hTTi

Last night my wife and teen daugther bought cheap ticket, Hamburg -> Amsterdam, due to travel tomorrow.
DB gave us the pdf ticket (yes, the ticket, not only the Auftragbestaetigung).

Amazing enough DB has not, not yet at least, taken payment (they took payment for the return segment, also booked last night)
Now DB wakes up and say they should use an alternative, as one of the legs for the ticket they have already issued (but not charged for) is canceled.

Question:
as the ticket has been issued already, is it still valid on any reasonable alternative, without them having to make another purchase?

I suggest you also ask in the Tripadvisor Train forum: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g ... ravel.html

Oh yes, I had forgotten about TripAdvisor....

My ferry was cancelled (I was through ticketed) and I was allowed on any trains as long as the destination was the same. I think this is true with the exception of some trains where a seat reservation is compulsory (some night trains?).

There's some fussy rules ("HOTNAT") if there are delays and you want to use an ICE ticket on a TGV/Thalys or vice-versa on the next train, you can do it from France or Belgium with a stamp from station staff but from Germany you can only do it at Köln. At Aachen you're stuffed!

Those recommendations work when the train is cancelled but the ticket is not. But, I am not sure why, DB has been cancelling tons of trains in the past months and they cancel your ticket as well. The problem is if you bought Berlin-Munich three months ago and you paid 29 EUR and now your ticket is cancelled and you have to buy a new one for tomorrow and the cheapest is 89 EUR you will be extremely pissed.

Thanks everyone for chipping in...

At the end my wife opted for the least hassle, least stress solution, and ended up buying another ticket (yes of course, higher price: 130 rather than 74). After all the 1st ticket we bought was never charged for (crazy, they should have rather not issued it).

Had it been me, I would have rather travelled with the 1st ticket they gave us, for which we authorized the requested payment (never mind they never made it to take that payment), never mind after the "purchase" DB told us the last of the 3 legs of the trip got cancelled.

If you thought here in Germany things were well organized and running well think again.

Hmm is my new year's trip with the 9 year old from Paris to Leipzig in jeopardy? I think leave early in the day to allow for missed connections...

Alberto, your wife is my kind of gal! No stress. I hope they have a wonderful time.

update:
now DB as charged for our 1st ticket, the one that after was given to us they say it was actually not possible.
So instead of the original 77eur, we paid 130eur + 77eur

I saw this possibility coming (I am a pessimist). They told you told you to take an alternative train, using the ticket you had. You decided to buy another ticket. It can be tricky to prove both tickets were not used. Good luck.

You can ask for a refund for the unused ticket directly on the app. You have to wait sometime for this, not sure if 24h or 48h.

Certainly worth a try. It kind of depends on the terms and conditions, and whether they decide to be sods about it. But really worthwhile writing and explaining, etc. Good luck again!

Going to visit my Mum, by train as usual.
The first two legs should be the following:

Pinneberg 04:09 -> Hamburg 04:45, Regional
Hamburg 4:54 -> Munich 10:45, ICE

I selected the cheapest ticket, so not changeable etc.
Today, 2 days in advance, they inform me the 1st leg got cancelled, and as an alternative for me to catch the same Hamburg -> Munich ICE they offer the following:

Pinneberg 3:22 -> Hamburg Airport 3:52, Bus
Hamburg Airport 3:55 -> Hamburg Langenhorn 4:01, Bus
Hamburg Langenhorn 4:07 -> Hamburg 4:37, Bus
Hamburg 4:54 -> Munich 10:45, ICE

Very unhappy with their offer, journey starting at 3:22am instead of 4:09am.
I want to argue they should let me travel on a different ICE, 2hr later.

Comments?

Flix bus probably better than their offer.

I thought your mom lives in Italy.

Fraufruit wrote: ↑Wed Jan 29, 2025 12:49 pm Flix bus probably better than their offer.

Thanks but no, I like trains, not buses.

Fraufruit wrote: ↑Wed Jan 29, 2025 12:49 pm I thought your mom lives in Italy.

Yes, Riva del Garda.
I posted only the early segments to keep it shorter.

Are you sure you can't take any train? I've had a couple of ICE trains cancelled or rescheduled over the last couple of months and in each case in the App it mentioned you can take any train. I also received an email saying the same thing.

I didn't book the Super Sparpreis ticket but the Sparpreis but this shouldn't make a difference.

I think you are freed up because it's their cock-up.
Maybe the train you prefer is full already, or maybe they only recommend trains which arrive earlier than the originally booked one?

Either way, certainly worth following up.

I spoke with them over the phone, in English.
I could take a different ICE (at no extra cost, I presume).

However, my whole journey would also cross Austria and Italy, and I would need a DB paper explaining the issue to the Austrian and Italian system. This being Germany such paper cannot be emailed but only handed in person at a DB Reisebüro. Visiting the nearest DB Reisebüro would take me half a day off work. No good.

I stick to the original ICE. Just instead of driving 5km to Pinneberg for the 3:22 bus, the one replacing the 4:09 train), I will drive 35km to Harburg to board the ICE at 5ish.

Thanks for feedback.

Summary

I'm not angry that they cancelled my 4:09 train, I understand technical issues happen.
Not angry the alternative they offered, buses at 3:22, are not comfortable. After all when I asked for an alternative they agreed.
Pretty sure in most countries neither of these would have happened.

I'm annoyed they refuse to email stuff and insist on paper.

All in all not too bad. I've been through worse in life.