Avanti West Coast Smartcard terms & conditions
These Terms and Conditions (“T&Cs”) apply in respect of your use of your Avanti West Coast Smartcard. Please read these T&Cs carefully before you start to use your Avanti West Coast Smartcard. By using your Avanti West Coast Smartcard, you confirm that you accept these T&Cs and that you agree to comply with them.
These T&Cs should be read in conjunction with the following additional terms, which also apply to your use of your Avanti West Coast Smartcard and which are incorporated into our contract with you:
Avanti West Coast’s Privacy Policy;
Train Ticket Sale Terms and Conditions;
and
National Rail Conditions of Travel
In these Terms and Conditions, reference to “Avanti West Coast”, “we” and “us” shall mean Avanti West Coast Limited (trading as Avanti West Coast), and reference to “you” shall mean you, the Avanti West Coast Smartcard registered account holder. A “Linked Cardholder” refers to a user whose Avanti West Coast Smartcard is linked to your online account with Avanti West Coast.
Your Avanti West Coast online account
In order to get a Avanti West Coast Smartcard, you can either register for a Avanti West Coast Smartcard account at smart. Avanti West Coast-online.co.uk . You will be able to use your Avanti West Coast Smartcard account to update the contact details that we hold for you and, where applicable, view details of any journeys made by you using your Avanti West Coast Smartcard (including the location, date and time the Avanti West Coast Smartcard was used);
As part of our security procedures, you will be asked to choose a username and password (“Login Details”) for your Avanti West Coast online account. You are responsible for keeping your Login Details confidential and you must not disclose them to any third party. You agree to take all reasonable precautions to prevent unauthorised or fraudulent use of your Login Details, online account and/or Avanti West Coast Smartcard. If you know or suspect that anyone other than you knows your Login Details, you must promptly notify us by calling 0345 744 4422 and/or emailing contact@Avanti West Coastrail.co.uk.
We have the right to disable, suspend or terminate your Avanti West Coast online account (and/or any Avanti West Coast Smartcards used in connection with your account) at any time, if in our reasonable opinion you or any Linked Cardholder has failed to comply with any of the provisions of these T&Cs.
We do not guarantee that your Avanti West Coast online account or the Site, or any content on it, will always be available or be uninterrupted. We may suspend, withdraw, discontinue or change all or any part of your Avanti West Coast online account and/or the Site without notice. We will not be liable to you if for any reason your online account and/or the Site is/are unavailable at any time or for any period.
Using your Avanti West Coast Smartcard
Before you start your journey, you must purchase a valid rail ticket (“Ticket”) either from selected Avanti West Coast self-service ticket machines or a ticket office window, in which case the Ticket will be loaded directly onto your Avanti West Coast Smartcard, or via the Site, in which case the Ticket will be available for collection from the gateline or at an smartcard enabled Avanti West Coast self-service ticket machines at your selected station. The Ticket will be activated when you “tap-in” with your Avanti West Coast Smartcard at the applicable gateline barrier at your selected station at the start of your journey.
At the start and end of every journey, you must place your Avanti West Coast Smartcard on or near the Avanti West Coast Smartcard reader (located on the gateline barrier – if available) in order to “tap-in” and “tap-out”. The reader will confirm that the Avanti West Coast Smartcard has been properly read by making an audible “bleep” and showing a green light.
In order to be valid for travel, your Avanti West Coast Smartcard must have a valid Ticket for the journey you intend to make loaded and activated before you start your journey. If you do not purchase a Ticket for your entire journey you may be liable to pay a penalty fare or be subject to prosecution.
Should your Avanti West Coast Smartcard not have a photograph of you on it, in order to be valid for travel with a season ticket loaded, it must also be accompanied by photo id, a payment card or another form of id matching the name on the front of the smartcard.
Avanti West Coast staff may inspect your Avanti West Coast Smartcard and (where applicable) your Valid name matching ID at any time and you must show it to them upon request.
All Tickets purchased via your Avanti West Coast Smartcard are covered by and subject to the National Rail Conditions of Travel, which are available to read on the Site.
Your Avanti West Coast Smartcard is for the use of the person named on the card only and is not transferable.
We reserve the right to suspend or terminate operation of Avanti West Coast Smartcards at any time and for any reason and we will use reasonable endeavours to provide prior notification to you of such events.
Linked Cards
For your convenience, it is possible to link multiple Avanti West Coast Smartcards to a single online account (“Linked Cards”), and having done so you will be able to use your online account to purchase tickets for such Linked Cards
It is your responsibility to ensure you have the cardholder’s permission before you link their card to your account, and to ensure they understand and accept all these terms and conditions. Cardholders must consent to you, as the account holder, having access to the cardholder’s travel history and being able to view any journeys made.
An Avanti West Coast Smartcard can only be linked to a single online account at any moment in time.
If you lose your Avanti West Coast Smartcard or if it is stolen
The loss, theft or failure of any Avanti West Coast Smartcard must be reported to us as soon as possible by calling 0345 528 0253 or in person at any Avanti West Coast ticket office. The Avanti West Coast Smartcard will then be cancelled to prevent others from using it; which will take 48 hours to come into effect. As a basic security check we will ask you to confirm your identity and other details before we cancel your Avanti West Coast Smartcard and order a new one to be issued.
We shall have no liability whatsoever for any unauthorised use of a lost or stolen Avanti West Coast Smartcard which occurs in the period up until the card is reported to us as lost or stolen by the registered account holder, at which point the lost or stolen Avanti West Coast Smartcard will be cancelled.
Avanti West Coast will not be liable for any travel costs incurred by you or any Linked Cardholder in the period between your reporting of a lost or stolen Avanti West Coast Smartcard to us and the receipt of your replacement or temporary Avanti West Coast Smartcard.
Replacing your Avanti West Coast Smartcard
A replacement for a lost or stolen Avanti West Coast Smartcard, registered to an online account, will be ordered on request by you to Avanti West Coast Customer Services by phoning 0345 528 0253. As a basic security check we will ask you to confirm your identity and other details before we can order your replacement Avanti West Coast Smartcard.
We reserve the right to charge an administration fee of £10 (subject to change) if we are required to issue a replacement Avanti West Coast Smartcard for you which hold a season ticket, valid for a month or longer unless a crime reference number can be provided.
The replacement Avanti West Coast Smartcard will have the same validity once registered as the Avanti West Coast Smartcard it has replaced, and we will credit it with monthly and longer term products that were stored on the lost or stolen Avanti West Coast Smartcard at the time of effective cancellation.
Once cancelled, an Avanti West Coast Smartcard cannot be “re-activated”.
Where your Avanti West Coast Smartcard is faulty you will need to return it to us. We will cancel the faulty Avanti West Coast Smartcard and order a replacement card free of charge, which we will credit with any products that were stored on the faulty Avanti West Coast Smartcard at the time of effective cancellation. Where we reasonably believe that the faulty Avanti West Coast Smartcard has been deliberately damaged or misused, we reserve the right to charge an administration fee of £10 (subject to change) for its replacement. If we believe your card has been tampered with in any way, we may withdraw it without refunding the remaining value on the Avanti West Coast Smartcard.
Avanti West Coast reserves the right to retain any Avanti West Coast Smartcard which we believe has been tampered with, is being misused or which has become electronically unreadable.
Your Avanti West Coast Smartcard shall at all times remain the property of Avanti West Coast and we reserve the right to withdraw your Avanti West Coast Smartcard at any time.
Ticket refunds
We have a standard refund and replacement policy for our tickets which is covered by the National Conditions of Travel, which is available to view on the Site.
Refunds are not to be confused with the transfer of outstanding tickets from a lost, stolen, or damaged Avanti West Coast Smartcard as covered above.
Compensation for delays
With effect from 25 February 2016, Avanti West Coast Smartcard account holders will be automatically compensated when their train is delayed in certain circumstances. Please see the Automatic Delay Repay Scheme Terms and Conditions below for further details.
Your information and security of your payments
Avanti West Coast takes your privacy very seriously. We will process any personal information that you provide to us, or which we collect in connection with your use of your Avanti West Coast Smartcard and/or Avanti West Coast online account, in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
In respect of each registered Avanti West Coast Smartcard, the data we hold includes: the account holder’s title (Mr/Mrs/Ms/Miss etc), first name, and surname, home address, telephone number, email address, date of birth and where applicable a current photograph that is used on the Avanti West Coast Smartcard.
Each time you or a Linked Cardholder use your/their Avanti West Coast Smartcard we will record the location, date and time the Avanti West Coast Smartcard was used. We use this information to determine which train you or the Linked Cardholder travelled on and to calculate whether you are entitled to compensation for any delays under the ADR Scheme. We may also use this information for our own research and development purposes. We will never pass on the specific details of any journeys made by you or a Linked Cardholder using a Avanti West Coast Smartcard to any third party unless we are required to by law.
We may use the email address or other contact details which you provide to us in order to contact you in relation to the administration of your Avanti West Coast Smartcard account and/or to update you in relation to any information which is relevant to your use of your Avanti West Coast Smartcard, for example timetable changes and fare changes.
If you have ticked the relevant box on an application form, you agree that we may also contact you to provide information about any special offers and/or our other related products and services. If you have ticked the relevant box on an application form to indicate that you are willing to receive such marketing information from us by email, you will be sent emails to your specified email address.
We have taken steps to ensure the security of your payment transactions including the adoption of the payment industry standard PCI DSS. Avanti West Coast does not hold any information about your financial transaction other than details of the type of Tickets you purchase and when and where the purchase was made.
General
We reserve the right to modify these T&Cs at any time. Any changes we may make to these T&Cs in the future will be posted on this page and, where appropriate, notified to you by e-mail. Please check back frequently to see any updates or changes to these T&Cs.
We shall not be liable to you or any third party in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty or otherwise, in respect of any of the following losses or damage (whether such losses or damages were foreseen, foreseeable, known or otherwise):
losses that were not foreseeable to both parties when the contract was formed;
losses that were not caused by any breach on the part of Avanti West Coast;
loss of business profits, salary, business revenue, goodwill, or anticipated savings;
loss which could have been avoided by you through reasonable conduct;
obvious errors and omissions in administering the Avanti West Coast Smartcard scheme;
losses arising from your use of, or inability to use, your online account and/or the Site; or
losses arising from your failure to keep your Login Details confidential and/or secure.
In addition, we do not accept any liability whatsoever for any online accounts which have been corrupted due to any actions or omissions of the Avanti West Coast Smartcard account holder or any Linked Cardholder.
Subject to the above clause, Avanti West Coast’s total liability to you in respect of all losses arising in connection with your Avanti West Coast Smartcard, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, shall in no circumstances exceed the value of the Tickets purchased on the relevant Avanti West Coast Smartcard in the twelve month period preceding the relevant event or series of events giving rise to the claim.
Nothing in these T&Cs shall exclude or limit in any way Avanti West Coast’s liability for:
death or personal injury caused by Avanti West Coast’s negligence.
fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or
any other matter in respect of which we are not permitted to limit or exclude liability as a matter of law.
These T&Cs shall be governed by English law and the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim that arises out of or in connection with these T&Cs.
This contract is between us and you. No other person (including any Linked Cardholder) shall have any rights to enforce any of the terms set out here, whether under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 or otherwise.
Automatic Delay Repay Scheme Terms and Conditions
These Terms and Conditions need to be read in conjunction with the Avanti West Coast Smartcard Terms and Conditions.
Avanti West Coast’s Automatic Delay Repay scheme (“ADR Scheme”) is designed to provide automatic compensation in respect of delays you incur when travelling on Avanti West Coast services using your registered Avanti West Coast Smartcard. We will not provide automatic compensation under the ADR Scheme in the event that you suffer further delays on any onward journeys with other operators as a consequence of a delay on a Avanti West Coast service, in respect of which you will need to submit a manual claim (via the applicable paper or online forms).
The amount of compensation that you receive under the ADR Scheme will depend on the type and cost of Ticket you have purchased, as set out below:
2 to 14 minutes delay – 3 pence per full minute delay starting from 2 minutes, so for a 2 minute delay you will receive 3 pence, for a 3 minute delay you receive 6 pence, etc. This tier is only available through the ADR Scheme and not via manual claims.
15 to 29 minutes delay – 25% of the cost of your single journey, pro rata to the type of Ticket held.
30 to 59 minutes delay – 50% of the cost of your single journey, pro rata to the type of Ticket held.
60 to 119 minutes delay – 100% of the cost of your single journey, pro rata to the type of Ticket held.
120 minutes delay or longer – 100% of the cost of your return journey, pro rata to the type of Ticket held. This only applies to return tickets, including season tickets. It does not apply to single tickets as they will already receive 100% of the ticket cost after a 60 minute delay.
eVouchers for the applicable amount of compensation (calculated as set out above) will automatically be applied to your Avanti West Coast online account every month without you having to make a claim. Please see details below on when payments are to be made. eVouchers can be redeemed by you against future ticket purchases through the Site.
Entitlement
You shall only be entitled to compensation under the ADR Scheme in respect of tickets which are purchased and loaded onto your Avanti West Coast Smartcard, which is linked to your Avanti West Coast online account, and where you have used your Avanti West Coast Smartcard to “tap-in” and “tap-out” at the start and end of your journey (even if you used a manual gate).
If, after travelling on a Avanti West Coast service, you travel on another operator’s service before tapping out, we will be unable to determine exactly the delay incurred by you during your journey on the Avanti West Coast service. We will therefore determine your delay based on the arrival of the relevant Avanti West Coast service at its terminal location (usually Fenchurch Street for services towards London).
For a through ticket, the existing manual Delay Repay claim process provides compensation based on the delay at the end of your journey but we cannot automatically provide it if the threshold is reached beyond our route. Manual claims must be submitted in such circumstances.
Scheme Operation
We will use our records of the times and locations where you have used your Avanti West Coast Smartcard to “tap-in” and “tap-out” on a Avanti West Coast Smartcard reader in order to determine the train we believe you travelled on, which we will define as your “allocated train” and use as the basis for determining whether you have been delayed. Using the Avanti West Coast Live App you will be able to select an “alternative train” to the one that we have allocated as long as the new train departed from your departure station and arrived at your destination within the tap-in and tap-out times recorded on your Avanti West Coast Smartcard.
If you changed trains during your journey and remained within the Avanti West Coast network, we will calculate your delay based on the timeliness of the last Avanti West Coast train that you were on. If you were delayed on the first of your two trains then you will need to make a manual claim.
Except where these terms expressly state otherwise, you will not need to make a manual claim provided we have the full records of the times and locations where you used your registered Avanti West Coast Smartcard to tap-in and tap-out; we will determine the delay to the Avanti West Coast service you travelled on and compensate you automatically. You will be able to see your delay repay entitlement on the Avanti West Coast Live App within 72 hours of your journey. The compensation will be credited to your Avanti West Coast online account on or around the 16th day of the month following the applicable delay. Compensation is automatically available as eVouchers but a request can subsequently be made for cash as per the National Rail Conditions of Carriage. The minimum value for conversion from eVoucher to cash is set at £5.00. eVouchers are valid for 13 months from the date of issue. Avanti West Coast reserve the right to cancel eVouchers after they have been issued.
If Avanti West Coast does not have full records of the times and locations where you used your registered Avanti West Coast Smartcard to tap-in and tap-out (displayed in the Avanti West Coast Live App), or is otherwise unable to determine the service you travelled on due to a failure of any data system, you will need to make a manual claim for compensation where applicable.
Certain aspects of the ADR Scheme are only available through the Avanti West Coast Live App, such as viewing the delay repay compensation amounts, your allocated train and the option to select an “alternative” train.
The ADR Scheme uses an algorithm that determines the “allocated train” based on tap data registered when you use your registered Avanti West Coast Smartcard. If you feel that a delay has not been correctly identified (as the “allocated train” or one of the “alternative trains”) for delays of over 15 minutes you must make a manual claim. Periodically we will review the algorithm to improve the train allocation based on customer feedback.
Despite Avanti West Coast’s efforts to monitor and improve this service on an ongoing basis, it is possible that the algorithm may make an error in its calculations. Should this occur we reserve the right to correct compensation values subsequently.
Although Avanti West Coast make every effort to ensure gateline readers are fully operational, where you encounter a non-operational reader you will be entitled to make a manual claim, but only in respect of delays in excess of 15 minutes.
Cancelled Trains
If your train is cancelled part way through your journey, delay minutes will be calculated as the difference between the scheduled arrival of your original train versus the actual time the train arrived at your destination on the Avanti West Coast route. Furthermore, if your train is cancelled at or before your departure station, additional delay minutes will be added based on the scheduled arrival of that cancelled train.
Journey Cost
To calculate your compensation for delays in excess of 15 minutes we will determine the cost of your journey based on the Ticket you hold as below:
For a single ticket the cost of a journey is the same as the cost of the ticket.
For a return ticket the cost of a journey is half the total ticket cost.
For season tickets, the journey cost is determined by dividing the ticket price by the average number of uses for the validity of ticket. Weekly = 10 uses, Monthly = 40 uses, Annual = 464 uses, other durations based on 10 uses per week over the length of the validity of the season ticket.
Specific Exclusions from the ADR Scheme:
Journeys made using any of the following: non-registered Avanti West Coast Smartcard; Oyster Card; paper Ticket; non-Avanti West Coast Smartcards; contactless payment cards or devices
Journeys completely outside of the Avanti West Coast network;
Instances where buses, or other alternate modes of travel (including, without limitation, taxis), are provided to replace rail services;
Passengers who receive free concessionary travel; and
Incomplete journeys – where we do not have a record of either your tap-in or tap-out time and/or location.
The ADR Scheme applies only to the Avanti West Coast part of your journey as opposed to Standard Delay Repay which applies to your whole journey.
Please note that in some of the instances above a manual claim may be made instead.
Amended Timetables
At times we may need to change our timetables, for example, due to planned engineering work or extreme weather conditions. We will work out delays on these days based on the amended timetable for that day provided the service meets the requirements of the ADR Scheme.
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