Excesses

[ian13]

How do excesses work? I had a ticket recently that I wanted to change the destination on, and was told by BRI ticket office that it couldn't be done and they could only excess the difference between a railcard and non-railcard ticket etc. and I'd have to buy a new ticket. So I'm just wondering how excesses work and when they can be purchased. Cheers,

 

[glynn80]

How do excesses work? I had a ticket recently that I wanted to change the destination on, and was told by BRI ticket office that it couldn't be done and they could only excess the difference between a railcard and non-railcard ticket etc. and I'd have to buy a new ticket. So I'm just wondering how excesses work and when they can be purchased. Cheers,

The "Excess Fare Procedures" are way too long to post them all so I'll need to narrow down your situation.

What were you trying to do with your original ticket e.g. I had a Bristol to Bath ticket that I wanted to excess into a Bristol to Chippenham ticket?

and,

Had you used the ticket at all before trying to excess the ticket?

 

[ian13]

The "Excess Fare Procedures" are way too long to post them all so I'll need to narrow down your situation.

What were you trying to do with your original ticket e.g. I had a Bristol to Bath ticket that I wanted to excess into a Bristol to Chippenham ticket?

and,

Had you used the ticket at all before trying to excess the ticket?

I hadn't used it at all, I was trying to change (and this might seem a little strange) a BRI-CDF (so I could go BRI-CDF, CDF-BPW) which I'd prebooked (using my FGW £5 off £6+) into a BRI-BWT (or if possible BPW-BWT so I could BRI-BWT, BWT-BPW). (I'd been meaning to pop in on someone in BWT for a while and thought it might be a good time, but prosponed this after my failed ticket swap.)

 

[glynn80]

I hadn't used it at all, I was trying to change (and this might seem a little strange) a BRI-CDF (so I could go BRI-CDF, CDF-BPW) which I'd prebooked (using my FGW £5 off £6+) into a BRI-BWT (or if possible BPW-BWT so I could BRI-BWT, BWT-BPW). (I'd been meaning to pop in on someone in BWT for a while and thought it might be a good time, but prosponed this after my failed ticket swap.)

Well then the ticket office were correct.

You can get an "Over-Distance" excess, but this requires you to excess your ticket to a station beyond that of your original destination or prior to that of your original origin. You cannot excess the ticket into a completely different one not related to the original ticket held.

The solution to the situation you encountered would have been to obtain a refund on the original ticket (most likely by filling in a refund form) and then to purchase your Bridgwater ticket in a separate transaction.

 

[ian13]

The solution to the situation you encountered would have been to obtain a refund on the original ticket (most likely by filling in a refund form) and then to purchase your Bridgwater ticket in a separate transaction.

Fair enough. If you did an over-distance excess for further down the line, would you just be charged the difference between the two tickets? And there was £10 admin fee for claiming a refund :/

 

[glynn80]

Fair enough. If you did an over-distance excess for further down the line, would you just be charged the difference between the two tickets? And there was £10 admin fee for claiming a refund :/

If an "Over-Distance" excess was obtained, it would be charged at the difference between the original ticket held and the new ticket you are requesting (half the difference if just one portion of the journey)

e.g. if a Bristol to Bath Off Peak Return costs £5.00 and a Bristol to Chippenham Off Peak Return costs £10.00.

The passenger wants to excess the outward portion of their Off Peak Return Bristol to Bath, onward to Chippenham.

The cost of the excess would be half of (£10.00-£5.00), i.e. £2.50.

 

[ian13]

If an "Over-Distance" excess was obtained, it would be charged at the difference between the original ticket held and the new ticket you are requesting (half the difference if just one portion of the journey)

e.g. if a Bristol to Bath Off Peak Return costs £5.00 and a Bristol to Chippenham Off Peak Return costs £10.00.

The passenger wants to excess the outward portion of their Off Peak Return Bristol to Bath, onward to Chippenham.

The cost of the excess would be half of (£10.00-£5.00), i.e. £2.50.

That's worth knowing. I usually just buy a longer ticket and start the journey part way though. Is is possible to extend the starting station on one half of the ticket also (say buy a BPW-WOF (Worcester) and overdistance the outward portion only to be valid from BTH to allow for BTH-WOF, WOF-BPW)?

And thanks for your help