RAIL passengers travelling with First Great Western will now be able to get full compensation for delayed journeys if they request to be refunded in cash.

Previously the rail company said anyone who wanted to get their money back in the form of cash, as oppose to rail vouchers, would only receive half of what they were entitled to.

However, following a complaint from the consumer website MoneySavingExpert to the Department of Transport this policy has now been removed, with FGW accepting it made an error.

The rules bringing the 50 per cent refund for cash claims was brought into effect on July 19, with the company saying those customers would only be entitled to the minimum refund compared to the more generous offer for those getting vouchers.

But when contacted Claire Perry, the rail minister, said people claiming their money back in cash should not lose out.

Speaking to MoneySavingExpert, the Devizes MP said: “Passengers should be compensated for delays to their journeys, and I am absolutely clear that no customer should be left out of pocket simply for choosing to take that compensation in cash, which they are fully entitled to.

“I understand First Great Western has apologised and is taking swift action to resolve this issue, and I urge customers who have been affected to contact them.”

Steve Nowottny, consumer and features editor at MoneySavingExpert, says: “The change in rail regulations to allow compensation to be claimed as cash rather than vouchers was supposed to be good news for passengers – but it’s utterly pointless if passengers get much less when they opt for cash.

“First Great Western may have been acting within the letter of the rules, but it certainly wasn’t acting in the spirit of them.”

A spokesman for FGW says: “This is an error, and we’re very grateful MoneySavingExpert has brought this to our attention.

“First Great Western’s Passenger Charter offers a more generous compensation scheme than the industry standard set out in the National Conditions of Carriage, but the charter has not been updated to reflect the move to cash payments last month.

Anyone who has been given a voucher from July 19 is able to get it converted into cash by contacting fgwfeedback@firstgroup.com.

The news comes ahead of a strike by workers at First Great Western, which runs services between London and the South West, set to go ahead this weekend after talks failed to resolve a row over new trains.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union will walk out for 24 hours on Sunday, disrupting services, due to disagreements “at the heart of the dispute over the introduction of the new Hitachi trains,” says a union spokesman.