What's so difficult about the situation Zoe described in the previous post, which obtained for so long? (apart from the fact it stopped a few shareholders becoming as rich as Midas?)
That is still allowed and hasn't changed at all. If you have an Off-Peak ticket and want to travel at peak time you simply pay an excess fare, NOT a whole new ticket again (although this may be different in Penalty fare areas, I am not sure). If you want to go a different route you pay an excess fare, NOT a whole new ticket again. Both these can, according to the excess fares instructions, be done on the train. In fact, nothing has really changed in terms of excess fares at all since the BR era. It has just become more noticeable now due to the bigger difference in fares.
The ONLY difference, as far as I can see, is that relating to Advance ticket types. Now, under BR there were, as already stated, a plethora of different Advance ticket types so I can't possibly go into the conditions relating to altering them prior to travel as they are all different. Some ticket types (SuperApex) couldn't be altered at all once they had been purchased.
Other Advance ticket types all seem to have the following conditions (taken from an Intercity CrossCountry leaflet dated 1995)
"If you travel on a different service than that on which you are reserved, including connecting Regional Railways or Network SouthEast services, your ticket will become invalid and you will be liable to a £5 charge per ticket plus the difference between the fare paid and the appropriate fare for the trains being used".
The only difference to this seems to be the Daypex (Intercity East Coast leaflet, 1994) which says
"They are subject to availability and can be used only on the specified services shown overleaf. Travelling on any other day or train service with this ticket will mean paying the full appropriate fare for the journey undertaken" then further on it says
"Seat Reservations are included in the price of the ticket but you must reserve a seat for the outward and return journey at the time of booking. Because of the large discount available on this offer, we regret that no change of travel plans will be permitted and no refunds available once a ticket has been purchased". The advertised price for this ticket from Leeds to London was £19 return with no railcard discounts. Nowadays Advance tickets from Leeds to London are cheaper, you can get a railcard discount, and you can even alter them prior to travel for a fee!
Yes, for those travelling on flexible tickets the cost has gone up quite significantly, but for those on Advance the cost has come down since BR days. Personally I like the AP deals, but I also think the walk up tickets should be a bit better value too.
Just as an item of interest, in NFM 59 (January 1995) the cheapest Advance between London and Leeds was £24.50 (Apex booked at least 7 days in Advance). Less than 7 days advance notice it was £43 (SuperSaver Sgl with restrictions) or £46.50 Standard Open Sgl. Cheapest returns were £25 Apex 7 days in Advance, £44 SuperAdvance, £44 SuperSaver, £53 Saver, £93 Standard Open. Looking now for next Monday I can find Advance fares on many trains for around £32 - which as it less than 7 days notice is significantly cheaper than the fare 16 years ago. Having said that, if I decide to buy on the day it is between £87.60 or £119.50 depending on when I travel - significantly more expensive! The cheapest on the day return is now £88.60, roughly twice the price of the same walk up fare 16 years ago. The Standard Open however has rocketed from £93 to £239!!!