Restrictions on discounts through London travel zones

Fougasse

Apologies if this has already been asked/answered, but I can't seem to get a straight answer on this one. I have a TFL travelcard valid to the boundary of Zone 2, so when I travel into London on my local main-line, I get a small discount off my fare. This has always been the case in the 6 years I've been travelling on this line. Today I was told that there's a new ruling, and that if I buy a ticket for the 'fast' train (which only makes 1 stop before London), I can't get the discount. I have to travel on the slow train instead. Apparently they've decided that as the fast train just passes through the zones, that makes it not eligible; it actually has to stop. Bear in mind that this is exactly the same route - same tracks - same destination!

Bit of a strange query I know - but does anyone have any info on whether they can do this? Is it just up to the company to make whatever rules they like? It's incredibly annoying given the generally appalling service on the line in question.....

ticketcollector

Yes and No

If you have a ticket valid from Z1 to Z2 then you have already paid for a bit of the journey. You then need to pay for a ticket from Boundary Zone 2 to your destination.
This only works for journeys FROM london, and the train does not have to stop at the station of the changeover.

going TO london, the train must stop at the named station.

19. Using a combination of tickets
You may use two or more tickets for one journey as long as together they cover the entire journey and one of the following applies:
(a) they are both Zonal Tickets (unless special conditions prohibit their use);
(b) the train you are in calls at the station where you change from one ticket to another; or
(c) one of the tickets is a Season Ticket (which for this purpose does not include Season Tickets or travel passes issued on behalf of a passenger transport executive or local authority) or a leisure travel pass, and the other ticket(s) is/are not.

gner_ex

ticketcollector wrote: »

going TO london, the train must stop at the named station.

This depends whether the OP's travelcard is a period travelcard or just a one (or three) day one.

OP - more information needed as above.

One option depending on your route is to buy a period return extension ticket, and then use this the next time you come in, however strictly speaking you should have a travelcard for both days you book the ticket. If you advise your home station I will answer further.