I should prefix this question by saying it's just to satisfy my curiosity - I don't have any problem with the tickets I've actually been sold, which I'm sure will cover me for the journey I want to do. And given that the journey is on expenses, I'm not overly bothered by the cost either 
I've just bought tickets to let me do a day return from Cambridge to Sheffield on Wednesday. Because I'm travelling on expenses, I didn't really do any research into the prices beforehand myself - I just walked into a ticket office and asked for the quickest journey at the appropriate times.
Having got home and looked at the tickets in detail, I'm now curious as to what I've been sold. I've got an Anytime Return, route via Ely, costing £84, which is to be expected, because the outward journey is in the morning peak. For the return journey, I was told there were no convenient connections via Ely at the time I wanted to travel (departing Sheffield at 7pm), so I've been sold an excess, ticket type "X/S ALT RTE SGL", route "Not Via London", to let me travel via Stevenage, costing £11.80.
Having now looked up various prices online, I'm confused as to what this excess actually allows.
The cost of an anytime return routed Not Via London is £185, so I'd naturally expect the excess to be half the difference of the route Ely ticket: (185-84)/2 = £50.50, so I clearly haven't been sold this.
An Anytime Single Not Via London is £92.50, so if it was this, I'd expect this excess to have only cost £8.50.
Finally, an off-peak return routed Not Via London is £107.70, so I'd expect this excess to be (107.70-84)/2 = £11.85. This is pretty close to what I've actually paid (£11.80), but isn't exactly right. Also I can't see anything at all on the excess to say that it's only valid at off-peak times. If this is what I've been sold, how would I be expected to know that it's off-peak only? What would happen if I travelled at peak times with it?
Continuing down the line of off-peak tickets, there's also a Super off-peak return Not Via London, which is only £67.40. As far as I can see, this is valid at the time I actually want to return (7pm), so why have I been excessed to off-peak instead of, I guess, a zero fare excess to the super off-peak? In fact, now I think about it, should I have been sold this ticket originally and then had the outward half excessed to the Anytime via Ely, costing (84-67.40)/2=£8.30?
I'd be grateful if anybody could clarify (or even hazard a guess at) what I've been sold, and what I would be allowed to do with it if I wasn't actually tied to the 7pm departure time for the return half of the journey?

I've just bought tickets to let me do a day return from Cambridge to Sheffield on Wednesday. Because I'm travelling on expenses, I didn't really do any research into the prices beforehand myself - I just walked into a ticket office and asked for the quickest journey at the appropriate times.
Having got home and looked at the tickets in detail, I'm now curious as to what I've been sold. I've got an Anytime Return, route via Ely, costing £84, which is to be expected, because the outward journey is in the morning peak. For the return journey, I was told there were no convenient connections via Ely at the time I wanted to travel (departing Sheffield at 7pm), so I've been sold an excess, ticket type "X/S ALT RTE SGL", route "Not Via London", to let me travel via Stevenage, costing £11.80.
Having now looked up various prices online, I'm confused as to what this excess actually allows.
The cost of an anytime return routed Not Via London is £185, so I'd naturally expect the excess to be half the difference of the route Ely ticket: (185-84)/2 = £50.50, so I clearly haven't been sold this.
An Anytime Single Not Via London is £92.50, so if it was this, I'd expect this excess to have only cost £8.50.
Finally, an off-peak return routed Not Via London is £107.70, so I'd expect this excess to be (107.70-84)/2 = £11.85. This is pretty close to what I've actually paid (£11.80), but isn't exactly right. Also I can't see anything at all on the excess to say that it's only valid at off-peak times. If this is what I've been sold, how would I be expected to know that it's off-peak only? What would happen if I travelled at peak times with it?
Continuing down the line of off-peak tickets, there's also a Super off-peak return Not Via London, which is only £67.40. As far as I can see, this is valid at the time I actually want to return (7pm), so why have I been excessed to off-peak instead of, I guess, a zero fare excess to the super off-peak? In fact, now I think about it, should I have been sold this ticket originally and then had the outward half excessed to the Anytime via Ely, costing (84-67.40)/2=£8.30?
I'd be grateful if anybody could clarify (or even hazard a guess at) what I've been sold, and what I would be allowed to do with it if I wasn't actually tied to the 7pm departure time for the return half of the journey?
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