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Excess the return part

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ywy1234

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9 Jan 2012
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Hi,

I have a off-peak return ticket Oxford-Birmingham International.
I am wondering if it is possible to excess the RTN part BHI-OXF to BHM (Birmingham New Street)-OXF?

Thanks!
 
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ian13

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17 Jul 2008
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Hi,

I have a off-peak return ticket Oxford-Birmingham International.
I am wondering if it is possible to excess the RTN part BHI-OXF to BHM (Birmingham New Street)-OXF?

Thanks!

Indeed it is. A zero-fare should apply on that over-distance excess (and should be done prior to travel).

(Note: The route restriction will also change from "Not London" to "Banbury".)
 

ywy1234

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Indeed it is. A zero-fare should apply on that over-distance excess (and should be done prior to travel).

(Note: The route restriction will also change from "Not London" to "Banbury".)

Thanks :)
 

yorkie

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I will give a similar answer to the recent Excessing a return portion of ticket thread from 2 weeks ago.

This excess is possible, the price is £0.00 as the fare is the same, but good luck getting such an excess, especially a zero one! Knowledge of excess fares is poor among many ticket offices. Some stations are good at it, but many are not.

If you're in this position again, I really would not rely on getting an over-distance excess, and instead buy the ticket to Birmingham New Street and finish short. It's the same price and a lot less hassle. Even if it cost a few pence more, the faffing around isn't worth it!

You do not need to worry about change of route & ticket type excesses as if the ticket office can't do them the price is the same on board.

But an over distance excess is a different kettle of fish, and must be bought before travel (where facilities exist). What is not clear, is if your excess is refused at the ticket office, does that class as having no facilities? If you are refused the excess, then you may be asked to buy an additional single to Birmingham International, you could then write a letter to ask for the money back.
 

wintonian

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I would always try and buy a ticket to the furthest station with the same fare for example instead of buying a Southampton Central to Fratton ticket I would buy to Portsmouth Stations or instead of a Basingstoke to Brockenhurst ticket buy to Lymington Pier, just in case you do end up coming back from a bit further away, then you don't need to get an excess.
 

muug1982

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23 Oct 2010
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Surely you only need the excess in this instance if you still intend to travel via Birmingham international.

international - Birmingham New street - Leamington Spa (via Solihull) - Oxford is valid on a Birmingham international - Oxford ticket assuming that BoJ is permitted. Equally you could use Chiltern to Leamington or Banbury and change there from Moor Street / Snow Hill.
 

TUC

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11 Nov 2010
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But an over distance excess is a different kettle of fish, and must be bought before travel (where facilities exist).

What's the position if you genuinely only discover your need to extend your journey once already en-route? i.e. that its only after you've started your journey that you get a phone call that changes your journey plans. Can you excess your ticket or would you have to buy a separate ticket on the journey?
 

hairyhandedfool

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Officially, the over-distance excess can only be done onboard if you did not have the facility to get it before boarding. If you did have those facilities the guard should not offer the excess, even if your plans change during the journey, by the book.
 

Paul Kelly

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16 Apr 2010
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The Off-Peak return from Oxford to Birmingham International is a very expensive fare for the distance. There are a number of possible ways of bringing the cost down for that journey - if you need to make that journey again, someone here may be able to help you with that if you give full details of your travel requirements.
 

ywy1234

Member
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9 Jan 2012
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33
Thanks very much to you all!

The reason why I didn't split tickets is because I was on a business trip, and I didn't want to avoid the hassle when I get the money reimbursed from my employer.
 

SickyNicky

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Ledbury
Just be aware that some TOCs will not allow an over distance excess if ANY of the ticket has been used - for example they won't allow the return to be excessed over distance if the outbound journey has already been taken.

I queried this with one TOC after being refused at a ticket office and they stated that the clerk was correct in refusing this excess.
 

OwlMan

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Bedworth, Warwickshire
As Sicky Nicky says an over-distance excess is officially called an overiding excess and applies to travelling past the destination, not starting from a new origin. The only way to change the origin of the return half is to excess both portions on the outward journey. Although as usual with excesses you may or not get what you want whether it is allowed or not depending on the staff member involved.

Peter
 
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