The whole thing's contemptible from beginning to end...Nobody in their right mind could contemplate a company could be so brutal with people

Survivor, Lee Jasper

"And I just said, in a joke, 'Well you weren't charged for it, were you? And he said 'I was.'

"It appears for all the tickets I sold that morning, people were charged, and then had to claim a refund from Great Western."

Survivor, Tony Jasper, was one of those people who later received a credit card demand for payment for the trip.

He said: "The whole thing's contemptible from beginning to end. If you were making a movie you wouldn't believe the plot if the company had acted in that way.

"Nobody in their right mind could contemplate a company could be so brutal with people."

31 people died in the crash in October 1999

Mr Jasper said he has never had an apology from FGW, even though he was officially commended for his bravery in rescuing several people in the aftermath of the crash.

First Great Western explained they had to download the ticket machine for British Transport Police to help them identify passengers.

But the company admitted they could have cancelled the transactions afterwards.

Refund applications

A company spokesman added they were not insensitive to passengers' feelings, and that they wrote to as many people as they could, asking them to apply for a refund.

However, there is also a question mark over FGW's right to have charged passengers, since the journey they had paid for was not completed.

Lawyer, Louise Christian, who is 50 survivors and bereaved families said FGW breached its contract with passengers.

She said: "The contract was about delivering somebody safely to their destination and that didn't happen to any of the people on this train."

Last month, a report into the crash blamed a "lamentable failure" by Railtrack to respond to safety warnings before the accident.

The crash in October 1999 left 31 people dead, after a Thames Trains service went through a red signal and collided with the First Great Western InterCity Express.