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Excess single to return - time limits

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trivran

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Hi, I'm going to be travelling to Stansted Airport (SSD) by train tomorrow, returning after 10 days, but unsure if I will be taking the train or bus back. I thus plan to buy a boundary zone 6 - SSD anytime single, and get it excessed to a return if needs be. I have previously done this in a shorter time frame with success. My question is if I will have any trouble doing this - especially given that the single with validity of two days will have expired by the time I get back. Ultimately the penalty to me if I get this wrong will be but £2.75 but nice to know nonetheless.
 
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Mcr Warrior

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Not sure you can normally excess a single to a return after you've completed your journey on the single. :s
 

yorkie

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Not sure you can normally excess a single to a return after you've completed your journey on the single. :s
No, there is no official nor contractual provision for this.

Unofficially you may be able to obtain one, but there can be no expectation. Having had it done before is not a guarantee that you will be able to get it in future.
 

trivran

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Well in that case I will not go in with high hopes if it comes to taking the train back. Thank you both.
 

Mcr Warrior

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As there appears to be no off peak single fare from Stansted Airport to Boundary Zone 6, could the OP instead (on arrival back at the airport and assuming onward rail travel is after 0930 Mon-Fri or at the weekend) buy an off peak return (CDR) from Boundary Zone 6 to Stansted Airport = £14.80 and simply not use the outward portion?

Be cheaper than another Anytime Single at £18.00.
 

Haywain

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Not sure you can normally excess a single to a return after you've completed your journey on the single. :s
I would say that after the day of the journey the single is purchased for there is absolutely no chance of excessing to a return.
 

island

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As there appears to be no off peak single fare from Stansted Airport to Boundary Zone 6, could the OP instead (on arrival back at the airport and assuming onward rail travel is after 0930 Mon-Fri or at the weekend) buy an off peak return (CDR) from Boundary Zone 6 to Stansted Airport = £14.80 and simply not use the outward portion?

Be cheaper than another Anytime Single at £18.00.
It would be difficult to obtain, especially at Stansted Airport, but if one could, then there is no bar to doing this.
 

yorkie

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As there appears to be no off peak single fare from Stansted Airport to Boundary Zone 6, could the OP instead (on arrival back at the airport and assuming onward rail travel is after 0930 Mon-Fri or at the weekend) buy an off peak return (CDR) from Boundary Zone 6 to Stansted Airport = £14.80 and simply not use the outward portion?

Be cheaper than another Anytime Single at £18.00.
Indeed there is no requirement to use the outward portion, which can be immediately discarded.
 

trivran

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Oh that is very clever as I had (wrongly) banked on the reverse ticket being available..
 

Bletchleyite

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It would be difficult to obtain, especially at Stansted Airport, but if one could, then there is no bar to doing this.

If you want to do that and fear staff incorrectly refusing to sell it, just buy on your phone and collect from the TVM (or use an e-ticket if offered). Or some TOCs' TVMs will let you change the origin station and buy one that way.
 

island

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If you want to do that and fear staff incorrectly refusing to sell it, just buy on your phone and collect from the TVM (or use an e-ticket if offered). Or some TOCs' TVMs will let you change the origin station and buy one that way.
Boundary zone tickets cannot be purchased online nor from most TVMs.
 

Mcr Warrior

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Boundary zone tickets cannot be purchased online nor from most TVMs.
In that case, buy an Off Peak Day return (CDR) from Enfield Lock to Stansted Airport, same £14.80 price, I believe. And again discard the outward portion.
 

Wolfie

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As there appears to be no off peak single fare from Stansted Airport to Boundary Zone 6, could the OP instead (on arrival back at the airport and assuming onward rail travel is after 0930 Mon-Fri or at the weekend) buy an off peak return (CDR) from Boundary Zone 6 to Stansted Airport = £14.80 and simply not use the outward portion?

Be cheaper than another Anytime Single at £18.00.
Depending on the outbound travel time obviously but why not, if possible, use the outbound part of the return too? If the timings don't work could that part (i.e. the outbound) be excessed to Anytime?
 

Mcr Warrior

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Depending on the outbound travel time obviously but why not, if possible, use the outbound part of the return too? If the timings don't work could that part (i.e. the outbound) be excessed to Anytime?
Think you may have missed the point of the original question posed by the OP.

If the OP (who wasn't 100% sure if they'd be travelling back by rail) has indeed now made the journey to the airport using an Anytime Single ticket, it's probably not now possible for them to excess this to an Anytime Return when they do come back.

Off peak tickets from BZ6 to/from Stansted Airport seem only to be available as day tickets and for some reason are cheaper travelling inbound to the airport.

Use of the return portion of a CDR ticket to Stansted Airport (and discarding the outbound ticket) might therefore be the cheapest option for the OP to travel back towards London from Stansted in due course.

The OP won't need to use the outbound portion to get to Stansted as that's where they'll be already! ;)
 
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LowLevel

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The last opportunity to excess a single ticket is during the course of the journey IE from on train staff if provided. Once you've arrived at the destination an excess shouldn't be provided as the journey is complete.
 

Merseysider

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^Yup.

Single to Return excess is, I believe, not supposed to be done after the journey has finished. Otherwise you’d have scroungers picking up discarded tickets at the station and asking to pay the 10p excess to get “back”!
 

Mcr Warrior

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Single to Return excess is, I believe, not supposed to be done after the journey has finished. Otherwise you’d have scroungers picking up discarded tickets at the station and asking to pay the 10p excess to get “back”!
An extra £10.50 in the OP's case as it happens, but still seemingly cheaper than anything else by rail, so yes.
 

paul1609

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Depends where you actual journey is but I always use the National Express A9 service to/ from Stratford. Its half hourly and takes about an hour, I think a walk up ticket is £14 (£8? in advance). The bus station is at Westfield between the International and Main station. As my onward journey is on HS1 it avoids all the central London faff and is actually quicker for 90% of the journeys Ive made.
 

Wolfie

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Think you may have missed the point of the original question posed by the OP.

If the OP (who wasn't 100% sure if they'd be travelling back by rail) has indeed now made the journey to the airport using an Anytime Single ticket, it's probably not now possible for them to excess this to an Anytime Return when they do come back.

Off peak tickets from BZ6 to/from Stansted Airport seem only to be available as day tickets and for some reason are cheaper travelling inbound to the airport.

Use of the return portion of a CDR ticket to Stansted Airport (and discarding the outbound ticket) might therefore be the cheapest option for the OP to travel back towards London from Stansted in due course.

The OP won't need to use the outbound portion to get to Stansted as that's where they'll be already! ;)
I wasn't sure if they'd already bought the single. I should have made that clear l guess.

The last opportunity to excess a single ticket is during the course of the journey IE from on train staff if provided. Once you've arrived at the destination an excess shouldn't be provided as the journey is complete.
That seems highly sensible.
 

Barnsley

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The last opportunity to excess a single ticket is during the course of the journey IE from on train staff if provided. Once you've arrived at the destination an excess shouldn't be provided as the journey is complete.
This is correct, our Star desktop TIS won't even allow us to do this, or excess away Railcard discounts, but the Gateline staffs Star mobile machines can do both
 
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