Train 12 month season ticket - refund after 3 months then buy replacement?

andymoss

Hi all,

I am due to start work in London for a while so I will be buying a season ticket costing a whopping £5.5k from Newbury, but with the prices due to go up loads in January, I am wondering if I can buy a 12 month season ticket now but return it for a refund in December after 3-4 months use and then buy a brand new 12 month season ticket before the prices go up?

Is this allowed by the train companies and easy to do? If not then I would have to buy a 3 month season ticket but this works out at roughly £200 more expensive so keen to avoid this if possible.

Cheers
Andy

surreysaver

It would be cheaper to swap it over for a new ticket rather than get a refund and buy a new one - yhe calculation doing it this was is done pro-rata, using prices that applied when you bought your first ticket. If you do it your way, the refund us worked out based on the cost of the ticket you would have bought if you had known how long you would have used ut for taken off the price you paid minus an administration charge.

p00hsticks

andymoss wrote: »

Hi all,

I am due to start work in London for a while so I will be buying a season ticket costing a whopping £5.5k from Newbury, but with the prices due to go up loads in January, I am wondering if I can buy a 12 month season ticket now but return it for a refund in December after 3-4 months use and then buy a brand new 12 month season ticket before the prices go up?

Is this allowed by the train companies and easy to do? If not then I would have to buy a 3 month season ticket but this works out at roughly £200 more expensive so keen to avoid this if possible.

Cheers
Andy

Refunds don't work like you think. You won't get back three quarters of what you paid if you give up an annual season ticket after three months. You'll get back what you paid less the cost of a season ticket for the time you've used - which as you say, is £200 more.

It's certainly worth buying your annual season just before the fares go up - and if possible, use a credit card that gives cashback (or 0% on purchases) as well.

KeithP

What p00hsticks says is right.

A season ticket at the monthly rate can be bought for any period from one month to one year, so why not buy a season ticket now at the monthly rate to end just before the price increase takes place, and then get an annual ticket then at this year's prices?