Calling it a war between consumers and rail operators when it comes to refunds might sound a bit extreme. However, for those of you who have ever tried to claim back your money from any of the various rail operators across the UK, you will be aware of the obstacles that can be presented to stop you getting what you are owed.

With station barriers that steal your tickets, overly complicated paperwork and just the sheer hassle of trying to put forward your case all factors that stop consumers from accessing an easy route back to their cash, Virgin’s West Coast Mainline service has tried to stand apart from the crowd.

By offering automatic refunds if certain conditions are met (read through these carefully as you can see the exceptions are varied and all designed to make you book with Virgin directly), Virgin’s West Coast Mainline have at least showed there is a way for things to be easier.

If this model is improved so it doesn’t matter who the tickets have been bought through, rail companies make it a uniform policy (e.g. full repayment for any 30 minute delay) and the money is given in cash – no vouchers thanks – then we might well start having a rail system where the consumer is given proper respect.