“We were delayed reaching the terminal because my mother-in-law was injured in an accident at a petrol station en route — she required immediate assistance. When we arrived, our original ticket had expired and we were required to buy a new one at significantly higher cost. I understood the policy at the time and paid without complaint.
What followed was two months of correspondence seeking a partial goodwill refund — not a full refund, just the fare difference. LeShuttle's response at every stage was a copy-paste of their T&Cs, a suggestion to claim via travel insurance (the excess exceeds the fare difference — their own staff couldn't do that arithmetic), and a final position that making any exception, even in a documented medical emergency, would "undermine the integrity of the ticket structure."
No flexibility. No discretion. No acknowledgement that charging two full fares for one vehicle crossing a medical emergency caused is anything other than standard procedure.
I've used LeShuttle for years. That relationship is now over. If you're travelling with anyone who might conceivably face an emergency, know that this company's policy is to profit from it.”
“We were caught up in the power outage issue 30/12/25. Communication by Le Shuttle extremely poor - the boards just kept changing and the “live update” page was totally inaccurate and not current! We had to queue for an hour or more to check in as Le Shuttle was advising - told as our boarding card was issued that there was a 3hr delay but as soon as we cld see a board there was at least a 6hr delay!! Absolute chaos as cars were block parked a long way from the terminal! V long story short - we got one a drinks voucher each (queued for nearly 1hr to get drink voucher then had to wait over half hour to get the drinks!!) then spent the night in our car in freezing wet weather. We arrived soon after 8pm to chk in for our 9.41pm train. Finally chkd in at approx 9pm. Finally got parked near the terminal after 10pm. Stayed in car all night - finally called @ 6.30am for 7.20am departure. Took 15 mins to get thru French border control then an hour to get through British border control only to find train already running half hour later when we got to the loading car park! Finally loaded and left 8am approx!! We were treated like innate freight rather than humans - totally unacceptable.”
“30.12.2025 - train stuck in tunnel, these things happen. However the management of this incident has been one of the most ridiculous I have ever experienced, trapped inside the terminal with no way of getting out to seek alternative transport, continue to allow check in, until terminal was so full that exits were blocked, information was non existent, and train delayed 6 hours. Utterly disgusting and unacceptable behaviour from a transport service, would seriously consider ferry in the future again after this experience, may be slower but a far more reliable service and overall bettrr management. A -5 star would be still too generous 🤬”
“I made a booking, wanted to change the departure time less than 24 hours later, they made me pay a £20 amendment fee, even though I'd taken out insurance, which in the past had meant free amendments. As if that wasn't bad enough, literally one minute after I'd put the phone down, I realised I'd made a mistake with the return date, called them back to correct it, & they made me pay another £20 amendment fee! They're a bunch of heartless money grabbers, literally no soul to be found anywhere amongst the customer service.”
“Today 19/10/2025 there was a breakdown.
The possibility to cancel and be refunded one entered terminal is impossible. There is no staff to advise . The boarding crew put us to wait on a later leaving row . So we depated about 21 30 instead of 20:14 which already carried 3 hours delay.
A very bad experience second time. Management and technical department are giving a bad outcome.”
“Totally unreliable! I have been traveling across the channel for 20 years, in the last two years there are always delays, what use is a 35min train time when it takes 3 hours to get the train. I drive 8 hours to get here on time, every time!”
“I've been a loyal LeShuttle customer for years and have always recommended your service to family and friends visiting us. I genuinely loved using LeShuttle and acted as an unofficial ambassador, convincing many people to choose you over the ferry options.
However, my recent experience on July 22nd, 2025 (booking reference 92445188) has really made me reconsider future travel options.
We arrived at 13:30 for our 11:53 departure - 1 hour 40 minutes late. For years, we've always had a 2-hour flexibility window either side, which was one of the main reasons we chose LeShuttle, especially when traveling with our 3.5-month-old baby. We were never properly informed that this policy had changed in March 2025 to just 1 hour for standard tickets.
What made this particularly frustrating was being forced to pay €291 for a completely new full-price ticket when the car park was practically empty on a Tuesday lunchtime. This was the same cost as our entire original return journey! Even your staff member at the counter said the situation wasn't fair and suggested we write to customer services.
I sent my complaint on July 23rd and didn't receive a response until August 13th - that's three weeks for customer service. When the reply finally came, it simply stated we had "accepted the terms and conditions" without any acknowledgment that this significant policy change wasn't adequately communicated to existing customers.
Having spent thousands of euros using your service over the years, I was hoping for some understanding or flexibility given our circumstances and loyalty. Instead, there was no consideration for the fact that we're regular customers who weren't aware of the policy change.
I can no longer recommend LeShuttle with confidence and will be sharing this experience with others. You've lost not just our future business, but also the referrals I used to provide. I'm now looking into alternative ferry services.
It's disappointing when a company you've trusted for years treats loyal customers this way.”
“I arrived only minutes late due to traffic, yet was told my ticket had “expired.” I was then forced to pay an outrageous £218 for a one-way ticket. To make matters worse, I was informed that my return ticket was now also void.
This is beyond unacceptable. I had been travelling for hours with a disabled child and two more young kids, only to be met with zero understanding, zero compassion, and an appalling lack of basic customer service.
The way I was treated was absolutely disgraceful, heartless, and deeply disappointing. No family—especially one travelling with a disabled child—should be subjected to such inhumane and exploitative treatment.”
“Just so badly managed. We arrive super early expecting it it to be busy. They say border control
Is 30 minutes and hold us from boarding. Border control takes over and hour and we miss our train AND the one after it. Nobody communicates nobody cares. Drive into a train not even knowing what time it’s leaving. Never again when it’s high season. Just useless.”
“Always happy with Eurotunnel... twice a year visit to France and back, never had a delay or issue. There are often some queues for passport control but just factor that into your plans... how is this different from an airport? Also if you are early there is often the option for an earlier train which i think is a brilliant perk and very clever of the technology to enable this.”
“I’ve been using the Eurotunnel for years and was always used to a bit of flexibility around arrival times. Without clear communication, they’ve now changed the rules: if you arrive less than 1 hour before your booked departure, your entire ticket becomes void — including the return.
No warning, no grace period, no option to board a later train. Just locked out by the system.
The result? Fully paid ticket refused. No goodwill, no support, no solution offered.
This is not how you treat loyal customers. If this is the new standard, many will simply choose the ferry or the plane.”
“Yet again over an hour delay, sitting on the car with the sun beating down on us. Apparently, again, technical issues - yet, as usual, the French side is moving fine.”
“The new terms and conditions are a thinly disguised money grab. We arrived 5 minutes late because of an accident near Ashford. Charged £200 for a single to get home to France, even though the “service” was two hours late. We have been using Eurotunnel several times a year since it opened in 1994 and probably won’t in the future. By the way, the new T&Cs are cunningly hidden, a bit like in Hitchhikers Guide, in the basement, behind the sewage pump in the room marked ‘Beware of the leopard’”
“We used Le Shuttle for the first time on our recent holiday AND WE WILL NEVER USE THEM AGAIN.
Delayed for HOURS, information given was repeatedly wrong and regularly changed, different excuses for the delay.
Arrived back in Folkstone so late we couldn't do the drive home and had to sleep in a car park.
Complained online, but not holding our breath for a sensible reply with compensation.
We're going back to the Ferry next year.
I only gave one Star because it's the lowest you can give, THEY DON'T DESERVE ANY STARS.”
“Constantly delay the train to France that we are scheduled for, up to two hours extra in queues. Three trips in six months and the same scenario each time. I think the firm is simply delaying trains that aren't full and packing them so as to save money on trips. It's a pity they resort to this when people choose a time for a train and pay for that time...”
“Appalling disconnects. Turn up buy full price ticket for next train 15.45... told to proceed.... Wait in q untill 15.55 and go to front q to see young man who knew more than the ticket desk 30 mins earlier.... Aha yes young man said, there was "an incident " in France earlier so all trains delayed. Funny that the ticket office didn't know about delay. Looks like we will travel an hour and a half after our ticked time due to chaos management! Disgraceful management or lack of. Thank goodness Le Shuttle don't run airports”
