LNER advance tickets - alteration options

[Journeyman]

I was meant to be going to a festival near Kettering over the August Bank Holiday weekend. The organisers were very hopeful it would go ahead, but due to government refusal to underwrite cancellation insurance, I found out today it's been cancelled. Unfortunately, I'd already booked my travel, as I had to do so early to get the best prices.

I'm getting a refund on the Sleeper I was taking from Edinburgh to London to get there. For my homeward journey, I booked an Advance from Peterborough to Edinburgh, the plan being to get the bus over from Kettering before getting the train. As I'm usually knackered after the festival, I booked a first class ticket. It cost me £93.

Anyway...I knew I was taking bit of a risk, but I didn't want to price myself out of being able to afford a first class ticket by leaving it any longer to book. I just went to check what LNER's refund/alteration policies are, and it seems I can get a refund, but only if I book a ticket between the same origin and destination. Unfortunately for me, I have plenty of desire to go to and from London, but absolutely no need or desire to go to Peterborough, which just happened to be an interchange point for my journey home from the cancelled event.

What are my options? I could change the date and use it to get home from London sometime, perhaps by buying an extra ticket from London to Peterborough. Or, if I change the dates on it, can I then pay a £10 admin fee/difference in fare to change it to a ticket valid from London? Appreciate I may just be down on the money here, but I'd value any hints on this. If it helps, I booked the ticket on an Amex card.

 

[robbeech]

You can split a replacement ticket. So if you find a journey at an earlier or later date that could make use of a Peterborough to Edinburgh leg combined with an London to Peterborough leg then you could do this (Most LNER services call at Peterborough so if you end up not being able to get the same train and stay on you may only have to wait a short time at Peterborough).

Another option is to keep an eye on the timetable. There's a few months left, and if they time table changes between now and then then you'd be entitled to a refund of that ticket anyway with no admin fee.

If you are left with no option but to forfeit the ticket and the money paid, ask LNER if they would consider cancelling the ticket and donating the price of the ticket to one of the charities they support.

 

[Wallsendmag]

You can split a replacement ticket. So if you find a journey at an earlier or later date that could make use of a Peterborough to Edinburgh leg combined with an London to Peterborough leg then you could do this (Most LNER services call at Peterborough so if you end up not being able to get the same train and stay on you may only have to wait a short time at Peterborough).

Another option is to keep an eye on the timetable. There's a few months left, and if they time table changes between now and then then you'd be entitled to a refund of that ticket anyway with no admin fee.

If you are left with no option but to forfeit the ticket and the money paid, ask LNER if they would consider cancelling the ticket and donating the price of the ticket to one of the charities they support.

Not so many EDB-KGX services call at PBO, you may need to change at York

 

[robbeech]

Not so many EDB-KGX services call at PBO, you may need to change at York

Indeed but their current ticket is Peterborough to Edinburgh so this would limit them to ones that did anyway.

Unless the LNER site tends to offer PBO YRK then YRK EDB itineraries, I doubt it’s quicker as those fast KGX to YRK tend to be stoppers between YRK and EDB and the other way around.