Is buying a ticket at lunchtime for travel at 10pm suspicious?

Moderator note: Split from https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/m-ticket-activated-but-not-used.207598/

WesternLancer said:

....they would not have asked you anything had you turned up at 10pm with a ticket bought at lunch time would they.

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But isn't date and time printed on a paper ticket? couldn't they be equally suspicious of someone turning up with a ticket for such a short distance at 10 in the evening when it was printed at lunch time?

37424 said:

But isn't date and time printed on a paper ticket? couldn't they be equally suspicious of someone turning up with a ticket for such a short distance at 10 in the evening when it was printed at lunch time?

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Personally I doubt anyone would bat an eyelid (printing time on paper ticket is so small hard to think anyone would notice - and a barrier line would not reject it) unless they had other reason to be suspicious of you (IMHO)

I often pop into the ticket office at my local station in my lunch break (it's close to where I work) to buy a ticket for eve travel, when for example I am concerned that I will be delayed getting out of work, or the train departure time is close to my work end time and a queue for a ticket might cause me to miss the train.

So I would say no.

I suppose the equiv scenario is not that however, it is if you went through a barrier line gate at 12 noon, with the machine accepting your ticket, then abandoned your journey as you are entitled to do (for any reason you like), then went back to make the journey later in the day, with the barrier line detecting that the ticket had already gone through and thus rejecting it (if the barrier gate tech works like that of course).

Nothing suspicious about it. I've bought tickets on the day but before travel loads of times.

It makes sense to do so. You walk past the station at lunchtime, see no queue, so pick up a ticket in case there's a late evening rush when you get there later.

kristiang85 said:

It makes sense to do so. You walk past the station at lunchtime, see no queue, so pick up a ticket in case there's a late evening rush when you get there later.

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Or indeed arrive in the morning, know you plan to meet someone in a different place in the evening, and buy the ticket for that evening trip in the morning to save time later. The only reason not to do so would be if there was risk such plans changed and you then ended up with a ticket you had no need for and could not obtain a refund.

I was going to college twice a week after work for five years. I always bought my tickets in my lunch break without any problem.

I have picked up tickets ,days, even weeks prior to travel.

Far more suspicious to buy an off peak ticket early in the morning, I have had issues there.

philthetube said:

Far more suspicious to buy an off peak ticket early in the morning, I have had issues there.

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I've done that loads, most notably a Super Off Peak Day Travelcard for later on, with the intention of not using the outward half.

I do it from the TVM, though. Nobody to argue then.

Clearly it shouldn’t be suspicious. In order to consider this action suspicious by default the passenger would have to be acting suspicious or the member of staff would have to be scraping the barrel for an excuse to reject and resell for more revenue.
or both.

Bletchleyite said:

I've done that loads, most notably a Super Off Peak Day Travelcard for later on, with the intention of not using the outward half.

I do it from the TVM, though. Nobody to argue then.

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Years ago I used to do days out in London using off peak Travelcards, starting from Southfields (District Line). The ticket office wouldn't sell them until 9:30, by which time there'd often be a queue of ten or twelve people waiting. But the Oyster Stop newsagent across the road would happily sell me one at 9:25, so I'd be ready at the barrier as 9:30 struck.