hi, wondering if anyone could help me:
My work situation is about to change and I know longer require my annual season ticket. I will no longer need it after Friday 19th Oct, I was just wondering if anyone would know how much of a refund I would get?
Purchased 17th June
Leeds-Manchester (any permitted)
Cost £3,173
Also when I got to get my refund at Leeds station how long does anyone reckon it would take to refund into my bank account?
I believe the refund payable would be £3171 (the amount originally paid) less £1249 (the cost of a season ticket for 4 months and 3 days, which is the duration between 17th June and 19th October, inclusive), less £10 (standard administration fee). So it would be £1912.
You may have to wait a few days for the calculation to be done and to be confirmed, as I doubt that most ticket offices are authorised to issue a refund of that value straight off the bat - so you may be asked to give your card details when phoned again by them, so they can refund you onto your card (they're not allowed to write down the card details, so they punch them into the machine whilst you're on the phone).
If you are still travelling by train with any regularity (usually a season ticket is worth it if travelling 2-3 times a week), it will be better value to get a season ticket changeover, where you swap your current season ticket for a more or less expensive one along a different route. This is because there are no administration fees for doing this, and the refund (or excess) is calculated on a pro-rata basis, rather than being calculated on the basis of the cost of the season ticket you
would have bought.
This makes a difference compared to refunding and then buying a new season, especially markedly so when you reach the latter part of an annual season ticket's validity. This is because an annual season ticket costs just 40 times a weekly season ticket, so after 10 months and a bit, an annual season ticket has no more refund value - but it still has a changeover value.
Even if you are no longer planning to commute by train, it may still be worth considering a changeover. You would do this to a very cheap season ticket, e.g. Devonport to Dockyard Devonport, which costs £120 a year. Because the changeover is calculated pro rata, you would get a higher refund of £2006.40, as per my calculations. You could then get a refund on this new season ticket, which would net you an additional £62.30.
At the end of the day that would mean a total refund of £2068.70 via the changeover and refund method, which is £156.70 more than just getting a refund. A difference worth spending a few minutes, or even an hour IMO, understanding and then getting!
Of course, my calculations might be off by a few pounds, depending on the exact method used (or if I've made a miscalculation!), but generally speaking that is the gist.
