Train Ticket did not get stamped, can I use it again?

willhub · 3 Dec 2012 at 20:58

Oh, I never buy tickets on the day, it's a rip off.

[TW]Fox · 3 Dec 2012 at 20:58

willhub said:
Oh, I never buy tickets on the day, it's a rip off.

The ticket this entire thread is about is an on-the-day ticket? You might have bought it in advance but its the same price irrespective of when you buy it.

You'd be better off looking at legitimate ways to save money on train travel. You are 23. Why not buy a 3 year 16-25 Railcard? Works out at £21.66 a year and you'll then get a third off your tickets. Even the advance ones. Then you'll be able to travel to Manchester for £7.25 for that Advance you've found, and even an on-the-day ticket will only cost you £17.

willhub · 3 Dec 2012 at 21:08

Well in that case, I've being ripping myself off.

[TW]Fox · 3 Dec 2012 at 21:16

willhub said:
Well in that case, I've being ripping myself off.

If you want the best deal, some tips:

Advance Purchase fares are generally available from 12 weeks before departure. They are offered in tiers. For the Selby to Man Picc trip, the tiers start at £7 and go up to £11. As the tiers sell out, they stop being available for that train and the next tier is offered right the way up to £11. The earlier you book, the cheaper it'll be. It seems odd to have 'tiers' between two rather close pricepoints, but thats just because this isn't a very expensive route. You can imagine how the principle might work on say London to Edinburgh.

The downside is that you are limited to the specified train only - if you miss it or you want to use a different train you must buy a new ticket.

The other ticket types - for example your Offpeak Return - are the same price whether you buy them 12 weeks in advance or 37 seconds before the train leaves.

If this is a journey you make reasonably often, definately invest in a 16-25 railcard. The savings add up quickly.

willhub · 3 Dec 2012 at 21:25

So I'm better off getting an advance single and then buying another advance single for the day I want to go back?

[TW]Fox · 3 Dec 2012 at 21:30

willhub said:
So I'm better off getting an advance single and then buying another advance single for the day I want to go back?

This will be the cheapest way to travel - yes. It's up to you whether the tradeoff in flexibility against an Offpeak return is worth it for the saving on price it offers.

Don't forget - you MUST use the booked train.

Soundood · 3 Dec 2012 at 21:42

Karma is everywhere, use it if you wish to, but be fully prepared to pay the consequence.

willhub · 3 Dec 2012 at 21:56

soundood said:
Karma is everywhere, use it if you wish to, but be fully prepared to pay the consequence.

What could the consequence be?

arknor · 3 Dec 2012 at 21:56

soundood said:
Karma is everywhere, use it if you wish to, but be fully prepared to pay the consequence.

so why do some utter ***** win the lottery? is it because karma is BS?

Hedge · 3 Dec 2012 at 21:59

I always think having inspectors on every train would gain them more revenue than they would spend.

Firestar_3x · 4 Dec 2012 at 09:40

willhub said:
What could the consequence be?

Anything from a paper cut to fully blown aids.

Voltar · 4 Dec 2012 at 10:36

Do it and then enjoy the feeling of being worried that your clever ruse will be foiled and you'll get into trouble.

Or do it and don't feel guilty about it.

Or just buy a ticket- it's only £11.

Haggisman · 4 Dec 2012 at 10:44

Strife212 said:
You can and you should because they were too lazy to pay for a guard to check the tickets.

Hedge said:
I always think having inspectors on every train would gain them more revenue than they would spend.

Actually, I think you'll find the job title is "Revenue Protection Officer", and the reason there aren't more of them is due to the extremely difficult qualifications required and the high wage such a position of responsibility demands.

willhub · 4 Dec 2012 at 11:34

11 quid is a lot for me at the moment.

Voltar · 4 Dec 2012 at 11:39

willhub said:
11 quid is a lot for me at the moment.

Then your answer is clear. Re-use ticket.

frying_pan_cat · 4 Dec 2012 at 11:49

[TW]Fox;23293465 said:
This will be the cheapest way to travel - yes. It's up to you whether the tradeoff in flexibility against an Offpeak return is worth it for the saving on price it offers.

Don't forget - you MUST use the booked train.

Fox, you seem to know quite a lot about this so I've got a question about advance tickets.

If I book an advance journey with say 1 change and I get on the first train which is delayed meaning I miss my connection, what happens then? Do I have to buy a new ticket then claim the price back or can I just get on the next train with my existing ticket?

dbmzk1 · 4 Dec 2012 at 11:53

If they don't stamp it and you've not used it in a machine you can return the ticket for a refund

physichull · 4 Dec 2012 at 11:54

[TW]Fox;23292516 said:
Practically speaking though you'll probably find it more or less pointless to re-use anyway as its highly likely the Offpeak Single you'd need to get from A to B in order to then re-use the return portion of your earlier ticket from B to A is probably only about 5-10p less than buying a new Offpeak Return anyway.

Exactly this. It will probably cost you about the same to get the single back so you won't have gained much.

Bossk128 · 4 Dec 2012 at 11:58

[TW]Fox;23293380 said:
If you want the best deal, some tips:

Advance Purchase fares are generally available from 12 weeks before departure. They are offered in tiers. For the Selby to Man Picc trip, the tiers start at £7 and go up to £11. As the tiers sell out, they stop being available for that train and the next tier is offered right the way up to £11. The earlier you book, the cheaper it'll be. It seems odd to have 'tiers' between two rather close pricepoints, but thats just because this isn't a very expensive route. You can imagine how the principle might work on say London to Edinburgh.

The downside is that you are limited to the specified train only - if you miss it or you want to use a different train you must buy a new ticket.

The other ticket types - for example your Offpeak Return - are the same price whether you buy them 12 weeks in advance or 37 seconds before the train leaves.

If this is a journey you make reasonably often, definately invest in a 16-25 railcard. The savings add up quickly.

This is all true, however regarding the tiered pricing on early bookings I find they sometimes have HIGHER priced tickets released immediately (i.e. at 3 months) which then drop to the cheapest price, gouging those who follow Fox's rules. If I see this, I wait a few days and try again and it routinely drops in price.

Bossk128 · 4 Dec 2012 at 12:02

frying_pan_cat said:
Fox, you seem to know quite a lot about this so I've got a question about advance tickets.

If I book an advance journey with say 1 change and I get on the first train which is delayed meaning I miss my connection, what happens then? Do I have to buy a new ticket then claim the price back or can I just get on the next train with my existing ticket?

If it is one journey, and the train is delayed so you miss a connection, you are free to get the next train using your ticket, even if the specified time is incorrect (because it was late, i.e. their fault).

However, if you buy the tickets manually, i.e. two separate journeys they call this a broken ticket, and each journey is separate. In this case, even if they are late and you miss the other train, you lose out on that 2nd ticket.

It is sometimes cheaper to buy two part journeys than one complete journey, but if the change is short (<15 minutes is short I'd say, in the UK) then it can be a gamble. The time of day of journey is a factor here as very early trains are rarely late. In my experience rush hour trains are always a few minutes late at the minimum. I have a connection that is 8 minutes apart and I miss it about 35% of the time.