Can amended railcard terms and conditions be imposed mid way through its validity?

[gray1404]

Can amended railcard terms and conditions be imposed mid way through its validity? A customer buys a railcard for 3 years and there are changes made mid way through its validity to the terms and conditions. It would be fair to say that the new conditions can only apply to railcards purchased (new or renewed) on or after the effective date of the new conditions and that the former terms and conditions still apply to any railcard issued before that date until such time that the said railcard expires.

 

[Romilly]

It depends on whether the terms and conditions that apply when you buy the railcard allow for unilateral variation of the terms and conditions during the lifetime of the railcard. If you take the current terms and conditions of the 16-25 railcard as an example, they say:

1.6 Train Companies may change the Railcard Conditions during the validity of your Railcard. Where possible, the Train Companies will communicate these changes to you by displaying information at stations at least three months prior to the change.

 

[gray1404]

I do not know how enforceable such a term is. It is actually that section of the terms and conditions, that appears in most of the railcard T&Cs, that prompted this post. It provides no limitation on the changes they can impose and also not option to terminate your railcard and be entitled to a refund if you do not consent to any changes. I therefore do not it is enforceable, any changes, without express consent.

 

[sheff1]

If a customer does not wish to accept the revised conditions it could be argued that they are entitled to a pro rata refund of the price paid for the railcard - particularly if there is more than 12 months validity remaining. Whether such an argument would be successful, I do not know.

 

[Bletchleyite]

This has happened before - the introduction of the Network Railcard Minimum Fare. It was not applied to existing Railcards; any issued before then retained their previous validity until expiry.

 

[gray1404]

Note to self, will ensure any future railcards are paid for using a card so that Chargeback can be used in the event of any problems.

 

[Wallsendmag]

This has happened before - the introduction of the Network Railcard Minimum Fare. It was not applied to existing Railcards; any issued before then retained their previous validity until expiry.

Also when the Family and Senior Railcards changed

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

I suspect that the answer is that, if they wanted to, and subject to giving adequate notice (which I would suggest "a few notices at a few stations" definitely wouldn't count as!), RDG could indeed change the terms without the passenger's consent, provided they then made a pro-rata refund if the passenger did not agree with the revised terms.

However, history tells us that this is unlikely to happen, if nothing else because it would be very poor PR for the railways. Often, in the case of a public facing organisation, their legal rights might differ quite substantially from the rights which they are practically speaking able to enforce!

 

[Hadders]

This has happened before - the introduction of the Network Railcard Minimum Fare. It was not applied to existing Railcards; any issued before then retained their previous validity until expiry.

Also when the Family and Senior Railcards changed

Although not strictly speaking a railcard but when the Gold Card conditions changed in 2015 they were applied to all Gold Cards at the same time.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

Although not strictly speaking a railcard but when the Gold Card conditions changed in 2015 they were applied to all Gold Cards at the same time.

This is correct; however, as it was a positive change (increase in validity), there was no question of it being an objectionable kind of unilateral variation.

 

[Hadders]

This is correct; however, as it was a positive change (increase in validity), there was no question of it being an objectionable kind of unilateral variation.

Not all the changes were positive:

Removal of the £2 child flat fare
Removal of the £5 first class upgrade
Network Railcard Partner Card for £1 increased to £10

 

[Muzer]

Network Railcard Partner Card for £1 increased to £10

But on the flipside, made available for a wider variety of railcards.

 

[Hadders]

But on the flipside, made available for a wider variety of railcards.

Agreed. The point is that although the majority of the 2015 were positive there were downsides too.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

Agreed. The point is that although the majority of the 2015 were positive there were downsides too.

I suppose in that case, if it represented a material worsening of the conditions to a particular person due to their use of the benefits, they would be entitled to a pro-rata refund.

But essentially, since it is unlikely that someone would stop wanting to have use of a Railcard because of changes to the conditions of its use, or that they will decide to stop commuting by train, the rail industry are effectively free to make such changes as they see fit, mid-contract. That is, I have to say, a rather unsatisfactory state of affairs.

 

[sprunt]

I suppose in that case, if it represented a material worsening of the conditions to a particular person due to their use of the benefits, they would be entitled to a pro-rata refund.

In the case of a Gold Card, a pro-rata refund of what?

 

[island]

Not all the changes were positive:

Removal of the £2 child flat fare
Removal of the £5 first class upgrade
Network Railcard Partner Card for £1 increased to £10

Removal of validity on Virgin and VTEC (as was)

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

In the case of a Gold Card, a pro-rata refund of what?

The season ticket.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Removal of validity on Virgin and VTEC (as was)

These weren't applied to existing tickets, were they? I'm pretty sure they weren't?

I don't think any other Railcard T&C have ever been amended for existing holders until after renewal. The NSE ones definitely were not.

 

[JonathanH]

What about the change to the terms of the Family Railcard and Senior Railcard back in 1993(?) to remove their validity for journeys wholly within the Network South East area before cheap day returns became valid? I suppose that was a BR/NSE change ahead of privatisation so doesn't count.

 

[Hadders]

These weren't applied to existing tickets, were they? I'm pretty sure they weren't?

I don't think any other Railcard T&C have ever been amended for existing holders until after renewal. The NSE ones definitely were not.

They were. Existing Gold Cards assumed the new t&c's at the same time.

I agree that the Network Card changes happened differently with the minimum fare not applying to existing cards. New cards issued after a certain date had different ticket stock with a Red R in a circle.

 

[Bletchleyite]

They were. Existing Gold Cards assumed the new t&c's at the same time.

Fair enough. I suppose the Gold Card is an oddity as while some here consider that it's a product in its own right costing a couple of hundred quid that happens to have a slightly useless season ticket chucked in for free, in reality it's intended to be a free benefit associated with the purchase of a season ticket. If it cost £0 in the first place and had no bearing on the decision to purchase the season (which it wouldn't in most cases) then changing (or even abolishing) that benefit would seem reasonable - just like airlines change their frequent flyer schemes all the time. If one had paid £30 for a Network Railcard then had it made useless from under them, then that's much more questionable contractually.

Or talking about airlines as a comparison, it would seem reasonable for BA to change the Executive Club benefits whenever they like, as they are just freebies with the ticket, but not reasonable for easyJet to change the T&C of the Plus Card for existing holders because it's something you pay for based on wanting one or more of the things it offers.

I agree that the Network Card changes happened differently with the minimum fare not applying to existing cards. New cards issued after a certain date had different ticket stock with a Red R in a circle.

Indeed they did.

Thinking on, when the pre-10am minimum fare on the YP changed from being double for SDRs to the same for all tickets was that done "mid Railcard"? I think the "one ticket" minimum was cranked up a fair bit at the same time, though I suppose that's just a fare rise.

 

[gray1404]

I remember when the family railcard changed and it went from £2 flat rate for a child to 60% they had different ticket stock and online booking engines allowed you to select if your railcard was new or old style.