.
Yes, nice of them to tell us.
And Avantix Mobile, which is probably where lots of these would be done anyway, still charges half the difference when doing this type of excess. I know, because I did one the other day!
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I have also just noticed that the rule for excessing up to First Class have changed - and look very complicated indeed, especially when on board. They also look expensive!
Re: O/distance excesses - FasTIS still uses the HALF the difference rule too.
As for First Class, the new rules are actually
fairer to the passenger, as they only end up paying the same as they would have paid had they bought the "correct" tickets in the first place.
Under the old rules, you effectively upgrade the ticket to an Anytime or Anytime Day Return, then charge the difference between the First and Standard Singles.
Under the new rules, you charge the difference between the fare paid and the sum of the
appropriate singles for the journey.
To keep things fairly simple, let's say you have the following set of fares:
SVS: £24.50, SVR: £25.00
SOS: £30.00, SOR: £60.00
FSS: £37.50, FSR: £75.00
FOS: £45.00, FOR: £90.00
Under the old rules, upgrading from the SVR would involve the following:
Excess SVR -> SOR: £60.00 - £25.00 = £35.00
FOS - SOS: £45.00 - £30.00 = £15.00
Excess: £35.00 + £15.00 = £50.00
As this is
more than the FOS, you'd sell that.
Under the new rules, if travelling when a First Off-Peak is valid:
SVS + FSS = £24.50 + £37.50 = £62.00
Less the fare paid: £62.00 - £25.00 = £37.00
As this is (just)
less than the FSS, you'd charge the excess.
Travelling when a First Off-Peak isn't valid:
SVS + FOS: £24.50 + £45.00 = £69.50
Less the fare paid: £69.50 - £25.00 = £44.50
Again, this is (just)
less than the FOS, so you'd charge the excess.
Cheers,
Barry