The Oisterwijk company behind Dinner Train, a restaurant in a moving train car, is in a dire state. Bookings that have already been paid for are being cancelled, and the company is telling customers that it will not be able to refund their money at the moment. Dinner Train admits that things are going wrong, but says it is working hard to find a solution.
Dinner Train is a moving train restaurant where people can choose from a variety of menus. The train leaves every week from a different city, including four in Brabant. For the two-hour journey, you pay around 100 euros per person. The company went bankrupt in 2019, but now has a new owner.
The fact that there are many problems is evident from conversations with affected parties and the dozens of comments left on review sites.
There is no money yet
Omroep Brabant has spoken to several people who are still waiting for their money because their flight was cancelled. Maarten Boer, 51, is one of them. He was told a few hours before his reservation that his dinner could not go ahead. “They said the flight could not go ahead because of the circumstances,” says Boer. That was weeks ago. “I still haven’t gotten my money.” He believes the chances of that happening are slim: “My feeling is that I will never see my money again.”
Another injured party, who did not want to be named, wants to warn people about the dinner train: “This smells like a scam.” Her reservation was suddenly cancelled, with a message saying she could get her money back in five months. The reason given was that the costs had already been incurred.
‘frustrated’
Sienna Peet, 26, was also denied after trying to cancel in May. She initially received no response to her request. “It was only after I called her again that she said, ‘I can’t cancel. But I can reschedule,’” Peet explains.
She didn’t want to fight back, and that shouldn’t be a problem: “The terms say I’m entitled to a full refund.” Meanwhile, she doesn’t have her money yet either. The company is also hard to reach, says Peet. “It’s been a long time and there’s been no response, it’s very frustrating.”
“Cannot pay”
It already seems like these people won’t get their money back in the short term. The Dinner Train itself says so. In an email to one of the affected parties, they wrote that they are having financial troubles. “We do not have the financial resources to compensate you at this time.”
But they promise, “We aim to pay you no later than January 2025.” In other emails, Dinner Train blames the problems on third parties and suppliers.
Consumer Protection Act
Gerard Spierenberg, spokesman for the Consumers Association, believes this is a great situation. “It’s not that if your company finds itself in certain circumstances, consumer law no longer applies,” Spierenberg explains. Consumers are not a bank for a company, Spierenberg explains. “By not repaying money, you are essentially borrowing the consumer’s money.”
In response, Dinner Train said that there are indeed problems, but there is no doubt about fraud. “It is not about personal gain,” says Tim. “Because of problems with our equipment and financial problems due to Corona and the Ukrainian war, we are having a hard time, but we are trying to solve everything. We just ask for a little time.” Dinner Train Belt
“90,000 satisfied guests”
Peltz attributes the poor accessibility to a sick person in his company’s customer service department. That’s why it sometimes takes a little longer for emails to be answered. “But we aim to respond within 72 hours and we usually succeed.”
According to Beltz, the dinner train runs 135 times a year, and six trips in Eindhoven and Breda have recently been cancelled. “I understand the anger, but we are doing everything we can to get back on the road quickly in Brabant.” Beltz hopes to be able to plan an additional trip from Eindhoven this year. “We have now been able to offer a pleasant dinner on the train to over 90,000 guests, and we just want to keep doing that.“
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