017, you are not eligible to claim compensation from this settlement.
  4. If you purchased a season ticket, you (or the person for whom the fare was purchased) held a valid Travelcard for the entire period of the season ticket.
  5. You were resident in the United Kingdom (UK) on both 19 October 2021* and 30 April 2024.**
  6. You have not opted-out of the Proceedings.

If you meet all of the eligibility criteria above, you are automatically included in the class and can submit a claim for payment from the settlement fund.

*If you were not domiciled in the UK on 19 October 2021, but otherwise meet the eligibility criteria, you must have previously opted-in to the Proceedings in order to qualify as a Represented Person.

**If you were not domiciled in the UK on 30 April 2024, but you otherwise meet the definition of a Represented Person, you must opt in to the settlement by filing an opt-in form, which you can find here. The deadline to opt-in to the settlement is 10 January 2025.

HOW TO MAKE A CLAIM

To make a claim, you must either fill out this online form or download and complete a paper claim and mail it in.

Your claim must be submitted no later than 10 January 2025. Claims filed after this date will not be accepted.

The information you provide in your claim form will be considered by the claims administrator to determine whether you are eligible to receive a portion of the settlement funds. It will be kept confidential by the claims administrator and the parties’ legal representatives, and will not be shared with any third parties. Please ensure you have provided complete and accurate information.

STRUCTURE OF THE CLAIM FORM

Section 1: Contact Information
You will be required to provide your relevant contact information.

Section 2: Claim Selection
You will be asked to select to claim under one of the following ‘Pots’:

Pot 3: No Documentary Evidence Pot – for claimants who do not submit proof of purchase for their journeys nor their Travelcards. Limited to 6 journeys at £5 per journey per claimant, with a maximum claim amount of £30.00.

Pot 2: Partial Evidence Pot – for claimants who have proof of purchase for their journeys or Travelcards, but not both. Limited to 20 journeys at £5 per journey per claimant, with a maximum claim amount of £100.00. If the total amount claimed on the allocated sum within either Pot 3 or Pot 2 exceeds the allocated funds for that allocated part of the Pot as set out in Clause 2.4 (a) of the Settlement Agreement, please refer to Clause 2.4 (b) of the Settlement Agreement.

Pot 1: Fuller Evidence Pot – for claimants who have full proof of purchase for their journeys and Travelcards. Proof of purchase can include, but is not limited to: a bank or credit card statement showing purchase of a relevant fare and/or Travelcard, a screenshot showing a purchase of a relevant fare from an online retailer’s website, a loan from an employer for a Travelcard, hard copy proof of a relevant fare (such as the physical ticket), information obtained from a TfL account which shows proof of a relevant Travelcard, and information obtained from TfL or Trainline (or similar) account, which evidences purchase of a relevant rail fare. Claims under Pot 1 will be valued based on the actual difference in price between the fare paid and the appropriate Boundary Fare. There is no limit to the number of journeys per claimant and compensation will be the actual difference between the ticket price paid and the price of the appropriate Boundary Fare.

For claims covered by Pots 1 and 2, you may need to obtain bank or credit card statements as part of the required documentation. For a guide on obtaining bank statements, please visit the Documents page for a guide on obtaining bank statements.

Section 3: Payment Instructions
You will be required to provide your relevant payment details so that you may receive payment upon submission of a successful claim.

Section 4: Statement of Truth
You will be required to sign and date a statement of truth.