Train Tickets

StuFromNTU

Hey guys,

is it illegal to sell unused return train tickets online?

gravitas

I was under the impression that you could take your unused tickets back to the station and get a 60% refund

McKneff

Yes it is illegal to sell on your unused tickets but in most cases they can be returned for a fee.

Sterile

anniehanlon wrote: »

Yes it is illegal to sell on your unused tickets but in most cases they can be returned for a fee.

This sounds hard to believe but interesting if true. well over 50% of the train journeys I make nobody checks the tickets, or if they do its a cursory glance without punching a hole in it - are you saying I could return these tickets for a part refund as if I havent travelled in the first place ?

Cant believe everyone's not at that !

jdan9

To the best of my knowledge, tickets can only be returned if it is reasonably likely that you won't have used them. This would mean, for example, that if you bought a ticket from Birmingham to Leicester, and tried to take it back to the ticket office at Birmingham five minutes later, that would be okay. So too if you tried to take back just the return portion at the ticket office in Leicester 2 hours later. But if you tried to return it, in Birmingham, the next day, they would not refund you, because you have most likely used it.

misscutiepie1984

Also if your ticket has entered through a barrier they can read the magnetic strip on the back of the ticket, this will tell them what station it last went through the barriers and if you were making a false claim for a refund they could prosecute you for fraud.

Dinah93

I once tried to sell two return train tickets 2 weeks before they were due to be used on Ebay and the auction was cancelled as apparently you can not resell train tickets under some obscure railway law.

StuFromNTU

Ah thats a shame.

i have two tickets one from Birmingham and one from Wolverhampton both heading to Manchester..

Edinburgh-foodie

I'm on a local Edinburgh forum, and people often offer train tickets on there. It probably is illegal to resell half a ticket, but I've never had a ticket with my name on, so I don't see how they could check you were the same person that used the first half of the ticket. (Unless you used a specific rail card to get discount)

If you could find someone local who wanted just the return half you could probably get away with it.