Train annual season ticket loophole?

JimmyTheWig

I've never had one before. Just assumed that it was only valid once a day.

yorkie2

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

I was always under the impression that you had to actually start the journey, originally, at the station the ticket is from. Though, obviously, there is no way of anyone being able to verify this.

On a Season ticket? Who has given you that impression? If any railway staff have given that impression, perhaps they were mistaken, or perhaps you were thinking of a different type of ticket?

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

But I think your plan has another problem - you would have to go via Reading, which you don't want to do. If you start at Basingstoke and go through Bramley to London you don't end up at Waterloo.

The ticket is routed "Any Permitted" so you don't have to go via Reading

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

Hold on, unless you are suggesting that you use your ticket as a return first thing in the morning and come "back" to Basingstoke from London via Reading having broken your journey at Bramley. Then use your outbound ticket to go from Basingstoke to London. Then in the evening use your return ticket (again) to come straight back to Basingstoke. Then use your outbound ticket to go into London via Reading but break your journey at Bramley.
Is that your thinking? If so you are doing two outbound and two return journeys every day. I can't imagine that that is allowed!

On a Season ticket, you can make any number of journeys between any intermediate stations on any route shown on the ticket within the validity period. In this case the routeing is "Any Permitted" so all the permitted routes are allowed.

There is no issue with "doubling-back" on a Season ticket because there is no limit to the number of journeys you can make.

If it was a Single or Return ticket, then I would agree that you could not re-use any part of such a ticket. That's a very different situation to a Season ticket holder.

JimmyTheWig

yorkie2 wrote: »

On a Season ticket? Who has given you that impression?

Me, and me alone!
I imagined a season ticket was like 365 return tickets, one for each day. Looks like I imagined wrongly.

The ticket is routed "Any Permitted" so you don't have to go via Reading

You would if you could only use it once per day - which I now realise I was wrong about.

bb21

geordie_taxi wrote: »

And don't forget your yearly delay repay compo for late/cancelled trains, as its an 'any permitted' route u can claim off either swt or fgw Your compo will normally come in a discount off next years season ticket.

That is incorrect.

Each flow, therefore each ticket, belongs to a service group, which in this case will either be one run by FGW or one run by SWT, but not both. It is not the ticket-holder's decision which service group the ticket belongs to.

geordie_taxi

bb21 wrote: »

That is incorrect.

Each flow, therefore each ticket, belongs to a service group, which in this case will either be one run by FGW or one run by SWT, but not both. It is not the ticket-holder's decision which service group the ticket belongs to.

That is incorrect.

Theres only one ticket to a season ticket which is what the OP was discussing.

Exile_geordie

geordie_taxi wrote: »

And don't forget your yearly delay repay compo for late/cancelled trains, as its an 'any permitted' route u can claim off either swt or fgw Your compo will normally come in a discount off next years season ticket.

Wow I never knew that about dual route tickets. Are you saying that you can just look up delays on either provider and see if either had delays and then claim from which ever one did have the delays?

Interesting and very MSE :money:

geordie_taxi

Exile_geordie wrote: »

Wow I never knew that about dual route tickets. Are you saying that you can just look up delays on either provider and see if either had delays and then claim from which ever one did have the delays?

Interesting and very MSE :money:

If you have an 'Any Permitted' ticket and there are two or more valid routes via different train companies ie SWT or FGW. If you decide to travel via SWT and that train is delayed then any compo should be claimed of SWT if you travel FGW then claim off FGW.

But if your suggesting that you look up delays on train companys live info websites or other train live data websites for a journey you havent done, just to avoid an admin refund charge then thats very naughty and as an honest MSE i cant endorse such actions

yorkie2

geordie_taxi wrote: »

If you have an 'Any Permitted' ticket and there are two or more valid routes via different train companies ie SWT or FGW. If you decide to travel via SWT and that train is delayed then any compo should be claimed of SWT if you travel FGW then claim off FGW.

I would agree with this if SWT and FGW operated Delay Repay schemes, but unfortunately that isn't the case (for either of them!), so my understanding is that bb21 is correct. I am awaiting clarification as to precisely how such compensation would be calculated but I concur with bb21 that the passenger is unlikely to have any choice in the matter.

geordie_taxi wrote: »

But if your suggesting that you look up delays on train companys live info websites or other train live data websites for a journey you havent done, just to avoid an admin refund charge then thats very naughty and as an honest MSE i cant endorse such actions

I agree.

geordie_taxi

yorkie2 wrote: »

I would agree with this if SWT and FGW operated Delay Repay schemes, but unfortunately that isn't the case (for either of them!)

unfortunately you are incorrect or SWT/FGW have changed their policy and havent changed their website. As both seem to operate a delay repay scheme.

http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/compensation.aspx

http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/about-us/customer-services/compensation

yorkie2

I'm sure they will operate a Delay Repay scheme when the franchises are renewed, but for now the Passengers Charter and Void Day arrangements apply.

A passenger on another forum (which I am not allowed to link to, so I will respect that) reports that he had correspondence with SWT & FGW about this last year, and the ticket comes under FGW's "High Speed" service group.

I do not agree that this is morally right, but unfortunately it is the reality.

Once FGW & SWT both participate in Delay Repay, it will be then a case of compensation being payable, where appropriate, from the relevant operator where an actual delay was experienced by the passenger, and the arrival time at the destination was greater than 30 minutes.

Until then, it's based on an overall performance measure, and not on actual passenger experiences, so a passenger may experience no delays and be entitled to compensation, or may experience many delays and be entitled to no compensation, under the current arrangements in place between Basingstoke and London, via either route.