Delay Repay guide

What happened to Delay Repay Sniper?

Published 12 October 2026. Facts checked 12 October 2026 against the sources listed at the end.

Short answer

Delay Repay Sniper was a subscription service, launched in 2012, that emailed commuters their delayed trains and, on its top plan, submitted Delay Repay claims for them. In 2018 GTR asked some of its users to repay compensation, Tracsis bought the business, and the company behind the passenger service went into solvent liquidation in 2022. Most passengers still have to spot their own delays and claim in time, and Railhop finds them and fills in the train company's own form for you to submit.

Timeline

2012: Delay Repay Sniper launches, emailing commuters the delays they could claim for. Its top plan also submits claims for them.
31 January 2018: Tracsis plc, a rail technology company, buys the business. Tracsis describes it as a provider of Delay Repay software to the rail industry, used by train companies to process claims.
March to April 2018: GTR tells some Delay Repay Sniper users it does not accept claims made through third-party websites, and asks some to repay 30% of the Delay Repay they had received, and one to repay all of it.
20 November 2018: The rail regulator, ORR, begins a review of Delay Repay claims companies. Its July 2019 report finds six of 18 train companies refuse, or plan to refuse, to deal with them.
July 2022: Delay Repay Sniper Limited, the company behind the passenger website, goes into solvent liquidation. It is dissolved in July 2024.

What it was

Delay Repay Sniper helped rail commuters claim Delay Repay, the compensation train companies pay when you arrive late. You told it your routes. Each night it emailed you the trains on them that were delayed or cancelled.

When its website was archived in December 2017, it offered:

a free 30-day trial;
Basic, £3.75 a month: the daily email, with links to the train companies' claim forms, so you could claim yourself;
Full Service, £9.99 a month: “Save all the hassle and let us submit the claims on your behalf”, for Southern, Gatwick Express, Southeastern, Thameslink and Greater Anglia.

What happened in 2018

In January 2018 Tracsis, a rail technology company, bought the business. Tracsis described it as a provider of Delay Repay software to the rail industry, used by train companies to process claims.

That spring GTR, which runs Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express, pushed back on claims made through the service. Its objection was about who made the claim, not whether the train was late.

28 March: a Southern passenger who had used Delay Repay Sniper wrote on RailUK Forums that GTR had told them submitting claims through a third-party app was not allowed under its terms, and had asked for part of their past compensation back.
25 April: another passenger wrote that GTR customer services had emailed to say it did not accept claims made through third-party websites, and that their account was on hold while it investigated.
26 April: the Association of British Commuters, a passenger campaign group, reported that commuters had been asked to repay 30% of all the Delay Repay they had received, and one to repay all of it after mentioning in writing that they had used the app. It said it could not find where the 30% figure came from, and that GTR's guidance didn't say whether an app counted as a “third party”. GTR's press office told it: “Passengers who have an issue with a Delay Repay claim should contact our customer services team in person.”

The campaign group offered to help anyone asked to repay compensation for genuine claims. On the forum, the advice was similar: if you made the journeys, keep your own records and ask the train company which claims it disputes.

We found no public statement from Delay Repay Sniper or Tracsis about the letters, and no report of how the cases ended. The campaign group later wrote that there was no public response from GTR or any rail body at the time. In November 2018 the rail regulator, ORR, began a review of Delay Repay claims companies. Its July 2019 report found that six of the 18 train companies taking part refused, or planned to refuse, to deal with them, mainly because of the risk of fraud. ORR proposed that train companies could be required to accept claims from claims companies that follow a code of conduct.

We found no report of these demands being tested in court, and no finding that the passengers or the service broke the law. GTR's rule is unchanged today: Southern and Great Northern say “Claims must be made by the person who experienced the delay except under mitigating circumstances”.

Where it is now

The delayrepaysniper.com address no longer leads to the service. The passenger service stayed small, and the business's focus was software for train companies. Delay Repay Sniper Limited, the company that ran the passenger website, went into solvent liquidation in July 2022 and was dissolved in 2024.

Tracsis still works on the train companies' side: the c2c Delay Repay claim site shows “Tracsis Travel Compensation Services Ltd” in its footer. The company details are in the questions below.

Delay Repay today

Three things are worth knowing if you commute by train.

About half of people owed money don't claim it

In a 2025 survey for the Department for Transport, 45% of passengers with a delay they could claim for did claim. 55% didn't. Most of them didn't think of it or thought they couldn't. If you tap in and out with a card or phone, you're even less likely to claim: only 23% did. The survey asked about each passenger's most recent eligible delay, so these are estimates, not a count of claims.

Some train companies pay automatically, for some tickets

By our count, 8 of 28 train companies pay some Delay Repay automatically. It's mostly for tickets bought from them, often Advance tickets, or for their own smartcards. If you pay as you go, bought your ticket elsewhere or hold a Season Ticket, you usually still have to claim yourself.

A central claims service is coming

The Rail Delivery Group is buying a central Delay Repay service: a contract worth about £21.2m, from 30 October 2026 to 2031, with one-click claims and links for ticket retailers. The winner is expected to be named about 19 October 2026.

For you, that may mean one place to claim, eventually. But you'll still need to know you were delayed, and claim in time: usually within 28 days.

Check a Delay Check Your Statement

Your options now

Claim yourself on each train company's own form. Our Delay Repay guides show how, company by company.
Get paid automatically, if your ticket and train company qualify. Check your train company's guide.
Use an app that keeps the claim yours. Train companies' terms are what count. Great Northern, for example, says “Claims must be made by the person who experienced the delay except under mitigating circumstances”. The rail regulator's code of practice defines a claim as “a request, initiated by a passenger”.

So before you use any app, check three things:

Do you submit the claim yourself, on the train company's own form?
Does the train company pay you directly?
Does it only claim for journeys you actually made, with each ticket used once?

Railhop is built to pass all three.

How Railhop works

Railhop does the work of finding and filling in a claim, and leaves the claim itself to you. Some services have submitted claims for passengers; Railhop never does.

It finds delays you'd miss

The iPhone app spots the trains you take and checks how late each one arrived.
Check your contactless or Oyster statement: every train journey on it is checked against how the trains really ran, and you see the delays you can claim for.
The same statement shows forgotten tap-outs, where you were charged a maximum fare, so you can ask TfL for the money back.
Check a Delay: find a train you were on, see how late it arrived and how to claim, whatever ticket you had.

It fills in the form, you press submit

In the iPhone app, Railhop opens the train company's own claim form and fills it in: your journey, the delay, your ticket and your details. It does this for 28 train companies so far. On a computer, Railhop's browser extension does the same. You read the claim and press submit. The train company pays you directly.

It reminds you before the deadline

Most claims must be made within 28 days. The app reminds you before a claim's time runs out.

More than claims

Delay alerts in the app for the trains you usually catch.
Train Times: live times between any two stations, and how past trains ran.
Track a Train: where any train is right now and when it gets in.
Monthly Delay Repay reports: how many trains were late enough to claim, and where.

It's free to check your journeys for delays.

Why Railhop claims are genuine

The 2018 letters came down to two questions: did the passenger take the train, and did the passenger make the claim? Railhop is built so the answer to both is yes.

You only claim for trains you actually took

Railhop builds each claim from evidence of your journey: your contactless or Oyster statement, your ticket, or, if you switch it on, the app's journey detection, which uses your phone's location to work out which train you were on. Journey detection is optional and only runs with your consent. Railhop doesn't offer you every late train on your route, only the journeys you made.

You submit the claim yourself

Railhop fills in the train company's own form, in your name, and you check it and press submit. That fits terms like Southern's and Great Northern's, that claims “must be made by the person who experienced the delay”: the point at issue in 2018. Railhop never submits a claim for you, and the train company pays you directly.

One ticket, one claim

Railhop checks for duplicates: a ticket is never used for two claims, and a journey is never claimed twice. How we keep claims genuine.

Check a Delay Check Your Statement

Frequently asked questions

Does Delay Repay Sniper still exist?

No longer as a service you can sign up to: the delayrepaysniper.com address no longer leads to it. Two companies carried the name. Delay Repay Sniper Limited (company 08653481), which ran the passenger website, went into a solvent members' voluntary liquidation in July 2022 and was dissolved on 19 July 2024. Company 10390176, which was called Delay Repay Sniper Limited for a few weeks in 2016 and Tracsis Travel Compensation Services Limited from August 2018, has been in members' voluntary liquidation since 28 July 2026.

Who ran Delay Repay Sniper?

In December 2017 its website said Delay Repay Sniper was "a product owned and developed by Travel Compensation Services Ltd". Tracsis plc, a rail technology company, bought Travel Compensation Services and Delay Repay Sniper Limited on 31 January 2018. Companies House shows Travel Compensation Services Limited (10390176) renamed Tracsis Travel Compensation Services Limited on 28 August 2018.

Did GTR stop accepting Delay Repay Sniper claims?

In spring 2018, some passengers reported that GTR (Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express) had told them it did not accept claims made through third-party websites or apps, and one wrote that their account had been put on hold while GTR investigated. GTR's terms say claims must be made by the person who experienced the delay, except under mitigating circumstances. The rail regulator, ORR, later found that six of the 18 train companies in its review refused, or planned to refuse, to deal with claims companies.

Why did GTR ask Delay Repay Sniper users to repay compensation?

In April 2018 the Association of British Commuters reported that GTR had asked some passengers who used the app to repay 30% of all the Delay Repay they had received, and one passenger to repay all of it. It said it could not find where the 30% figure came from. GTR's press office said passengers with an issue should contact its customer services team. We found no report of the demands being tested in court, or of any finding that the passengers or the service broke the law.

Is there an alternative to Delay Repay Sniper now?

Yes. Railhop finds your delays, like Sniper did, from your tickets, your contactless or Oyster statement and, if you turn it on, journey detection in the iPhone app. It works out what you're owed and goes a step further: it fills in the train company's own claim form for you. The difference is who submits. Sniper's Full Service submitted claims for you; with Railhop you check the claim and press submit yourself, so the claim stays yours.

Will Delay Repay become automatic?

For some tickets it already is. By our count 8 of 28 train companies pay some Delay Repay automatically, mostly for tickets bought from them or loaded on their own smartcards. The Rail Delivery Group is also buying a central Delay Repay service, from 30 October 2026 to 2031, with one-click claims. That may give passengers one place to claim, eventually. You will still need to know you were delayed and claim in time.

How long do I have to claim Delay Repay?

Usually 28 days from the delayed journey. Every train company we checked uses 28 days. The Railhop app reminds you before a claim's deadline.

Can I use an app to claim Delay Repay?

Yes, to find your delays and fill in the form. What matters is who makes the claim: Great Northern, for example, says claims "must be made by the person who experienced the delay except under mitigating circumstances". With Railhop you submit the claim yourself on the train company's own form, so the claim is yours.

Does Railhop submit claims for me?

No. Railhop finds your delays and fills in the train company's own claim form, then you check it and press submit. The claim is between you and the train company, which pays you directly.

Is Railhop free?

It's free to check your journeys for delays, on the website and in the app.

More answers in the Railhop FAQ and the Delay Repay guides by train company.

Sources

Railhop is independent and not affiliated with any train company, TfL, National Rail, the Rail Delivery Group, Tracsis or Delay Repay Sniper. “Automatic” counts come from each train company's own Delay Repay pages, checked in September 2026. This article is general information, not legal advice.