Seniors' excursion burst: Deutsche Bahn refuses goodwill at cancellation!

Seniors' excursion burst: Deutsche Bahn refuses goodwill at cancellation!

In the small country of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen, an unpleasant episode around Deutsche Bahn has caused a sensation. Gabriele Skiba, the chairwoman of the SPD working group "60plus", had organized a trip for seniors, which, among other things, provided for a museum visit and a stop. But a heat wave in July gave the project an unexpected hook: two participants, both over 80 years old, had to cancel. Skiba wanted to show responsibility and decided to cancel the entire journey.

However, the problems started here. After purchasing an online group ticket for 247 euros, the cancellation turned out to be more difficult than expected. At S-Bahn station Wolfratshausen, Skiba learned that the digital tickets offer other cancellation options. In principle, a cancellation of group tickets can depend on various factors. As the Deutsche Bahn explains, Group tickets that have been booked online can only be canceled up to seven days before the trip for a fee of 19 euros per ticket. Bookings that have been made on site or by phone can save nasty surprises, since cancellations up to 14 days before departure are even possible without additional costs.

Guess and terms and conditions

Nevertheless, Skiba's application for goodwill remained unanswered. Despite being contacted with the railway service of the railway service, there was only a general answer that referred to the general terms and conditions. "There is something," thought the experienced organizer, who had to admit not to have read the conditions in detail. Her experience shows that communication through the cancellation options sometimes does not offer clarity that travelers want.

Particularly striking: While the city guide in Memmingen reacted understanding and without cancellation fees, Deutsche Bahn refused to deal with the accommodation. Another insight into the confusing variants of the cancellation shows that when booking via Bahn.de, reimbursement for individual participants is not possible. The railway also explains that changes or cancellations are not possible at all with super savings prices. This will probably not delight the travelers.

Social responsibility

In times when health care is often in the foreground, the discussion about these cancellation guidelines raises important questions. The legitimate question arises as to how social responsibility can be perceived for travelers without consequences. Gabriele Skiba sees a clear contradiction between care towards older people and the strict guidelines of Deutsche Bahn.

The story about Gabriele Skiba and her failed excursion shows that - especially for older people - freedom to travel sensibly, in the context of health and security, is often complicated. It is to be hoped that Deutsche Bahn will consider more flexible handling in the cancellation of group tickets in the future.

Inspection to discussions could also be the fact that the cancellation and rebooking of the tickets must be made more understandable. Such steps are necessary at a time full of uncertainties, but a certain degree of goodwill is also part of it, especially when it comes to the health of older fellow citizens.

Do you want to learn more about the cancellation guidelines? Then take a look at Bahn.de Gone and find out about the current provisions!