COVID-19: Info for fans during season suspension

Elite level football in England and Wales has been suspended until the end of April which will could leave a lot of football fans, who’ve booked travel and accommodation for matches in that period, out of pocket.

Match tickets
Season ticket holders and match day ticket holders will have many questions about where they stand. Many clubs have already said that tickets purchased for suspended games will still be valid for the re-arranged fixtures – so it’s best for fans to hold onto those for now.

At this stage, it’s unclear when the season will resume. The EFL and Premier League are due to meet later this week, which should mean they will provide an update on their plans.

If you have any questions about your match tickets, a best first point of contact is likely to be your club’s Supporter Liaison Officer – you can find yours here.

Transport

Update: on Tuesday 23rd March the Government announced it would be taking on all costs from train operating companies and all advanced rail tickets, and some seasonal rail tickets, are being refunded. You will still need to use the contact information for your train company below to claim your refund for travel booked.

We’ve pulled together information on how the major rail companies are dealing with this period of uncertainty – most are offering refunds and waiving admin fees on re-arranging advance tickets.

LNER:

LNER services are running as normal, but with no matches to go to LNER are currently waiving the £10 admin fee normally charged when rebooking advanced tickets up until 30th April.

Refunds are also being offered on off-peak and anytime tickets – customers looking for a refund should apply through the LNER website here. Alternatively, you can contact their customer service team via [email protected] or by calling 03457 225 333. However due to the large volume of enquiries the lines may be very busy and response times may vary.

Grand Central:

Rebooking advance tickets with Grand Central is also currently free from the usual £10 admin fee. Anyone wishing to do so should contact Grand Central on 0345 603 4852. More information about Grand Central’s refund process can be found on their website.

Avanti West Coast:

Avanti West Coast say they have also temporarily removed the £10 admin fee on altering advance bookings – so supporters can take advantage of that for their pre-booked match travel in March and April. Full refunds on west coast anytime and off-peak tickets are also available.

The Avanti West Coast customer service line is 0344 556 1394 and more information on their refund process, and who is eligible, can be found here.

Cross Country:

Advance bookings with Cross County can be re-arranged like the other national providers free of charge during the current Coronavirus period. Any supporters with a Cross Country season ticket can also apply for partial refunds. Their customer service team can be reached on 0344 736 9123.

Northern Rail:

From today Northern Rail say they will be fully refunding passengers who choose not to travel and waiving admin fees. Likewise, anyone wanting to make a change to their travel date can do so free of charge. Any questions can be directed to the ticket sales team at Northern Rail: 0344 811 5111.

Transpennine Express:

Passengers seeking refunds can apply online on the Transpennine Express website here. They say advanced tickets can be rescheduled free of charge on the basis that an increase in ticket price is covered by the customer (and the change is requested before the original travel date). Their policy on season tickets remains unchanged.

Great Western Railway:
Customers can get 100% of their fare back on off-peak and anytime tickets with no admin fees – while advance tickets can be re-arranged with no admin fee.

East Midlands Railway:
At the time of publication, East Midlands Railway had yet to publish their advice for passengers who were no longer able to travel. Their website will be updated soon, in the meantime customers can ring them on 03457 125 678 but expect lines to be busy.

South Western Railway:
South Western Railway say their refund process is unchanged during the coronavirus period. You can apply for refunds with them here.

Trainline:
Any tickets booked through Trainline as a secondary seller should be refundable or can be re-arranged without the usual admin charge. For more information call the Trainline customer service line on 0333 202 2222. Again lines are expected to be busy.

Coach travel

National Express:

Anyone booked on a National Express coach for a match between March 13th and April 13th can now rebook free of charge regardless of their ticket type by filling in their online form. If you need further advice from National Express, you can ring their helpline on 03717 818 181.

Megabus:

The discount coach firm say their usual ticketing conditions apply and no special exemptions are being made.

Accommodation
If you’ve booked accommodation for a match that is no longer taking place you will need to contact your accommodation directly or where appropriate the booking platform you used such as Booking.com, Trivago, or Hotels.com

AirBnB have introduced a temporary cancellations policy covering March and April, allowing customers to cancel before check-in. Find out more about that here.

Premier Inn announced on Saturday that anyone who has booked a room on their “non-flex” rate between March and April can now re-arrange that free of charge. Similiarly, Holiday Inn are also waiving cancellation fees.

Travelodge however, have not altered their usual refunds/rebooking policy and will not be offering additional support at this time.

Missed anything?

If you have any other questions about something we haven’t covered or you feel we’ve missed something that might impact football fans get in touch and we’ll do our best to answer your queries. You can follow us on Twitter for any additional updates.