Commuters who bought seven-day travelcards over Christmas are being urged to ask for their money back due to lack of services.

Croydon Central MP Andrew Pelling has said passengers deserve a refund for Christmas Day and Boxing Day, when trains were not running.

He has already written asking for compensation for his own ticket and will be raising the matter in the House of Commons, saying he would rather give the money to charity than the rail companies.

He said: “It's a rip-off getting commuters to pay for a service they don't receive.”

Mr Pelling also claims companies would have earned £3.8 million from the unused travelcards, basing the figure on around 500,000 commuters buying tickets.

He said: “I spoke with frustrated rail customers who turned up at East Croydon Station on Boxing Day to find the place shuttered all day.

“This lack of a service has more to do with profits than honouring the Christmas holidays.

“If a decent rate of pay was paid for Boxing Day working I am sure that many rail staff, like bus and Underground drivers, would work on Boxing Day.

"It seems that profit counts more to the rail companies than providing a service to customers who have already paid for their fares on their travelcards”

However, a spokesman for Southern rail company said: “Southern does understand our passengers’ frustration but our ticket office staff would have advised any customer buying a seven-day travelcard covering the Christmas period that they would not be able to use our services on Christmas Day.

“We always strive to provide our passengers with the best value for money ticket to meet their travel needs.”

A spokesperson for the national rail watchdog Passenger Focus said: “Your weekly season ticket only allows you to travel at all times when trains are scheduled to run and they do not generally run on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

“It is important staff tell passengers before they renew their weekly tickets.”

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