Avanti West Coast gives customers option to donate Delay Repay compensation to charity

• Avanti West Coast customers can now donate compensation for delayed journeys to charity
• Delay Repay donations will support its charity partner Action for Children
• Money will help fund programmes to improve young people’s mental health

Avanti West Coast has launched an initiative enabling customers to donate compensation for delayed journeys to its charity partner, Action for Children.

Customers travelling on the inter-city operator’s services who are eligible for Delay Repay – a scheme to claim compensation when a journey is delayed by 15 minutes or more – can now request all of their compensation to be donated to the children’s charity.

When claiming Delay Repay, customers can select how they wish to receive compensation. The addition of ‘donation’ as an option means the money, which is the equivalent to all or part of the ticket cost for their delayed journey, is sent directly to Action for Children.

Customers registered for Automatic Delay Repay can decide when to donate, by changing the fulfilment method at the time of accepting their reimbursement.

Action for Children protects and supports children and young people, providing practical and emotional care and support. This latest initiative is part of Avanti West Coast’s work with the charity to support young people on their journey to better mental health.

Donations to the charity will help to deliver their mental health programmes, which are designed to help equip young people and their parents in the UK with the skills and the confidence to care for their wellbeing, and get help when they need it.

Joanna Buckley, Community Manager at Avanti West Coast, said: “We want to make a difference to the communities we serve and connect young people to opportunity, so we are proud to be supporting the work of Action for Children through our Delay Repay scheme.

“While we strive to deliver the best possible experience, we are committed to ensuring our customers are compensated when their journey is delayed by 15 minutes or more and this latest initiative allows them to donate their compensation to help others local to our route. The kindness of our customers will help Action for Children to deliver their mental health programmes, which are more vital than ever with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.”

Ermelinda Ceci, Senior Corporate Development Executive for Action for Children, said: “We are incredibly grateful to Avanti West Coast for setting up this initiative. Our frontline workers tell us the crisis has damaged the mental health of over three-quarters of the children and young people they support, with some experiencing night terrors, bed-wetting, self-harm and outbursts of anger, so it’s crucial they receive support as early as possible. All donations will ensure Action for Children can be a lifeline for those young people and give them the tools they need to be able to cope. Together, thanks to these generous customer donations, we will support even more young people on their journey to better mental health.”

ENDS