Annual gold card change - query

[SWT_USER]

I currently hold a Feltham to London Terminals annual gold card (valid until 30th September 2019) which cost £1912.

I've moved house, only one stop further from London, to Ashford and so need to change this to an Ashford to London season ticket. What is the best way of doing this? Is it best to get a refund on the remainder of my current ticket and get a new one? Or is there a way of changing it over for the rest of the validity and keeping the gold card? I'd need the ticket from Ashford valid from the 1st March ideally but could delay it by a week (to Monday 11th March) if that makes any difference?

Lots of questions there. Any advice gratefully received!

 

[Clip]

Pop inot your booking office and just ask for a changeover

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

I currently hold a Feltham to London Terminals annual gold card (valid until 30th September 2019) which cost £1912.

I've moved house, only one stop further from London, to Ashford and so need to change this to an Ashford to London season ticket. What is the best way of doing this? Is it best to get a refund on the remainder of my current ticket and get a new one? Or is there a way of changing it over for the rest of the validity and keeping the gold card? I'd need the ticket from Ashford valid from the 1st March ideally but could delay it by a week (to Monday 11th March) if that makes any difference?

Lots of questions there. Any advice gratefully received!

You can get a change of route on a season ticket at any point during its validity, provided there is at least one week remaining and it's a monthly or longer ticket. This is invariably the cheapest way, as you don't pay any administration fee for this, and you either pay (or get back) the pro-rata difference.

If you do a refund and repurchase then you would only get a refund that would reflect what you would have paid for monthly/weekly tickets to cover your commute for as long as you ended up holding the ticket. Compared to a pro-rata change on an annual ticket (which is 40× a weekly, don't forget), that's going to end up a lot more expensive!

You should be able to process the changeover at any manned ticket office from the TOC that sold you the season ticket originally. If you bought it online you'll need to contact the customer services of the relevant retailer.

In terms of notice, you can usually only process changeovers such that they come into effect from the next day - not earlier, not later.

 

[ThisIsSurbiton]

You can change it to a season from Ashford where you bought it, or at Ashford, Feltham, etc. There is no charge, just the extra cost of the ticket for the time remaining on it.

See http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/46571.aspx under 'Changeovers', where it says:

• If you move house, change your place of work or wish to change the class of travel, you may apply to exchange any Season Ticket with at least 7 days remaining, for one with the same expiry date for your new journey or class. This is called a changeover.
• A changeover may be applied for at the rail ticket office where the original ticket was issued or at any station relevant to the new journey. The new journey Season Ticket is a continuous renewal and it must start on the day following surrender of the original ticket. Any additional charge or refund will be based on the ticket prices when the original Season Ticket was bought, pro rata to the periods before and after the changeover.
• No administration charge is made. Any ticket that has already been exchanged in this way may be accepted for further exchanges if necessary.

 

[Hadders]

Also worth noting that a changeover will calculate the additional price based on the price when you originally purchased the ticket, so last year's price.

 

[SWT_USER]

I have sorted this now. It took about half an hour with the clerk unsure whether or not he would be able to process it as I'd purchased the season ticket online from GWR initially. This meant the issuing station on his system was displayed as FGW Websales which caused a problem for some reason.

Annoyingly the ticket doesn't work in the barriers at Feltham despite being valid there.

A follow up question - what cost should I now out for the season ticket when filling in the online delay repay form? The original season ticket cost £1912 (Feltham to London) and the price of an Ashford to London last year was £2412 (I think). However, the cost on my new ticket is £1430.08.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

I have sorted this now. It took about half an hour with the clerk unsure whether or not he would be able to process it as I'd purchased the season ticket online from GWR initially. This meant the issuing station on his system was displayed as FGW Websales which caused a problem for some reason.

Annoyingly the ticket doesn't work in the barriers at Feltham despite being valid there.

A follow up question - what cost should I now out for the season ticket when filling in the online delay repay form? The original season ticket cost £1912 (Feltham to London) and the price of an Ashford to London last year was £2412 (I think). However, the cost on my new ticket is £1430.08.

You'd put in the price shown on your season ticket with the compensation entitlement being calculated pro-rata to the length of the season ticket.

 

[Hadders]

You'd put in the price shown on your season ticket with the compensation entitlement being calculated pro-rata to the length of the season ticket.

I’m not sure this is right. The OP now has an annual Ashford-London season ticket and delay repay compensation should be based on the price of £2,412.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

I’m not sure this is right. The OP now has an annual Ashford-London season ticket and delay repay compensation should be based on the price of £2,412.

Compensation is going to be the same either way.