I work for a large UK company whose name I will not disclose for reasons which may become apparent.
This company have locations throughout the UK and, until a few years ago, if you were traveling on business to another location they would issue an Anytime ticket (or at the time "Standard Return") automatically via an in-house travel department.
When they woke up to the extent to which TOCs, particularly those who operate long-distance services into London, were fleecing the business traveller, they brought in a specialist provider, and now the following rules are in place:
a) no first class travel irrespective of seniority
b) try to travel off-peak wherever possible
c) if you need to travel peak, book at least one direction on an advance ticket
d) use railcards, special offers, etc where possible - I know of one "whizz kid" senior manager who travelled on a Young Person's Railcard until very recently!
Anyway, the upshot is that lots of people order Advance tickets to London which, as meetings sometimes get cancelled, cannot be returned so they appear on the company's internal website as available free to anyone else who might be planning such a journey.
Is this legal? After all, the individual did not actually purchase the ticket themselves but ordered it from the travel agency, and the person who actually uses the transferred ticket doesn't "buy" it either but just saves waste.
This company have locations throughout the UK and, until a few years ago, if you were traveling on business to another location they would issue an Anytime ticket (or at the time "Standard Return") automatically via an in-house travel department.
When they woke up to the extent to which TOCs, particularly those who operate long-distance services into London, were fleecing the business traveller, they brought in a specialist provider, and now the following rules are in place:
a) no first class travel irrespective of seniority
b) try to travel off-peak wherever possible
c) if you need to travel peak, book at least one direction on an advance ticket
d) use railcards, special offers, etc where possible - I know of one "whizz kid" senior manager who travelled on a Young Person's Railcard until very recently!
Anyway, the upshot is that lots of people order Advance tickets to London which, as meetings sometimes get cancelled, cannot be returned so they appear on the company's internal website as available free to anyone else who might be planning such a journey.
Is this legal? After all, the individual did not actually purchase the ticket themselves but ordered it from the travel agency, and the person who actually uses the transferred ticket doesn't "buy" it either but just saves waste.