Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take steps to cap the administration fee charged by third party train ticket websites.

Third-party retailers have the option to charge a booking fee on their website, though not all of them do. Passengers can book rail tickets without a booking fee by purchasing direct from one of the train operating company websites/apps.

Last year the Office of Rail and Road published its ‘Review of the Transparency of Fees Charged when Purchasing Rail Tickets Online’. We disseminated this report to all rail ticket retailers and asked them to ensure consumers understand the fees that will be charged and can make informed purchasing decisions.

The maximum administration fees that can be charged for refunds was reduced from £10 to £5 earlier this year, as per the National Rail Conditions of Travel. This doesn’t apply to Advance tickets, which are normally non-refundable, nor to refunds on Season Tickets.