Young Persons Railcard Loophole?

Domipheus

Hey, I need some info on something I have heard from a work mate. It could save me quite a bit - hence the query.

The young persons railcard, as per the Terms and Conditions, cannot be used for certain types of ticket - the ones mostly used to travel at commute times (standard day return etc). For these types of ticket it states a minimum fayre of £16 applies. So, if you were to buy a ticket at £18 hoping to get 1/3 off it, instead you would pay £16.

However, my friend has been getting really cheap tickets for the past year using a totally different method.

He makes sure his ticket is just above £16, usually by asking for a ticket to the station just after his destination. Then, because the ticket is greater than £16, he gets a full 1/3 discount meaning his ticket could be as low as £10.70.

This is a huge saving for me, as i'm paying £276 for a season ticket and i think I could save £70 a month using the method described above (by not travelling weekends, etc). As I am just out of uni, this can go right into paying off my credit card etc which would be fantastic.

Does anyone have any information on this?

marble

I'm being stupid, but I really don't understand. You say that there is a minimum cost of £16 ... so an £18 ticket after discount should cost £12, but actually costs £16 because of this minimum.

How does your friend get 1/3 off by travelling to the next station? I know his ticket price will go up, but surely he won't be able to go under this £16 limit either?

I'm confused ...

Al

ianian99

u get a third off fares that are over £16

Domipheus

marble wrote:

I'm being stupid, but I really don't understand. You say that there is a minimum cost of £16 ... so an £18 ticket after discount should cost £12, but actually costs £16 because of this minimum.

How does your friend get 1/3 off by travelling to the next station? I know his ticket price will go up, but surely he won't be able to go under this £16 limit either?

I'm confused ...

Al

This is exactly my point! The terms and conditions say exactly what you have just said, yet if you go into a station and ask for a young persons return to XX, even at peak times, as long as the price without the discount is greater than £16 you WILL get a third off.

I think im going to try this when my season ticket is up for renewal.

barron_2

ianian99 wrote:

u get a third off fares that are over £16

Not what the OP said,£18 is over £16 so why not a discount.
But OP says £16.50 (say) then discount.
But the min fare should be £16 !!
Must be getting late !!
Sleep on it!!
HIC!!
Happy Hols

Alfie_E

Domipheus wrote:

He makes sure his ticket is just above £16, usually by asking for a ticket to the station just after his destination.

Technically, this is not allowed. Please see the Guardian article Change here for cheaper rail fares, under the section at the end entitled And the trick you are not allowed to do...

barron_2

Now I know why I dont sell Rail Tickets !!.
My Mum has the same,
If she gets on at Weymouth or Bournemouth ,she can get to London for a couple of pound,
But if she gets on/off at Wool (inbetween)she pays Full Fare.

Bit Late for another,Hic!!
Happy Hols.

ianian99

barron wrote:

Bit Late for another,Hic!!
Happy Hols.

24 hour shopping!! I'm off down tesos with the dog, the missus is in for a shock when she gets up to find me p****d on sofa. hic hic

Domipheus

Alfie_E wrote:

Technically, this is not allowed. Please see the Guardian article Change here for cheaper rail fares, under the section at the end entitled And the trick you are not allowed to do...

No, that isnt the same trick.

Say we go from Glasgow to Edinburgh at 8am.

Before the prices went up (as i think a day return for this is now £16.50 anyway), you could go from Glasgow to Inverkiething (i think thats how it is spelt), bringing the price to >16 and the journey required a change at edinburgh. When you get off at edinburgh at 8.50am it is still peak time, and so they cannot ask you for the difference.

I'm just wondering how the YP cars T&C says this:

On or before 10am Monday to Friday (except Public Holidays and during July and August) there is a minimum fare that applies to all purchases with a Young Persons Railcard. This is either £8.00 or £16.00 depending on the type of ticket being purchased. Most will be £8.00, but the following ticket types have a minimum fare of £16.00: Standard Day Returns, Standard Open Returns, European Open Returns.

For example: If an undiscounted Single ticket costs £8.50 and the normal 1/3 discount makes the fare £5.60, you will have to pay the minimum fare of £8.00.

If an undiscounted Standard Open Return costs £27.00, then you will get the full 1/3 discount as the discounted fare of £17.80 is higher than the £16.00 minimum fare.

But people are saying at long as the fayre is greater than £16, then you get the full discount, brining a 16 pound ticket to nearer 12.

Just wondering if there are other people that use this, as it is cheaper than a season ticket.

barron_2

Cheers.................................!!
Thats defo don me head in !!
I think I'll wake the dog up !!
Cheers Ian!!
Happy Hols

Alfie_E

Domipheus wrote:

No, that isnt the same trick.

Just in the same way that a longer journey can make it eligible for an off-peak fare, your friend was asking for a longer journey to make it eligible for the rail-card discount. The rules don’t allow you to buy a ticket for a specific journey, just to get it at a reduced price, when you have no intention of making that journey in full. Although, I wasn’t suggesting you wouldn’t get away with doing so.