Season ticket Refunds

[baza585]

Some advice please.

I will be moving house during May/June, after which I will not need my rail season ticket. Exact date unknown and won't be until much nearer the time. I currently have an annual Gold Card which expires end of March. i won't know at that point what my moving date is.

Is there any difference in cost between getting a quarterly season (and getting a refund) and getting an annual season (and getting a refund) or will they both be worked out the same way, by looking at the actual time before surrender of teh season.

Jorney is HNA-SOU.

Thanks

Baza

 

[button_boxer]

Correct, any refund is based on working out what tickets you would have needed to cover the time you have "used up" and refunding the difference between that and the price you originally paid. Regardless of what season ticket you buy at the end of March the refund will be such that you end up having paid the cost of one or two monthly plus however many weekly season tickets, depending on the date you hand back your ticket.

That's why you don't get any refund if you hand back an annual ticket after more than ten and a half months or so - the total cost of the monthlies and weeklies to cover that time is more than the original cost of the annual ticket.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Exactly, they just work out what you should have bought, take that off of what you actually paid, subtract the admin fee and give you the rest.

If you need a new season ticket at the new address, it might pay to get a 'changeover', this is worked out differently than the refund, and the value to pay/refund will change by the day, so if you can give the ticket office a little warning (a few days should suffice) they can calculate the cost for you, but you will need to do that at the issueing office. There is no admin fee on a changeover.

 

[island]

So it may be best to get a gold card so that you can use the discount on any journeys outside your season ticket.

 

[MikeWh]

Correct, any refund is based on working out what tickets you would have needed to cover the time you have "used up" and refunding the difference between that and the price you originally paid. Regardless of what season ticket you buy at the end of March the refund will be such that you end up having paid the cost of one or two monthly plus however many weekly season tickets, depending on the date you hand back your ticket.

That's why you don't get any refund if you hand back an annual ticket after more than ten and a half months or so - the total cost of the monthlies and weeklies to cover that time is more than the original cost of the annual ticket.

Not quite right. Once you have had an annual more than one month the refund is calculated on the daily rate as 1/30th of the monthly rate. I.e. if you use it for 6 weeks from March 28th to May 6th you will be deemed to have used a one month and 9 day season. That is cheaper than one month and two weeklies. A monthly costs 3.84 weeklies and an annual costs 40 weeklies so there is no refund after 10 months and 12 days.

 

[baza585]

Exactly, they just work out what you should have bought, take that off of what you actually paid, subtract the admin fee and give you the rest.

If you need a new season ticket at the new address, it might pay to get a 'changeover', this is worked out differently than the refund, and the value to pay/refund will change by the day, so if you can give the ticket office a little warning (a few days should suffice) they can calculate the cost for you, but you will need to do that at the issueing office. There is no admin fee on a changeover.

Thanks to you and all posters for your helpful advice. One further question; how much is the admin fee likely to be please. I've looked on SWT website but can't find it.

Thanks again.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

£5-10, it varies by TOC, but I think SWT is £10, I'll check at work tomorrow.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

How would it work out if the OP instead got a changeover season ticket for a random low cost journey near their new address?

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Been a long time since I've done one, but from memory, the cost of the ticket to the new origin/destination is calculated according to the period of validity of the ticket being changed. The remaining usage (in days) of the original ticket is also worked out. Both the old and new ticket prices are divided by the original period of validity (in days) to provide a 'daily rate'. The 'daily rate' for each is multiplied by the remaining usage and the difference charged/refunded. There must be one month left on the ticket to do a changeover.

For example, if we say the original ticket had been issued for 44 days, had 35 days remaining and it cost £880, and the new ticket for the same 44 day period would have cost the passenger cost £440. The daily rate for the old ticket would be £20 and for the new ticket £10. Each of these is multiplied by the remaining days (35) which comes out at £700 and £350. The new ticket is issued and the passenger receives a refund of £350.

 

[wibble]

£5-10, it varies by TOC, but I think SWT is £10, I'll check at work tomorrow.

Most, if not all, TOCs charge £10 (including SWT)

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Having checked the FRPP, Northern, Chiltern, Cross Country and Grand Central do not charge £10 for refunds. The admin fee applies to where the refund is processed, not to where it is handed in.

EDIT: forgot to add Heathrow Express and Heathrow Connect, as they are not on the £10 list.

 

[barrykas]

Having checked the FRPP, Northern, Chiltern, Cross Country and Grand Central do not charge £10 for refunds. The admin fee applies to where the refund is processed, not to where it is handed in.

The Manual's wrong then...Chiltern most definitely charge £10 for season ticket refunds and £5 for other refunds, and have done for the past five years at least.

As others have pointed out, however, it may be worth getting the Annual and doing a change-over to something like Pevensey Bay - Pevensey & Westham or Ryde St Johns Road - Ryde Esplanade which, at £140 a year, are probably the cheapest Gold Cards you can get.

Running the numbers:

Assuming you get a new Annual starting on 1st April and submit it for refund on 1st June (last used on 31st May, just to keep the maths easier):

Original cost of ticket: £1800.00 (£45 a week x 40.00)
 2 Months Season Ticket: £ 345.60 (£45 a week x  7.68)
                         --------
   Difference in prices: £1454.40
LESS Administration Fee: £  10.00
                         --------
      Balance to Refund: £1444.40
                         ========

If you work it out as a changeover, on the other hand, you get the following:

           Original cost of ticket: £1800.00 (£45.00 a week x 40.00)
Cost of new ticket for same period: £ 140.00 (£ 3.50 a week x 40.00)

     Base rate for original ticket: £1800 / 365 = £4.93
          Base rate for new ticket: £ 140 / 365 = £0.38

          New ticket to start from: 01/06/2011
                        Expires on: 31/03/2012
           Number of days validity: 305

     Credit due on original ticket: £4.93 x 305 = £1503.65
             Charge for new ticket: £0.38 x 305 = £ 115.90
            Refund due to customer: £1503.65 - £115.90 = £1387.75

So, in this case, the OP would get more money back by putting the ticket in for a refund than by submitting it for a change-over.

Cheers,

Barry