TrainPal: UK& EU Train Tickets Negative Reviews

TrainPal: UK& EU train tickets App Complaints & User Negative Comments 2024

TrainPal: UK& EU train tickets app received 38 complaints, negative comments and reviews by users. Have you ever had a bad experience using TrainPal: UK& EU train tickets? Can you share your negative thoughts about trainpal: uk& eu train tickets?

TrainPal: UK& EU train tickets for Negative User Reviews

✓ Starting to let me downI was loving this app for finding the cheapest tickets as well as split tickets but recently it has been massively upping the price after I’ve been previously searching for a specific journey (ie a £25 ticket went up to £91). After playing around and going back and forth between earlier and later trains I was eventually able to find the original cheaper price but just goes to show how they try to hike up a cost after following your cookies. Have also been experiencing a lot of glitches recently where it can’t retrieve searches..H-beanyVersion: 1.7.0

✓ Extortionate refund admin feesUpdate: keeps sending me emails when I’ve unsubscribed multiple times Not only has the app never saved me money versus the Trainline prices, when I needed to refund it charged me £10! Almost 30% the cost of the ticket. I think I have £2 off my next ticket but doubtful I’ll use it in case I need to cancel and get hit with another fat admin fee. It would be free in the Trainline app, as it should be. The tickets were not printed and it was over 48 hours before date of travel. I cancelled to avoid the risk of possibly giving the older relative I was visiting coronavirus but yeah, charge me £10 out of greed. Bloody ridiculous. I thought I’d give this app a go and got stung for it, I recommend avoiding as it offers no benefit..MrMailliwVersion: 2.2.0

✓ Seat allocation issueI am a first time user of Trainpal. Will not use it again because of their failure to seat me with the person I am travelling with. Used them to buy 2 return tickets London-Glasgow. The seats the booking system allocated me were not contiguous (43 and 46 Coach A) but I thought that this was because we were around a table. That is not the case. We have 2 aisle seats divided by the central corridor but one in the row behind the other - close but not close enough to have a conversation without annoying the hell out of our fellow travellers during the 5h30mn trip. So here you have it: it is cheap but you may not sit with the people you are travelling with. And Trainpal does not give you the option to change seats later on. It expects you to negotiate changing seats with other travelers - not something I am comfortable doing, hence the low star rating. But if that’s OK with you then you may want to try it. Beware, though, of Trainpal’s limited customer service facilities. There no phone support - just an online email form and a chat service via the app. The form provides hardly any space to detail your issue, but Trainpal did reply to it within an hour..LondonfrogsterVersion: 3.11.0

✓ Avoid Trainpal Checkout TrustPilot ReviewsLots of fake reviews on here. Check out Trustpilot reviews. Trainpal are a company operating from China. There is no inbound telephone line. That said, I did ask for a call by email and got a call from Yuki, who discriminated against me by means of disability by making offensive comments by email and failing to provide a reasonable adjustment to the way they worked so that I could use them in the future. During this call, it became very clear that her English was not of an acceptable standard, and she refused to pass me onto anyone in charge. She didn’t grasp anything of what I was complaining about. The lack of understanding was clear in the email correspondence too. My conclusion is that this company is not worth my energy and to move on to a reputable train ticket supplier. (For information, the second train journey I took wasn’t even listed on Trainpal’s site.) Avoid this business..Jill05FVersion: 2.1.0

✓ No cancellation!! SCAMM!This app is the worst ever, firstly unlike other providers train pal doesn't allow customers to cancel the tickets even if the mistake has happened and you want to refund the ticket immediately after purchase. Usually as a customer you should be entitled to a 15min cancellation window after the purchase of the ticket. Instead when using the Train Pal you have to buy a new ticket and hope the customer service will get back to you.. ( if you are lucky you will receive a small refund (less than 30% of ticket value) because they take they keep the rest of the money to charge the admin fee. Not to mention there's no telephone number so I don't see any reason for charging the admin fee when there's no support and the app is intentionally designed to mislead the user so that they can submit the complain. Additionally, the app didn't sync with the webiste so as the first time user my data was completely lost. And I had to make the complain. When prompted to the help window the FAQs instructions weren't helpful. Clearly app has issues and bugs, there is no support, users get charged the admin fee for 0 service and we've lost all our consumer rights and self respect when purchasing tickets from Train Pal..Train Pal UserVersion: 3.24.0

✓ Don’t bother getting the appI got a ticket and I have been trying to change date of the ticket ( my ticket is exchangeable but non refundable). I went to the app to try and change it, I got error messages I emailed customer service they simply told me to do it through the app which isn’t working. When I pointed that out they said to buy a new ticket and get the other one refunded (non refundable ticket) and from reading terms and conditions I know they will take £10 admin fee so now I am at a loss. They have refused to give me a phone number to get through to the correct department to try and get this resolved. My trip is now in 5 day.Tae_teeVersion: 1.21.1

✓ Absolutely awful.Not one to leave reviews, especially negative ones! Whilst purchasing tickets I received a network error on the App, yet they still charged me anyway without me knowing. I ended up purchasing tickets at the station, and despite sending proof of this and phoning their (awful) customer service line various times - no one seems to believe me and they seem insisted in charging me the £10 fee for refunds. Ridiculous. Awful customer service, unfriendly and patronising, one even shouting at me down the phone. Could’ve easily done a refund in a couple of minutes and kept me as a customer (like The TrainLine would’ve done). Bye 👋🏻.MrlouchapmanVersion: 1.3.1

✓ Great prices but timetable not correctCan’t fault the pricing and the app is easy enough to navigate. A big flaw however, is that the times given on the journey tracker are not always correct. For example, it showed my next train (I was making 2 changes) to be at 8:45 but when I arrived at the station with plenty of time i was informed the first train wasn’t until 9:21. This should be reflected in the journey tracker. It was even more odd to see the little blue train icon make its way down the list of stations like it was pretending to be a live tracker. As I had a third train to catch and was supposed to be meeting someone at 10am this was quite stressful. I will use the app again but will be verifying it against official timetables, which I shouldn’t need to do..Lozzy>>--Version: 1.21.1

✓ It’s good but there are some issuesI like the app overall I’ve been using it for a year now but for some reason when I try to buy an open return ticket it only seems to give me same day returns I’ve had instances where I thought I had an open return ticket and only after I’ve gotten on the train have I then realised it’s a same day return which delays my trip as I have to go to the ticket window to pay the difference in order to get an open return ticket and some times it only seems to give split ticket options which is impossible to get rid off..Blacklord3451Version: 3.19.0

✓ Terrible, better not use itIt’s definitely cheaper than usual. But the payment system and customer service is disaster.....KskskskskkshufnVersion: 1.3.1

✓ Terrible & misleading customer serviceIf you’re lucky enough to get someone who can comprehend and speak decent English then you might stand a chance of getting somewhere with their awful customer care team. I was told my ticket was refundable if I bought a new one for the same journey, which I did even at £33 more than the original ticket. But I wasn’t told it needed to be exactly the same type of ticket eg Advanced Single. When I originally phoned to claim my refund I was told someone would contact me because they weren’t authorised to issue refunds. 3 weeks later when I phoned again I was told I now can’t get a refund. So I’m out of pocket by £28 because someone doesn’t know their job. So I’ll be taking this further as Ive been badly misled. Stick to the Trainline. They know what they’re doing..Squizz43Version: 1.3.0

✓ Nice appI like this app I find it a bit confusing how to use the vouchers. This is the best of the train apps but like anything to do with trains can be a little confusing. 5/9/21 Why can’t you have e-ticket with split ticketing and why is there a booking fee with split ticketing. You have said the live train tracking is more accurate. If it is I can’t find it to even try it. Live tracking to me hits you in the face so you can look at trains arriving and departing without more than 2 button presses. This is something lacking in all train apps except by train. Unfortunately their closing down the chap who writes it is moving to the USA..JaguarstrVersion: 3.17.0

✓ Scam! PLEASE AVOOOOID 🙅🏻‍♂️This app is an absolute crap. 1) This app has been showing options of buying ticket for trains which have already been cancelled. I went on with booking one thinking trainline is wrong, but ended up disappointed on the day. So we need to check with trainline always and this app isn’t reliable. 2) I was booking a ticket for 9:59am. After selecting the time, the app showed me two options (2h59m and 2h50m). I thought it’s the transit options that are gonna be changed and went on with the booking in a rush, but the app changed the time of the train to 10:58am on itself. I booked another ticket for my desired time and informed the staff before boarding, but they are refusing to give me a refund. I have never had any issues with Trainline in the past 2-3 years of usage. Customer service is unhelpful and they are hesitant to refund even if we show them clear proof of not using the ticket. The app interface is gimmicky and crappy, and they are cheating with vouchers which are literally useless. Will never refer this app to anybody!.Prashanth.pandianVersion: 2.12.0

✓ Do not recommendThis used to be a fairly decent app but customer service has gone massively downhill in recent months. Several of my recent train bookings have been cancelled and trying to get a refund has been impossible. Even tho Trainpal alerts me to the cancellation, provides a link to request a refund, and states the refund is in process with expected dates of a few days, weeks will go by with nothing happening. Then trying to message customer service to inquire about the refund results in a multiple back and forth with each reply taking a day to get back to me, asking for proof when it shows in the app itself. Literally asking me to send screenshots from its own platform! If a train is cancelled it should be an easy process to make the refund! The evidence is in your own app!.Xiola JaneVersion: 3.4.0

✓ Scummy serviceI book a ticket, gives me no confirmation and even says on the site that I have no tickets so I use another app. Night before my trip, I get my tickets…try to get it refunds, no refund. Try to get it exchanged, no exchange. Try to get customer service, bot. Screw this company. Avoid..PowerofPositivityVersion: 3.20.0

✓ The wrong times are shownI booked a ticket for a journey that was supposed to take 2 hours. Once I was on the train, the conductor informed us that it was a 3 hour journey and that the change in timetable was planned and had been in place for a month. My ticket said the old time of arrival and I hadn’t received any emails to say that this time had changed. I contacted Train Pal and they said that it was my responsibility to check for any changes to tickets I had booked. When you fly, if there is a change to your timetable, you are informed by the airline. Why is this not the case with trains? And why was I not told I should be checking for changes to my journey times? I think this is pretty rubbish service to be honest..KizziewhizzVersion: 1.2.1

✓ UnhelpfulI had purchased a child return ticket for my cousin and was very certain of the ticket I had picked; but once I had paid and collected my tickets it had shown an adult ticket with railcard (which is what I use). However I know for a fact that I had not selected this and had pressed proceed when it had advised for a chairs not to travel alone. I have emailed them over and over and they were telling me it was my fault and that I had selected this option when I had not! They are not even helpful and because I didn’t pay for it I can’t even contact the bank for a refund. Now I have to buy a new child single or my cousin will get fined for something that we did not do. They are ridiculous and useless, and rude staff too. It isn’t worth it, I wish I had just used trainline instead, even though it is pricey, i’ve never had these issues before..Almm.Version: 3.19.0

✓ Not worth the hypeNot sure why Trainpal pride themselves on no booking fees because there are indeed booking fees. There weren’t in August but now that they’ve implemented them they should stop incorrect advertising. When you search for a journey it takes ages to load all the available options and when you pay for your ticket it takes even longer to go through. Since the 30p booking fee is the same as Trainline, you may as well book through the Trainline app which is a lot faster and smoother..Kat/Version: 1.6.0

✓ Avoid like the plagueIn general, there a small savings to be found using TrainPal vs it’s competitors. Sometimes lower booking frees; a cashback scheme which works out at fractions of a percent; vouchers you can buy for more expensive tickets which save £1 or so. But… the app is buggy, it aggressively harvests your data (and on every single purchase, tries to nudge you to share the app with your friends), and their customer service is truly dire. Tried and failed to get a refund on a pair of Advance tickets when the train operator was striking all day, cancelling the vast majority of services (including the ones I was booked on), and they wouldn’t issue a refund. It’s the RyanAir of trains: yes, you can save a few pennies, but it’s such an unpleasant experience that it’s probably not worth it. At least that my take on it!.ThepowerofnoneVersion: 3.4.0

✓ Awful - don’t use TrainPal !!!!I wasn’t sent my booking confirmation and my tickets via email. I I hadn’t screenshot them I wouldn’t have been able to travel. Money was taken from my bank and I was emailing these jokers for 5 days before they got their act together and sent me my tickets - during my train ride! They haven’t got a co-ordinated complaint inbox so even when you respond to a reply from them your new email will go to a different adviser and you have to start from scratch. I’ll never use them again and I suggest nobody else makes that mistake the first time - horrible customer experience not worth the difference in price.CaramelGrumpyVersion: 3.33.0

✓ IF I COULF GIVE 0* I WOULDI booked a ticket using this app, it was a return. My plans changed and I wanted to either adjust my ticket to travel another way or get a refund, which under normal circumstances outside of this app I WOULD BE EASILY ABLE TO DO. I requested help as there WAS NOWHERE in the app to change my ticket myself but they didn’t reply until after I’d already travelled. As the tickets were unused, I attempted to refund them as why should I pay for something I haven’t had??? The app stated the tickets are refundable, the train provider shows the tickets are refundable but TrainPal REFUSE as they want to ROB you! After now a month of going back and for they agreed to give me a £10 voucher but now it’s apparently the most difficult thing to send DESPITE having an account with them where they have all my info. AFTER THIS I WILL NEVER USE THIS APP AGAIN - UK TRADING STANDARDS SHOULD LOOK INTO THEM AND IM SENDING THIS OVER.PrincessDiabloVersion: 2.1.0

✓ DodgyI used to love this app but something has happened to it now and it’s become like Temu of train tickets. With countless vouchers, spinning wheels and pop is that mean nothing. Bought loads of pop train tickets from here before no problem. Just bought a railcard and it then said it would only be activated if I then bought train tickets within 30 days via their app which seems a bit ‘scammy’ to me and now I’m hoping the railcard itself will be seen as legit when using the train. Probably best to buy a railcard from the actual railcard website from now on..AlCalvVersion: 3.36.0

✓ Was loving this app until todayUsed several times before, but today came across an issue. Booking for 2 passengers I found my trip and went to pay. Realised I had made error & only selected 1 passenger. Edited to 2 and the price had increased by approx £25 per passenger. Rechecked for just 1 and original fare was still showing. So was forced to book 2 separate trips for each individual passenger. This was ok until went to pay, when the 2nd booking was declined time after time. 1 hr later was able to book, but the price had significantly increased! Will not be using again as no trust in a platform that has scam pricing!.Hedge betVersion: 1.3.0

✓ Stick to TrainlineAlthough I’m not the biggest fan of Trainline, it’s certainly a lot easier to use than TrainPal. 1) refunding tickets - both Trainline and TrainPal charge a £10 for refunding tickets. However, TrainPal makes you “exchange” tickets by booking another ticket for the same journey at a different date/time. Quite annoying because you can’t always plan every second of your life and these tickets are only advance singles. 2) I don’t think I’ve see any tickets which aren’t advance singles. 3) I had to print my tickets, even though it says they have e-tickets. 4) the app doesn’t show all live updates like Trainline does. I had to still use the Trainline app to find out which platform I needed to go to. Even though you can save a few £’s, I don’t think it’s worth the hassle. I’d rather know I can easily refund my ticket (no faffing about with exchanging), have my ticket on my phone and be able to see live updates on the app..Amna.AzizVersion: 1.23.0

✓ 47 countries ? where?All i see is england . and why is there no english C-trip for china? subtract that one star. Deleted..BaikaiwenVersion: 1.25.1

✓ Stick to selling train ticketsUsed to be really good when it first came out but now suffers hugely from feature bloat. Constant adverts when trying to simply access tickets on the app for wheel spins for voucher codes or seasonal promotions, often asking to share with friends to get extra spins. Gets in the way when simply trying to find out what seat you’ve reserved. Now they’re trying to push flights in it too (as owned by c-trip) Customer service is strange as based in China. Business hours are in Hong Kong time for the phone line so usually have to use email or the contact features through the app. I’ve had a few refunds before fair enough but it’d be nice to have a UK number to ring. Paller cashback is rubbish, pennies literally. Website aggressively pushes you to app with dark patterns. Switching over to TrainSplit for most purchases now, just as cheap if not cheaper with UK based support..Ben BristowVersion: 3.3.0

✓ AvoidMy wife used this App to purchase a ticket. The train was subsequently cancelled when she arrived as the station due to strike action and with the next train at least hour away chose to drive instead. The company claimed the train had run despite very clearly documented strike action. They asked for the tickets to be sent via Royal Mail refused to acknowledge receipt and would not accept the photo we had taken before dispatching. We have now raised this as a charge back through the card company and continue to await a return of funds. Looks like great value until you need a refund! My advice is avoid and more than happy if someone in customer services would like to contact me about this and to refund my wife to show that they do have a modicom of customer care about them. Happy to replace this review with a more favourable one should that happen! Check online reviews, you will see others have similar problems..PetederbyVersion: 2.3.0

✓ Awaiting tickets on appWhile the web site is good and I got my tickets fast and easy, I never got an email until I chased it, I was then told that the email won’t go through to my email address and could I give them another, which I did and then got my e-ticket. Now with the threat of strike action on the day I am due to travel I looked to the app and can’t find any tickets, have been told it is linked to the account but am going back and forward to get access to be able to change tickets if need to or get refund, still hoping that that people I am speaking to on email with fix the problem..Give irVersion: 2.9.0

✓ Good app, a few things could be betterThe app is great and does what it promises (no cheeky additional fees and usually gives good indication on price. Very occasionally (twice in a year) it hasn’t worked at all (maybe a system was down but once was returning no available services, another showed the service but couldn’t book). The things that could be better are the electronic tickets (it often says they’re not available for my local station, but I can happily get them on other competitors apps), and the split ticket offers are rather hit and miss (it often says splitting isn’t available when it clearly is, again on competitors apps). Al this said, I would use this app all the time if it weren’t for the above necessitating my need to use others on occasion, hopefully this helps the owners to make it even better.. Thanks!.Ian ClaridgeVersion: 1.8.0

✓ Arrogant and misleadingUpdate I purchased a ticket this morning and payment stalled. The status of the ticket was payment pending and no barcode or ticket was reduced. When I contacted customer service they told me after 1 hour it would be cancelled if payment was taken. This was no good as the ticket inspector is not prepared to wait for an hour to see what happens! What a farce and a joke. I strongly feel I was mis-sold vouchers that are essentially useless to me. Nicole in Customer Service could not have been more arrogant and unhelpful in her reply to my complaint. There may we’ll be something hidden away in your terms but if you don’t bring them to my attention before I buy the vouchers it is mis- selling. To refuse to refund me 99p is not only customer service but increasingly naive and short sighted as a business. I doubt the app will be around long with this attitude as there are others apps that offer the same product and most probably have a better attitude to customers.Astonished of BirminghamVersion: 1.8.0

✓ Doesn’t do what it claims to doBought ticket online but due to strike action on the day I’m due to travel, I’m looking to change the ticket or get a refund. Website advises to download the app, import the booking and click on the change/refund booking. Despite loading/deleting/re-loading its not importing over the booking for me to cancel/exchange. Have emailed directly but looking at some of the other reviews it looks like I might have a battle on my hands. Think before using this company and the app isn’t up to much.Mackembird88Version: 2.9.0

✓ No Pal of mineThis app advertises itself as ‘helping travellers to explore Europe by train or bus’ - so I tried ‘exploring’ routes between London and Barcelona. Regardless of what dates or times I selected, I got the response ‘No trains are currently available’. Tried different destinations (Milan, Berlin…) on different dates, with the same outcome Maybe the UK doesn’t count as ‘Europe’ anymore I thought, so how about Paris as the starting point? Well according to their database, Paris DOESN’T EXIST. Yes Paris! Par in Cornwall is listed, Bristol Parkway, I can book a ticket to there no problem - but Paris? Never heard of it. So I tried a few other French cities - Biarritz, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Perpignan….NONE of them are listed. In fact the whole of France seems to be missing. Absolute rubbish..EcinenoVersion: 2.2.0

✓ Terrible customer serviceHad an awful experience with Trainpal - my train was cancelled, I managed to catch another train which got me to my destination an hour late (the entire journey takes less than an hour). They didn’t both responding to my claim for 2 weeks, when I chased it they said they would refund me, they didn’t so I chased again then said they would not refund I managed to travel on a later train, despite booking on the 05:48 so I could get to work (I’m a freelance so I don’t get paid if I don’t turn up). No payment for the delay. This would not happen if I booked with the train company directly- which is what I will do from now on. Trainpal deleted..TttddddkkkVersion: 3.32.0

✓ Major issue with seat reservationsThe app is good for finding and booking train tickets but there is a major problem with the seat reservations functionality. Seats are automatically allocated by the app but there is no way to see the allocations until after you have paid for your tickets. I think this is intentional so that you don’t change your mind if the seats aren’t together. This may not be an issue for most people, but when you are traveling with young children, and no one in your party is sitting next to each other, it is a major concern..BongybingyVersion: 3.16.0

✓ Didn’t work and wouldn’t refundI downloaded the app so I could buy an easy return to Bristol. Way there worked a peach but on the way back I found the second ticket wasn’t appearing on my app. I had checked two hours earlier and it was there - now nowhere to be found. I consequently had to spend 3 times the original amount for a pack minute ticket and almost missed the train. I’ve emailed asking for a refund but they won’t respond. Can’t really afford this unnecessary spending of money so would definitely not recommend and will not be using again. I understand every app will have its blips but the lack of response sealed the deal. Bad customer service!.Br1ttanyW99Version: 1.2.7

✓ Unfortunate change has been made somehow.It used to be a very good discount app from what I knew, but when I came back to use it after a year's absence, all the virtues seemed to have disappeared, which disappointed me. 1. There aren't many discounts compared to the Trainline app. 2. The departure and destination names seem to be incorrect. For example, even when I enter Heathrow airport, the results show buses to St. Pancras, which is confusing and could cause trouble. 3. There are fewer options for round trips. Whatever ticket I choose, usually displayed in the upper right, they show a cheaper option ticket at a different time. However, when I choose a roundtrip, this cheaper choice only allows me to pick the outbound time and a random return time, which is awfully difficult to use. Sometimes the cheaper option is never shown in the first list of choices. 4. Unkind customer service. I once asked a question about how a round ticket functions, which I knew must be written somewhere but couldn't find. They responded quickly, saying 'read here'. I suppose customer service should typically answer the actual question regardless of whether it's written somewhere or not? (At least all the other services I know maintain that minimum level of manners). Maybe the change of price is unavoidable, but you should fix points 2 and 3 as well as point 4 in terms of manners?.WagnudgVersion: 3.36.0

✓ Great until they got sanctimoniousUse the app to buy most tickets. However recent transactions have been frustrating. Just after paying, a pop up screen directs you to share how much co2 you are theoretically offsetting on social media. There is no way to access your tickets or review the purchase at that point without killing the app and relaunching. Not everyone wants to be a sanctimonious twit on social media. Give it a break. Going to other ticket sites in the future..IdclineVersion: 3.15.0

✓ Can't download Railcard codeRailcrad can't be displayed these two days. Pressing the download button will prompt you to try again, but it has always been like this..BoscoChen 77Version: 3.31.0

TrainPal: UK& EU train tickets works most of the time. If it is not working for you, we recommend you excersise some patience and retry later or contact TrainPal: UK& EU train tickets.