Can I claim Delay Repay if I paid by contactless?

Yes. Delay Repay applies regardless of how you paid. Contactless and Oyster passengers claim directly from the train operator, using the journey history from their TfL account as evidence. On the Elizabeth line and London Overground you claim a service delay refund from TfL instead.

How late does my train have to be?

Most London commuter operators pay out from 15 minutes' delay at your destination (Delay Repay 15). The Elizabeth line, London Overground and LNER pay from 30 minutes. Compensation rises with the length of delay, up to 100% of your fare.

How long do I have to make a Delay Repay claim?

28 days from the date of the delayed journey, for all operators.

Delayed train? That can be money back — even on contactless.

Delay Repay is one of the most under-claimed entitlements in Britain — and if you tap in with contactless or Oyster, no automatic scheme is going to claim it for you. Here's how to do it yourself, in about three minutes.

Thresholds & claim links verified July 2026

The short version

1. Train arrived 15+ minutes late at your destination (30+ on Elizabeth line, Overground and LNER)? You're owed compensation — whatever ticket you used.

2. You claim from the train operator (or TfL, for their lines) — table below.

3. You have 28 days. Contactless/Oyster journey history from your TfL account counts as evidence.

What you're owed

Delay Repay is a national compensation scheme run by the train operators. It pays out based on how late you arrived at your destination — regardless of why the train was delayed, and regardless of how you paid. Typical bands for a single fare:

15–29 min late25% back

30–59 min late50% back

60–119 min late100% back

120+ min late100% of a return

Exact bands vary slightly by operator — the claim pages linked below show each operator's own table. Season ticket holders are compensated pro-rata per delayed journey.

The catch for contactless and Oyster passengers

Some operators advertise automatic delay compensation — but look closely and it's tied to tickets they sold you: advance tickets bought on their app, or smartcard season tickets. If you tap in and out with a bank card, your journey never touches the operator's ticketing system, so there is nothing for their automation to find. The same goes for paper tickets bought at the machine.

That doesn't reduce your entitlement by a penny. It just means nobody claims it for you — which is why so much Delay Repay money goes unclaimed by exactly the passengers who commute the most.

Getting your journey evidence

For a contactless or Oyster claim, the operator wants to see that you actually made the journey. Your bank statement won't do it — TfL charges your card once per day as a single aggregate, with no stations on it. What you want is your TfL journey history:

Sign in at tfl.gov.uk (create an account and add your contactless card if you haven't — takes two minutes).
Go to Contactless & Oyster → journey history. Every touch-in and touch-out is there with station and time, going back 12 months.
Download the statement for the day of the delay, or screenshot the journey.

Tip: register your card before you need it — journey history only attaches to registered cards, and if you tap with Apple Pay note that the phone and the physical card count as different cards.

How to claim, step by step

Note the train you took — origin, scheduled departure time, destination. (This is the bit everyone forgets by the evening. It's also exactly what CommuteWatch records when you save a trip — more below.)
Check the delay at your destination was at or over your operator's threshold — 15 or 30 minutes, table below. It's arrival delay that counts, not departure.
Gather evidence — TfL journey history for contactless/Oyster, a photo of your ticket, or your season ticket details.
File on the operator's Delay Repay page — linked below. First claim takes ~5 minutes with account setup; repeat claims are faster.
Within 28 days of the journey. Most operators pay to your bank within a few working days of approval.

Every London operator's threshold and claim link

Operator	Pays from	Claim
Thameslink	15 min	Delay Repay
Southern	15 min	Delay Repay
Great Northern	15 min	Delay Repay
Gatwick Express	15 min	Delay Repay
Southeastern	15 min	Delay Repay
South Western Railway	15 min	Delay Repay
Great Western Railway	15 min	Delay Repay
Avanti West Coast	15 min	Delay Repay
c2c	15 min	Delay Repay
Greater Anglia	15 min	Delay Repay
Chiltern Railways	15 min	Delay Repay
East Midlands Railway	15 min	Delay Repay
London Northwestern Railway	15 min	Delay Repay
Elizabeth line	30 min	TfL service delay refund
London Overground	30 min	TfL service delay refund
LNER	30 min	Delay Repay

The Elizabeth line and London Overground run TfL's own scheme (a refund of the single fare for qualifying delays) rather than national Delay Repay — the 15-minute rule you may know from the Tube does not apply to them. Thresholds and URLs change occasionally; if a link has moved, search “<operator> delay repay”.

The annoying part, automated

The hardest bit of claiming isn't the form — it's knowing, three days later, which train you were on and how late it actually arrived. CommuteWatch is a free iPhone app that puts live departure boards on your home screen; tap once as you board to save the trip, and it checks how the train actually ran. When the recorded delay crosses your operator's threshold, it shows the delay and links you straight to the right claim form — with the journey details you need on screen.

 Download on the App Store

Currently listed as “My Departure Board” — becoming CommuteWatch with the next update.

CommuteWatch is an independent app and website, not affiliated with National Rail Enquiries, Network Rail, Transport for London or any train operating company. This guide is general information, not legal advice; each operator's own terms govern their scheme.