Is it possible to resell tickets in the UK?

[Salvafree]

In France two sites (kelbillet.com and trocdestrains.com) are doing very well, selling advance purchase tickets. They check the vailidity of the ticket and you are not allowed to sell them for more than the purchase price, so there is no touting.

I haven't managed to find any equivalent in the UK.

 

[transportphoto]

Tickets for travel in England, Scotland and Wales are strictly 'non-transferable' by law, thus any such site would be facilitating a criminal offence in the UK, contrary to the Railway Bylaws, a statutory instrument created under the powers within s.219 of the Transport Act 2000.

21. Unauthorised buying or selling of tickets
(1) Subject to Byelaw 21(4), no person shall sell or buy any ticket.
(2) Subject to Byelaw 21(4), no person shall transfer or receive any unused or partly used ticket, intending that any person shall use it for travelling unless the conditions of use for the ticket specifically permit such transfer.
17
(3) Subject to Byelaw 21(4), no person shall knowingly use any ticket which has been obtained in breach of Byelaw 21.
(4) The sale or transfer by, or the purchase or receipt from, an authorised person in the course of his duties or from an authorised ticket machine is excepted from the provisions of Byelaw 21.

 

[AM9]

Tickets for travel in England, Scotland and Wales are strictly 'non-transferable' by law, thus any such site would be facilitating a criminal offence in the UK, contrary to the Railway Bylaws, a statutory instrument created under the powers within s.219 of the Transport Act 2000.

RPOs have enough problems with the validity of tickets bought from normal booking offices. If the rules allowed passengers to purchase form non-railway sources, can you imagine the RPOs accepting them just like that?

 

[Tim R-T-C]

RPOs have enough problems with the validity of tickets bought from normal booking offices. If the rules allowed passengers to purchase form non-railway sources, can you imagine the RPOs accepting them just like that?

Well they wouldn't know.

While advance tickets are locked to a particular route and seat, there is no identifiable information on the ticket and nothing to stop someone using a ticket they have purchased from someone else.

Given that the UK has limited 'print at home' ticket facilities, TOC only, most tickets sold via a scheme like that would presumably already be printed or you would give someone the code to collect a TOD from a ticket machine, so no indication of the third party transfer.

To be honest I don't think it would be a good thing - people would buy up cheap seats as soon as they become available then sell them on if they don't need them, making it harder for normal passengers to get the best deals.