Off-Peak Tickets - flexibility in date of travel?

[ejstubbs]

I'm likely to have to travel to Telford (from Edinburgh) for a few days at some point next week, though the precise days are yet to be confirmed. There seem to be good prices available for off-peak return tickets, which suit me fine in terms of times that I could travel, but I'm confused as to how much flexibility there is in the dates of travel. Outside of the restrictions on times of day when the ticket would be valid, is an off peak return like an anytime return ie within five days outbound, return within one calendar month - or is it more restrictive than that? The National Rail Enquiries web site is not clear.

 

[gazthomas]

Buy on the day and return within a month

 

[island]

You must travel out on the chosen date and can return within one month.

 

[yorkie]

Outside of the restrictions on times of day when the ticket would be valid, is an off peak return like an anytime return ie within five days outbound, return within one calendar month - or is it more restrictive than that? The National Rail Enquiries web site is not clear.

http://www.brfares.com/#faredetail?orig=TFC&dest=EDB&tkt=SVR
Outward journey has to commence on the date specified on the ticket. Overnight break of journey is allowed; time restrictions on day 2 are the same as for day 1. The outward portion has no validity after 0429 on day 3.

Return is within 1 calendar month.

 

[John @ home]

Outside of the restrictions on times of day when the ticket would be valid, is an off peak return like an anytime return ie within five days outbound, return within one calendar month - or is it more restrictive than that? The National Rail Enquiries web site is not clear.

It seems to me that the National Rail Enquiries web site does clearly state the period of validity.

Off-Peak and Super Off-Peak ticket terms and conditions

Off-Peak Singles and the outward portion of Off-Peak Returns are valid for travel on the date shown on the ticket and until 04:29 the following morning. ...

Return portions of Off-Peak Return tickets are valid for travel until 04:29 on the day following the last day of validity (i.e. one calendar month from outward journey). All travel must be completed by this time.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/46590.aspx

Unfortunately, it also includes on the same page the confusing statement:

Off-Peak and Super Off-Peak tickets are valid for travel on the date shown on your ticket and until 04:29 on the following day.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/46590.aspx

which is best ignored.

 

[gray1404]

Off Peak Return: outward portion is valid until 04:29 on day 3. However, travel must commence on day one (even if it is only one stop). This is the same for off peak singles.

For the return portion it is return within one calendar month with break of journey allowed.

The information on National Rail website is unclear and gives the impression it is only valid until 04.29 on day 2, which is wrong.

 

[ejstubbs]

It seems to me that the National Rail Enquiries web site does clearly state the period of validity.

Right, I see what's happened here. I was on the "Your ticket" tab and looked at the "Which ticket suits you best?" section. I clicked on the link for "Anytime" and found this information under "When can I use an Anytime ticket?":

For Anytime Return tickets, the outward journey must be made within 5 days and up until 04:29 after the last day of validity; the return portion must be used within one calendar month and up until 04:29 after the last day of validity.​

Which seems quite clear. I then went back to the "Which ticket suits you best?" section on the previous page and clicked on the link for "Off-Peak". On that page, under "When can I use an Off-Peak ticket?" all it said was:

The trains that you can catch and the times that you can travel with an Off-Peak ticket vary considerably depending on the journey being made, the day/date of travel and the train company that you are travelling with. Please use the Journey Planner to choose your desired time of travel and click ‘check ticket availability and prices’ to display the complete range of fares available for your journey.​

Which basically seems to say: "it's complicated, just use the Journey Planner". The Journey Planner is perfectly OK if you know when you want to travel, but less so if you want to have flexibility. If it had said "or you can read the terms and conditions via the links below" that would have been helpful!

To my mind the information provided on the Anytime page is clear and helpful whereas the information provided under the same heading on the Off-Peak page is neither!

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

 

[island]

Off Peak Return: outward portion is valid until 04:29 on day 3. However, travel must commence on day one (even if it is only one stop). This is the same for off peak singles.

For the return portion it is return within one calendar month with break of journey allowed.

The information on National Rail website is unclear and gives the impression it is only valid until 04.29 on day 2, which is wrong.

This is something that gets repeated a lot on this forum and is, at best, advice that is technically correct but likely to get members challenged by railway staff and potentially charged new tickets/penalty fares that they may need to go to a lot of bother to get out of.

Another reading of the conditions is that this day 2 validity is only where the passenger is unable to complete his/her journey on the day printed on the ticket, because (for example) it is a long journey and he/she started it late on day 1, and that no entitlement arises to break a journey that the passenger could have completed on day 1 but chose not to.

Neither interpretation has to my knowledge been tested in Court, and we owe it to our members not to make sweeping statements that could land them in bother.