Train Delay Repay — 15 minutes late = money back

The bands — measured at your destination

Arrived late by	You get back
15–29 minutes	25% of the single fare (50% of a return’s relevant leg)
30–59 minutes	50% of the single fare
60–119 minutes	100% of the single fare
2 hours +	100% of the RETURN fare

Most operators start at 15 minutes; a few still start at 30 — their Delay Repay page says which.
Season tickets count — paid pro-rata per delayed journey (the daily value of your ticket, banded the same way). Commuters who claim every delay quietly recover serious money over a year.
Cancelled and you didn’t travel? Full refund, no admin fee, from wherever you bought the ticket. Travelled later and arrived 15+ minutes behind your original plan? That’s a Delay Repay claim.
Missed connection caused the delay? It’s the arrival time at your final destination that counts — claim from the operator that caused the delay.

No excuses clause Flights can dodge compensation with “extraordinary circumstances”. Delay Repay has no such escape hatch — storm, signal failure, staff shortage, it pays the same. If the minutes are there, the money is owed.

Claim in minutes — and pick cash

Photograph your ticket (or note the e-ticket/smartcard booking reference) before it disappears into a barrier.
Find the operator’s Delay Repay form — search “[operator] Delay Repay” or start from National Rail’s compensation page. The form takes a few minutes: journey, delay, ticket evidence.
Choose bank transfer where offered — you don’t have to accept rail vouchers.
Within 28 days of the journey — set the reminder the same day.

Automatic Delay Repay: several operators pay automatically on Advance tickets bought direct from them — worth buying direct for exactly this reason.
Bought through an app or third party? You still claim from the train operator, using the booking reference.

Refused or ignored? Appeal through the operator first, then the Rail Ombudsman — free, independent, binding on the company. Keep the claim reference and ticket evidence. Automated first-pass rejections get overturned with persistence. And anyone offering to claim “on your behalf” for a cut is selling you a five-minute form — check anything unsolicited.

Do this now

Delayed in the last 28 days? Dig out the ticket or booking email and put the claim in tonight — five minutes, real money.

Commute by rail? Make it a habit: every 15-minute delay is a claim. Track them as cases in My Sorted so the 28-day windows never slip.

Delay Repay — common questions

How much do I get back?

25% of the single fare at 15–29 minutes late, 50% at 30–59, 100% at 60–119, and 100% of the whole return at 2 hours+. Season tickets pay pro-rata per delayed journey.

Does weather count?

Yes — Delay Repay pays whatever the cause. No extraordinary-circumstances excuse exists; only the minutes at your destination matter.

How and when do I claim?

From the delaying operator within 28 days: their online Delay Repay form + ticket or booking reference. Pick bank transfer over vouchers. Some operators pay automatically on Advance tickets bought direct.

Train cancelled entirely?

Did not travel = full refund, no admin fee, from wherever you bought it. Travelled later and arrived 15+ minutes behind plan = a Delay Repay claim.

Claim refused?

Appeal with the operator, then the Rail Ombudsman — free, independent, binding. Keep your evidence; first-pass rejections regularly fall over on appeal.

Sources Bands, the 28-day window and refund rights · National Rail — compensation and refunds (verified this session) + National Rail Conditions of Travel + individual operator Delay Repay schemes (GWR, SWR, Southern et al., cross-checked). Escalation · Rail Ombudsman. SortedUK is not a rail operator and this is general information. Last reviewed: 11 June 2026.

Train 15 minutes late? That’s money back — whatever the cause.

The bands — measured at your destination

Claim in minutes — and pick cash

Delay Repay — common questions

One scan. Every UK money route you may be owed.