Season ticket refund calculation

[sjhuk]

Hi,

I was wondering if someone could help me work out the season ticket refund I am due? I've used the calculator on the Southern website, and the numbers I have don't seem to match what they are offering me. Any assistance is greatly appreciated, thanks!

(Mods, if this is better served in a different location, please feel free to move it.. )

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Background

On 26th November 2019, I purchased a season ticket on my Key smartcard (details below). In March 2020, my company was moving offices and I needed to extend my ticket by one station.

On 18th February 2020, I completed the changeover at a station (with the ticket starting from 18th February 2020) and was given a paper ticket in return. The Key card was retained by the station.

There was some issue in the background about getting the ticket put back on to the Key card, but this was stopped when the current situation arose, and also some issue around the refund form I needed to fill out (Key vs Paper), but the minute details I do not think are relevant.

The last date of use of the ticket was 17th March 2020, and Southern have stated they are using this date for the refund purposes.


Initial Key card ticket

West Worthing (WWO) - Shoreham-by-Sea (SSE)
Key card ticket - Standard Class
26th November 2019 - 25th November 2020
Total Paid: £1116.00


Paper changeover ticket

West Worthing (WWO) - Southwick (SWK)
Paper ticket - Standard Class
18th February 2020 - 25th November 2020
Price shown on ticket: £978.54
Price paid by credit card: £115.62


Using the calculator on the Southern website, and using the details from the paper ticket, it gives a refund due of around £860 (after the reduction for the £10 admin fee), but the amount they are looking at is around £830.

 

[CyrusWuff]

When refunding a season ticket that's been subject to a changeover you have to take both tickets into account for the calculation and redo the changeover to reflect the shorter period of validity. It's also possible that their calculations are out as it's not something that you do on a regular basis!

We begin by recalculating the original changeover:

Cost of original ticket = £1116.00. This gives a notional daily rate of £1116.00 ÷ 365 = £3.06
Cost of new ticket for same period = £1268.00. This gives a notional daily rate of £1268.00 ÷ 365 = £3.47

Number of days from 18/02/2020 to 25/11/2020 = 282

Credit due on original ticket : £3.06 × 282 = £862.92
Charge for new ticket : £3.47 × 282 = £978.54
Additional payment due : £978.54 − £862.92 = £115.62

This gives us the following figures for the first section of the refund form (Tickets Purchased):

West Worthing - Shoreham-by-Sea from 26/11/2019 to 17/02/2020 : £1116.00 − £862.92 = £253.08
West Worthing - Southwick from 18/02/2020 to 25/11/2020 : £978.54
Total Price Paid : £253.08 + £978.54 = £1231.62

We now need to recalculate the changeover based on the revised date:

West Worthing - Shoreham-by-Sea from 26/11/2019 to 17/03/2020 (03M21D) would have been £27.90 × 14.21 = £396.50. The revised daily rate is £396.50 ÷ 111 = £3.57
West Worthing - Southwick from 26/11/2019 to 17/03/2020 (03M21D) would have been £31.70 × 14.21 = £450.50. The revised daily rate is £450.50 ÷ 111 = £4.06

As an aside, we assume that each calendar month is 30 days when calculating the notional daily rate, regardless of reality.

Number of days from 18/02/2020 to 17/03/2020 = 29

Revised credit due on original ticket : £3.57 × 29 = £103.53
Revised charge for new ticket : £4.06 × 29 = £117.74
Revised additional payment due : £117.74 − £103.53 = £14.21

This gives us the following figures for the second section of the refund form (Tickets required for journeys actually made):

West Worthing - Shoreham-by-Sea from 26/11/2019 to 17/02/2020 : £396.50 − £103.53 = £292.97
West Worthing - Southwick from 18/02/2020 to 17/03/2020 : £117.74
Total due for journeys made : £292.97 + £117.74 = £410.71

Gross Refund Amount : £1231.62 − £410.71 = £820.91
LESS Admin Fee : £10.00
Net Refund Amount : £810.91

The reason for the apparent discrepancy being that you've only had the ticket for the more expensive journey for a fraction over a quarter of the ticket's notional validity up to 17th March, which the full calculation accounts for.

 

[sjhuk]

Aha, it makes sense now. Thanks so much for such a comprehensive answer!

 

[Haywain]

As an aside, we assume that each calendar month is 30 days when calculating the notional daily rate, regardless of reality.

Number of days from 18/02/2020 to 17/03/2020 = 29

It's picky on the detail, but those two lines contradict each other, with the period quoted in the second line being a calendar month and a season ticket for those dates would be at the monthly rate.

 

[CyrusWuff]

It's picky on the detail, but those two lines contradict each other, with the period quoted in the second line being a calendar month and a season ticket for those dates would be at the monthly rate.

That's because the two are unrelated. The base rate is calculated using 1 month = 30 days (plus any "odd" days) and 1 year = 365 days, and the period for charging/refunding is actual calendar days.