NTL Delay Repay Service Tender

Tender description

The Delay Repay service provides a compensation process for passengers whose rail journey has been delayed. Compensation is provided on a tiered basis, dependent upon the severity of the delay. This is a critical customer facing service, classified as a Key Contract by the DfT. Since April 2018 the Delay Repay service has been provided by a third-party supplier. Due to the criticality of the service, the contract term was for two years, with the option of extending for a further two periods of 12 months: four years in total. Whilst Northern remains satisfied with the service provided by the incumbent supplier, the value of this contract, approximately £600,000 per annum, is such that it is above the UCR regulations threshold and so must be retendered prior to the end of the contracted period. The contract has now been extended for the final 12-month period, in order to provide time for the retender of the Delay Repay service and mobilisation of any potential replacement. Lot 1: The core Delay Repay service is expected to include: • Claims capture (including via web front end, agent input, or initiated by another system). • Validate that a ticket was held. • Validate that a delay was incurred. • Calculate the compensation entitlement. • Keep the customer informed about the progress of their claim and allow agents to support queries. The service may optionally* include: • Manual validation of claims (by agents of the Supplier) that cannot be validated automatically. • Processing of payments to customers. *If the service does not include these optional elements, it must provide the tools to allow Northern to efficiently and effectively undertake these activities. Northern expects to: • Validate any complex claims that cannot be validated by the information available to the Supplier or otherwise require escalation. • Audit the process through spot checks, and appropriate process checkpoints e.g. approval of payment batches. Northern are looking for a Delay Repay solution which provides the following high-level functionality: • Customer Facing Services: The capability to provide Delay Repay services to the general public through web based (including WebChat and AI), email, telephone and postal channels. 'My Account' and season ticket 'one click' functionality. • System Automation: A high level of accurate 'claim to resolution' automation, requiring no human intervention is desired. Including functionality to calculate compensation value based on ticket type, cost and delay, Train Operating Company (TOC) identification, ticket validation, journey validation, delay validation and fraud checks. • Systems Access Provision: The capability to provide direct access to the Delay Repay system to Northern personnel. The capability for agents and team leaders to enter data through the Customer interface as a Customer, and override the automated decision making. • Reporting and MI: The capability to provide a range of electronic service reporting and management information. • Personal Data Processing: The capability to process personal data supplied by the general public, securely and in compliance with all applicable legislation. • Multiple Payment Channels: The optional* (see Solution Scope above) capability to deliver compensation payments to the customer through a variety of mechanisms. Electronic, such as bank transfer, PayPal, credit and debit card refunds. Physical and electronic vouchers and tickets, cheque or charitable donation. • Staff Provision: The optional* (see Solution Scope above) capability to provide agents to manually validate claims. Preference will be given to Candidate Suppliers who have demonstrable previous experience of providing the above, ideally in the Transport Sector.