• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Excessing Railcard-discounted Advance tickets?

Status
Not open for further replies.

All Line Rover

Established Member
Joined
17 Feb 2011
Messages
5,221
If I purchase an Advance ticket with a Railcard, but end up not being able to use the Railcard, is it possible to excess the tickets to remove the Railcard discount? If so, would this be £10 + the difference between the fare paid and the appropriate non-discounted fare?

Thanks. :)
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

bb21

Emeritus Moderator
Joined
4 Feb 2010
Messages
24,151
It is definitely possible. Whether you can get it is another matter.

It has been reported that some ticket offices will do them and people have successfully obtained such excess before.

All I can really suggest is to shop around.
 

hairyhandedfool

Established Member
Joined
14 Apr 2008
Messages
8,837
If the clerk sees it as a change of travel plans, you'll be charged £10 plus the difference in any fare (if any). I mention a change of fare because I have never successfully excessed to the same level of advance fare for the same train on FasTis, but then I haven't had much excuse to try either.

Bear in mind that changing your seat on the same train is officially changing travel plans these days.....
 

barrykas

Established Member
Joined
19 Sep 2006
Messages
1,579
If the clerk sees it as a change of travel plans, you'll be charged £10 plus the difference in any fare (if any). I mention a change of fare because I have never successfully excessed to the same level of advance fare for the same train on FasTis, but then I haven't had much excuse to try either.

Perfectly possible to do it as the same ticket type, though you may need to go to "Show All" to get the full list of fares up, then go into "Adjust" and enter the original reservation details.

Cheers,

Barry
 

hairyhandedfool

Established Member
Joined
14 Apr 2008
Messages
8,837
Might have a play about tomorrow to check it out, don't recall a "show all" option, but I'll have a look.
 

Max

Forum Staff
Staff Member
Administrator
Joined
8 Jun 2005
Messages
5,455
Location
Cardiff
I've had it done for me before, but it wasn't issued as a standard excess. A ticket that looked like a brand new Advance was issued, priced at the difference between the YP and normal fare (calculated manually). The two were then stapled together. No admin fee was charged.
 

island

Veteran Member
Joined
30 Dec 2010
Messages
15,982
Location
0036
I believe TISes will offer it if the clerk knows how, but it is not meant to be done.
 

DaveNewcastle

Established Member
Joined
21 Dec 2007
Messages
7,387
Location
Newcastle (unless I'm out)
This made me smile:
Bear in mind that changing your seat on the same train is officially changing travel plans these days.....
Is there no end to the will of TOCs and passengers to continually re-interpret regulations, customs and practice to win a tiny margin over each other?

But my real point in posting is to query whether an attempt to Excess a discounted Advance to its un-discounted equivalent (which an automated booking system may determine requires an alternative seat), constitutes an actual change of seat (as if it had been requested by the passenger which is unlikely to have been requested), and therefore can be claimed to be "a change of travel plans"?

In other words, is a "change of travel plan" being assumed by software when the pasenger has no wish to change their travel plan? (Just to remove a no-longer-available discount?)
 

yorkie

Forum Staff
Staff Member
Administrator
Joined
6 Jun 2005
Messages
67,432
Location
Yorkshire
East Coast are certainly capable of doing this without any fuss, and correctly charging the difference in fares (and no further charge, which should not be made).

Providing it's not a 'change of travel plans' and there is no evidence of the ticket being 'transferred' (except as allowed by the NRCoC) then there shouldn't be an issue.

But getting someone competent & willing to do an excess can be very tricky at certain locations!

With Virgin, the staff range from superb (I've had great service at Stockport & Manchester Piccadilly) to awful (I've heard several incidents of incorrect actions & sometimes rudeness at Wolverhampton, Coventry and Euston).
 

hairyhandedfool

Established Member
Joined
14 Apr 2008
Messages
8,837
....But my real point in posting is to query whether an attempt to Excess a discounted Advance to its un-discounted equivalent (which an automated booking system may determine requires an alternative seat), constitutes an actual change of seat (as if it had been requested by the passenger which is unlikely to have been requested), and therefore can be claimed to be "a change of travel plans"?

In other words, is a "change of travel plan" being assumed by software when the pasenger has no wish to change their travel plan? (Just to remove a no-longer-available discount?)

There is no real definition of a change of travel plans, this is an issue I think, but if something requires you to change your travel ticket, is this not a change of travel plans??????

East Coast are certainly capable of doing this without any fuss, and correctly charging the difference in fares (and no further charge, which should not be made)....

Could you provide evidence of the highlighted section. I looked through the manual today for a few things, one of which was changing a Railcard discounted fare to a non-discounted one before travel and did not find a rule on it (there may be a rule in section I wouldn't expect it (someone looking for 'HS1' information may know what I mean) or I just missed it). The only mention I saw was travelling without a Railcard, which, as we all should know by now, is a case of buying a new ticket and get a refund on the discounted one.
 

island

Veteran Member
Joined
30 Dec 2010
Messages
15,982
Location
0036
I agree with hairyhandedfool. There is not to my knowledge an unfettered right to excess a Railcard-discounted ticket to the corresponding non-discounted ticket for the fare difference, or the fare difference plus £10, or any other sum. If the discounted ticket is not an Advance, it may be refunded at the usual £10 fee and a new undiscounted ticket purchased.

Some booking offices may have offered the excess in the past, but that does not make it valid.
 

yorkie

Forum Staff
Staff Member
Administrator
Joined
6 Jun 2005
Messages
67,432
Location
Yorkshire
There is no real definition of a change of travel plans, this is an issue I think, but if something requires you to change your travel ticket, is this not a change of travel plans??????
No. Wishing to travel at the same time & date but merely losing your Railcard would not be a change of travel plans by any sane & sensible definition.
 

hairyhandedfool

Established Member
Joined
14 Apr 2008
Messages
8,837
Or rather, by any definition you believe to be sane or sensible, both these terms are relative.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top