Excess on Two Together if one can't travel

[Hitchincommute]

Unfortunately my partner cannot accompany me on a forthcoming advance ticket with the Two Together discount. Is it possible to pay an excess of the discount amount applied ahead of travelling or is the ticket completely invalid?

 

[bb21]

There is no provision for this type of excess in the official procedures, so officially it is a new ticket, but it can't hurt to give it a go. East Coast ticket offices I heard are quite good at excessing away Railcard discounts, so perhaps Stevenage is a possibility for you.

Alternatively depending on the journey, it may also be possible to wait till departure and explain your circumstances to the guard. Since you have paid more than one full fare ticket, I cannot imagine many guards having an issue, but obviously this approach is not always possible, especially if you have gatelines at your origin station and/or you have multiple legs to your journey.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I must admit that this is one I think needs addressing in the Railcard T&C - as someone with two tickets and a Two Together will always have paid more than one ticket, I think it should be acceptable to travel alone provided you hold both sets of tickets *and* the Railcard.

That isn't the case at present, though if you don't ask (*before* boarding) you don't get.

 

[Hitchincommute]

The tickets are for Euston to Blackpool. My girlfriend is going to Euston to ask today ahead of departure tomorrow with the tickets and railcard and I will see what response she gets.

 

[talldave]

I must admit that this is one I think needs addressing in the Railcard T&C - as someone with two tickets and a Two Together will always have paid more than one ticket, I think it should be acceptable to travel alone provided you hold both sets of tickets *and* the Railcard.

That isn't the case at present, though if you don't ask (*before* boarding) you don't get.

I agree. In fact, the train operators gain an empty seat they can sell again for a second time. So common sense should prevail, but this is the railway !

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Whilst I very much understand the point that you would have paid more than one person travelling alone, that isn't what you've actually paid for, and so it is asking the railway to be lenient on their end of the agreement because you cannot hold yours. I'm sure some people will see this as "fair", I'm not sure I can agree, but, as noted, ask and you might get somewhere.

I agree. In fact, the train operators gain an empty seat they can sell again for a second time. So common sense should prevail, but this is the railway !

That's a bit of a fallacy. The trains have a finite number of seats and, whilst there may be a finite number of people who can fit on board, there is no way to tell if the number of people on board is the same, higher, or lower than the number of seats available. Some might point to Advance fares, with their reserved seat, but unless the tickets are refunded (not normally allowed on Advance fares) the ticket cannot be re-sold, and whilst this may still mean a seat becomes available to use, even if it is noted as "reserved" (which could deter others from sitting in it), it is no more available then any other seat and so the idea that it can be re-sold is lost.

 

[kieron]

The tickets are for Euston to Blackpool. My girlfriend is going to Euston to ask today ahead of departure tomorrow with the tickets and railcard and I will see what response she gets.

With London-Blackpool advance tickets, they may be a bit wary under some circumstances.

Someone trying to do something with London-Blackpool advance tickets in one direction which were bought on-line could, in theory, also have off-peak Blackpool-London singles. These tickets would also have a two together discount, and there is a theoretical chance that someone could intend to travel alone to Blackpool and back with a partner using the railcard.

If you're not in this situation, it's not a concern. It's just something to be aware of.

 

[najaB]

Someone trying to do something with London-Blackpool advance tickets in one direction which were bought on-line could, in theory, also have off-peak Blackpool-London singles. These tickets would also have a two together discount, and there is a theoretical chance that someone could intend to travel alone to Blackpool and back with a partner using the railcard.

Is there a particular reason this would be a concern with London-Blackpool tickets as opposed to any other route

 

[Bletchleyite]

Someone trying to do something with London-Blackpool advance tickets in one direction which were bought on-line could, in theory, also have off-peak Blackpool-London singles. These tickets would also have a two together discount, and there is a theoretical chance that someone could intend to travel alone to Blackpool and back with a partner using the railcard.

Do you mean sneakily obtaining SVHs? Otherwise I can't see any reason why they wouldn't just buy one regular Advance outward, and two discounted singles back.

 

[kieron]

Do you mean sneakily obtaining SVHs? Otherwise I can't see any reason why they wouldn't just buy one regular Advance outward, and two discounted singles back.

Sorry, yes, I was referring to SVH tickets.

I suspect it is a bit too elaborate for the limited benefit someone would gain from it. Compared with buying advance tickets you never intend to use, the most you can gain is the cost of one cheapest tier advance ticket.