harvmatic

I purchased 2 round trip Prems tickets from paris to bayeaux and now I can't go. I paid an extra 11Euro insurance in case I had to cancel or change the dates. I am in paris now and I want to get a refund. Do I go to the Gare St. Lazare station with my paperwork or should this be handled online? The paperwork is in French, unfortunately.. the tickets are for May 7. Thanks to anyone who can help.fT

kerouac

I have never asked for a refund, so I don't know -- but I would go to an SNCF boutique or a station ticket office (any station) and ask.

skatterfly

With Google Translate, you should be able to get a reasonable translation for the fine print to get know what it says. And I would probably try to go to one of the SNCF boutiques in Paris and not necessarily go to the train station. Good luck.

Sarastro

You can always ask but I was under the impression that the insurance option only covered stolen/lost luggage or miscellaneous expenses (meals, etc) in the event your train is late. There is also a separate insurance option for coverage related to illness, a car accident not allowing you to travel, or in the case of natural disaster.

PREM fares are of course non refundable and non transferable but the insurance you purchased may not cover your loss if you are unable to travel as planned unless your situation meets one of the covered criteria.

cathies

We had a problem with prems tickets and sorted it out at the ticket window. A different problem from yours but we were well looked after by the station staff. I'd try that first and see how you go.

StCirq

What does it say in French? I think you're out of luck, as PREMs as clearly stated on the SNCF site are nonexchangeable and nonrefundable; the insurance is normally just for extras such as meals or lost luggage or whatever if your train breaks down or is late. What you might get is a comparable fare on another train, but I wouldn't be surprised if you're just out of luck. Go to an SNCF boutique - better than a train station probably, as there won't likely be masses of people waiting in line.

Robert2533

PREM fares are like the Promo fares from Renfe, no refunds, no exchanges.

Cathinjoetown

The SNCF boutique suggestion seems logical but I can remember going to one a few years ago, taking my little deli counter type ticket, waiting for my number to come up (50 mins) only to be told they didn't deal with my issue--PREMS ticket.

I think I wanted to change something about it, can't remember. If you are staying at a hotel, maybe someone at the front desk can read the details and help you out. If not, I would go along to a station.

Cathinjoetown

Meant to add that your insurance may well cover a cancellation for any reason, the cheap insurance, 1 or two euros, is limited, but you paid 11€.

harvmatic

Went to Gare St Lazare today, which is where I would have picked. Up the tickets, but they told me I need to go online to request the refund.We will see what happens.

Christina

No, the insurance you buy with PREMs does not mean you can just cancel for no reason, they couldn't run a business that way, everyone would buy them.

I'd be interested if you get it, the insurance they sell has specific conditions for a refund, it's not just for no reason.

Christina

BTW, 11 euro insurance is only a few euro per ticket per way, given the OP basically bought 4 tickets. The normal insurance on that route is 2.75 euro for "annulation", but they list specific reason, it is if it is impossible for you to make the train for certain reasons -- accident, sickness, death in the family, etc. It is very clear the reasons allowed, and just changing your mind is definitely not one of them.

Cathinjoetown

I didn't catch that it was 11€ for four tickets.

harvmatic

Following up on my refund. I corresponded with Europe Assistance when I returned home and I got a response requesting my policy number, which I promptly supplied on May 20th. Since then, I have received no further communication, despite emailing them several times. If they had responded with a NO, I would probably accept it, as I failed to follow the instructions to the letter in due time.(The document was in French and at the time, I was dealing with a medical situation, so it was not my highest priority.) I just don't like being ignored, so I may just call them tomorrow, ans see what happens.

harvmatic

Again, sorry for the delay in explaining what happened with the Prems ticket.
Once I reviewed the "policy" I realized it would be a waste of time to continue to follow up.
I hadn't read the requirements in detail, and did not realize that I had to get some sort of cancellation notice from the office in Paris and at the time, I figured everything could wait until we got home.

My husband was not sick enough to require a doctor's care, but not well enough to finish the trip, so it wasn't worth the hassle to try to get reimbursed.