Change of printed Advance ticket with Avanti

[Bletchleyite]

With Advances you can indeed only change for the same origin and destination, i.e. change the date/time.

Why won't coming back later work? I don't understand. The cost is capped at the walk-up so there is no point changing for a walk-up now, you can do that any time up to original departure.

 

[VauxhallandI]

With Advances you can indeed only change for the same origin and destination, i.e. change the date/time.

Why won't coming back later work? I don't understand. The cost is capped at the walk-up so there is no point changing for a walk-up now, you can do that any time up to original departure.

The answer to that is in the thread.

I had to buy another ticket as I couldn’t get to an Avanti station until Sunday.

The price was going up, had gone up a £5 in the time it had taken to find out visiting the station was the only option.

It’s at £67 now, there is no way i Could gamble on what price it could have got to by the time of my visit.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It’s at £67 now, there is no way i Could gamble on what price it could have got to by the time of my visit.

The price it could have got to is capped by the relevant walk-up fare.

 

[VauxhallandI]

The price it could have got to is capped by the relevant walk-up fare.

Whilst a good thing it doesn’t exactly give me a saving

 

[pelli]

Just to clarify, is this the correct sequence of events?

You had originally bought and collected an Advance ticket for a journey on 4th Novemeber from Manchester to Euston. Then you needed to change the ticket to an earlier train, for which the procedure appears to be slow. Since you were worried that the Advance price for the earlier train would become too expensive for your taste (in particular the walk-up fare is not acceptable) by the time the procedure finishes, you decided to just buy a new Advance ticket for the earlier train.

As for the unused original ticket, you wanted to make use of its value on a future journey instead. You would like to make this future journey in January, but the original ticket must be exchanged before the original travel date on 4th November (you incorrectly wrote "4th Jan" in your post #30), by which time Advance tickets will not yet be released for your desired journey in January, so you would only be able to exchange the ticket for (part payment towards) a walk-up ticket, which is too expensive for you.

So the question now is how to not let the value of your original ticket go to waste, without being forced to buy a too-expensive walk-up ticket?

Firstly, are you sure you can't just refund it (for an evoucher)? Wallsendmag's reply #2 seems to imply this is possible (but you have to post the ticket back). From what I can tell on Avanti's "Train Ticket Refunds" page "Refund information" -> "I have an Advance ticket" -> "Bought your ticket on our app or website?" -> "If you are requesting this refund before 6pm the day before travel then please fill in this refund form", there is no indication that collected paper tickets cannot be refunded. (But if you go down the change-of-journey route, rather than refund, then you do run in to the restriction "Only E-tickets and uncollected paper tickets can be amended".) Note that the linked form is a generic "Send us a message about refunds" form, so make sure to say explicitly that you would like the ticket to be refunded.

Secondly, if not refundable, could you not amend the ticket to some intermediate future date where the advance ticket price matches the value of the original ticket (so you don't have to put more money in, and don't let any value go wasted), and then amend it again later to the actual journey you want?

 

[VauxhallandI]

Just to clarify, is this the correct sequence of events?

You had originally bought and collected an Advance ticket for a journey on 4th Novemeber from Manchester to Euston. Then you needed to change the ticket to an earlier train, for which the procedure appears to be slow. Since you were worried that the Advance price for the earlier train would become too expensive for your taste (in particular the walk-up fare is not acceptable) by the time the procedure finishes, you decided to just buy a new Advance ticket for the earlier train.

As for the unused original ticket, you wanted to make use of its value on a future journey instead. You would like to make this future journey in January, but the original ticket must be exchanged before the original travel date on 4th November (you incorrectly wrote "4th Jan" in your post #30), by which time Advance tickets will not yet be released for your desired journey in January, so you would only be able to exchange the ticket for (part payment towards) a walk-up ticket, which is too expensive for you.

So the question now is how to not let the value of your original ticket go to waste, without being forced to buy a too-expensive walk-up ticket?

Firstly, are you sure you can't just refund it? Wallsendmag's reply #2 seems to imply this is possible (but you have to post the ticket back). From what I can tell on Avanti's "Train Ticket Refunds" page "Refund information" -> "I have an Advance ticket" -> "Bought your ticket on our app or website?" -> "If you are requesting this refund before 6pm the day before travel then please fill in this refund form", there is no indication that collected paper tickets cannot be refunded. (But if you go down the change-of-journey route, rather than refund, then you do run in to the restriction "Only E-tickets and uncollected paper tickets can be amended".) Note that the linked form is a generic "Send us a message about refunds" form, so make sure to say explicitly that you would like the ticket to be refunded.

Secondly, if not refundable, could you not amend the ticket to some future date in between where the advance ticket price matches the value of the original ticket (so you don't have to put more money in, and don't let any value go wasted), and then amend it again later to the actual journey you want?

All correct yes.

Thank you I will look into the refund information however I suspect that as mentioned there is a lead time of 4 weeks for them to respond. For example the message I sent on the day this began hasn’t been answered.

Unfortunately I have all the tickets booked up between now and Xmas for that route

Cheers

UPDATE

I have sent them another message in vain hope of a refund. The ticket says non refundable on it. They now have a picture of it and the reference number of the new ticket I bought so you never know.

The form you fill in kept giving me an error until I worked out it doesn’t accept apostrophes in your 5000 word section..... Does anyone ever test these things, it’s shocking.

 

[Haywain]

All correct yes.

Thank you I will look into the refund information however I suspect that as mentioned there is a lead time of 4 weeks for them to respond. For example the message I sent on the day this began hasn’t been answered.

Unfortunately I have all the tickets booked up between now and Xmas for that route

Cheers

To clarify, is this a ticket that was purchased through the Avanti website and subsequently collected at a station? Such Advance tickets do currently qualify for refunds (a temporary measure) even though they are non-refundable, and such a refund should be applied for through the Avanti website - I believe that as part of the process you will be asked to submit a photo of the ticket(s) to show it has been cut in half - and if there is a 4 week lead time in processing the refund it is the date of submission of the request that is important not the date of completing the refund. The correct page for requesting a refund can be found here. Note that you need to sign in to your account to request this.

With a ticket collected at a station it is also possible to change the date and time of travel, but not the direction, and this *should* be able to be done at any National Rail station that can sell tickets with reservations. However, what the ticket can be changed to is limited to what's available and a change will incur a £10 change of journey fee. In current circumstances, while a refund can be obtained, this is the poorer option.

 

[VauxhallandI]

Yes bought on their site and collected.

The link is to a C2C page but that doesn’t matter I request a refund at Euston on the 3rd when I go up to Manchester?

 

[Haywain]

Yes bought on their site and collected.

The link is to a C2C page but that doesn’t matter I request a refund at Euston on the 3rd when I go up to Manchester?

I have amended the link now. If you take it into Euston they may, possibly, ask you to send it in.

 

[janb]

With a ticket collected at a station it is also possible to change the date and time of travel, but not the direction, and this *should* be able to be done at any National Rail station that can sell tickets with reservations. However, what the ticket can be changed to is limited to what's available and a change will incur a £10 change of journey fee. In current circumstances, while a refund can be obtained, this is the poorer option.

The no fee Book With Confidence change at ticket office should apply regardless of original retailer. I don't have the RDG brief to hand, but I believe it explicitly mentioned some 3rd party retailers might not take part in the scheme and for those customers the only opportunity for a fee free change would be at a station ticket office.

 

[Haywain]

I believe it explicitly mentioned some 3rd party retailers might not take part in the scheme and for those customers the only opportunity for a fee free change would be at a station ticket office.

That would only provide a change, and not a refund. The advantage of going back to the TOC is getting a refund (in the form of an eVoucher) which can be used for any journey at a later date - albeit having to purchase through the same retailer.

 

[janb]

That would only provide a change, and not a refund. The advantage of going back to the TOC is getting a refund (in the form of an eVoucher) which can be used for any journey at a later date - albeit having to purchase through the same retailer.

Oh absolutely, I would recommend the refund route particularly in the OP case, but you said with regards to changes,

...and this *should* be able to be done at any National Rail station that can sell tickets with reservations. However, what the ticket can be changed to is limited to what's available and a change will incur a £10 change of journey fee.

The change *should* be free of charge if made before 6pm on the day before travel at a (competent) ticket office. Regardless of original retailer.

 

[Haywain]

Oh absolutely, I would recommend the refund route particularly in the OP case, but you said with regards to changes,

The change *should* be free of charge if made before 6pm on the day before travel at a (competent) ticket office. Regardless of original retailer.

Fair enough. I really only said all that for clarity about the general position on making changes to advance tickets as I think that has all become a bit confused during the course of the thread, and the OP needs to be aware that the £10 fee is there in normal times.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Fair enough. I really only said all that for clarity about the general position on making changes to advance tickets as I think that has all become a bit confused during the course of the thread, and the OP needs to be aware that the £10 fee is there in normal times.

It's an interesting question as to whether it will (or should) return. Removing it would allow far more flexible use of Advances.

New thread: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/should-the-£10-admin-fee-be-permanently-removed.224051/

 

[VauxhallandI]

I have amended the link now. If you take it into Euston they may, possibly, ask you to send

I have amended the link now. If you take it into Euston they may, possibly, ask you to send it in.

If only the suggestion had been made by the Euston ticket office the first time. I will try again ta