Rail passengers hit by long-running disruption on the Southern network are to be repaid the equivalent of a month's travel, the government and rail operator have announced.Payments will be made to eligible customers under a new compensation scheme to go live in January.The Department for Transport (DfT) said it would be a one-off compensation payment to season ticket holders.Govia Thameslink (GTR) apologised for "many months of disruption and misery".Annual season ticket holders will receive a payment equivalent to one month's travel with quarterly, monthly and weekly season ticket holders being able to claim an equivalent payment for the ticket type.Southern refund: What you need to knowThe rail operator said it was also introducing a more generous Delay Repay scheme on Southern and Gatwick Express from 11 December, which would compensate passengers for delays of more than 15 minutes rather than the current 30 minutes.However, it also said Southern and Gatwick Express fares would rise … [Read more...] about Southern disruption: A month’s travel repaid as compensation
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AI-powered JUDGE created in Estonia will settle small court claims of up to £6,000 to free up professionals to work on bigger and more important cases
Estonia is building an artificial intelligence powered robo-judge that will rule over a backlog of small court cases. It will be fed legal documents and analyse them before coming to a decision based on its pre-programmed algorithms and training. The 'robot judge' would preside over disputes of less than €7,000 (£6,000/$8,000) and free up more time for humans to work on bigger cases. Any ruling would be legally binding but could be appealed to a human judge. The project and technology is still in its infancy and no set date has been announced for its roll-out, but the larger AI project it is part of will announce its results in May. Scroll down for video The 'robot judge' would preside over disputes of less than €7,000 (£6,000/$8,000) and free up more time for humans to work on bigger cases. The ruling would be legally binding but could be appealed to a human judge (stock) Estonia is leading the way in … [Read more...] about AI-powered JUDGE created in Estonia will settle small court claims of up to £6,000 to free up professionals to work on bigger and more important cases
Death truck was in convoy of THREE: Devastated families say more than 100 migrants were smuggled into UK but only two lorries made it – as two new victims are named and wife tells how she helped victim raise £11k for trip
A container in which 39 migrants were found dead was part of a convoy of three lorries, it has been claimed - as police probe 'whether there is a wider conspiracy involved' in the deaths. Relatives of the suspected victims say more than 100 migrants were being brought to the UK on the lorries, but only two are believed to have completed their trips. Devastated relatives have been speaking out, including the tearful wife of one suspected victim who helped him raise £11,000 for the trip to the UK as two new suspected victims were named today. It comes as this afternoon a man who is understood to be sought by Essex Police as part of the investigation into the 39 lorry trailer deaths was arrested at Dublin port. The man, in his twenties and from Northern Ireland, was arrested after getting off a ferry on Saturday afternoon. A blue Scania truck that he was driving has been impounded by the police. Joanna Maher, 38, and her … [Read more...] about Death truck was in convoy of THREE: Devastated families say more than 100 migrants were smuggled into UK but only two lorries made it – as two new victims are named and wife tells how she helped victim raise £11k for trip
Southern season ticket rail refund: What you need to know
Rail passengers with season tickets who have been hit by long-running disruption on the Southern network are to be repaid the equivalent of a month's travel. So who's eligible for a refund, and how do you go about getting it?The Department for Transport says more than 84,000 passengers are to be compensated following "extraordinary disruption" caused by Network Rail track failures, engineering works, unacceptably poor performance by the operator and the actions of the RMT union.Who gets a refund?Season ticket holders will be able to claim a refund for the equivalent of a month's (4 weeks) travel. That means an annual season ticket holder will be able to claim a refund against their 2016 ticket.Those claiming against quarterly, monthly or weekly tickets must have bought travel for at least 12 weeks between 24 April 2016 and 31 December 2016 to be eligible. How do you claim?Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) - the parent company of Southern - has the details of most season ticket holders who … [Read more...] about Southern season ticket rail refund: What you need to know
Postmaster accused of stealing £48,000 from Post Office tells of ‘nightmare’ at being ‘wrongly jailed’ after ‘faulty IT system caused accounting shortfalls’
Noel Thomas (pictured) was among more than 550 sub-postmasters who brought a group legal action against the Post Office A postmaster who was accused of stealing £48,000 from the Post Office has described his 'nightmare' at being 'wrongly' jailed over the alleged crime. Noel Thomas was among more than 550 sub-postmasters who brought a group legal action against the Post Office over its use of Horizon - an IT system which was said to have caused shortfalls in their financial accounts and even led to some of them being jailed. The claimants said the Post Office had failed to provide adequate training in the use of the system and to investigate the cause of alleged shortfalls. The Post Office initially said that the system worked properly, but the firm eventually agreed to a settlement package with hundreds of claimants - £58m in total. Mr Thomas worked for the Post Office for 42 years, first as a postman and then helping his wife Eira at the post office in Gaerwen on … [Read more...] about Postmaster accused of stealing £48,000 from Post Office tells of ‘nightmare’ at being ‘wrongly jailed’ after ‘faulty IT system caused accounting shortfalls’
