Off Peak Return - cancellation of return leg - Virgin

[garnon]

Can the experts on the forum confirm that the advice i received (below) is correct ?


I understand this train was cancelled and you decided to make alternative arrangements.



The Off Peak ticket is a discounted fare, the full fare ticket being the Anytime ticket, and is therefore subject to certain conditions.



As the Off Peak Return fare is greatly discounted when compared to the Off Peak Single fare (usually costing just 1 more than the Single fare), refunds are only available if both portions are unused. If this is the case, a refund, minus an administration fee, can be obtained by returning the tickets to the point of purchase. Any refund of the unused portion of a return ticket would be calculated by subtracting the value of the equivalent single fare. However, in this instance, the cost of the single fare, plus the standard 10.00 administration charge, is actually more than the fare you paid. In these circumstances, therefore, I regret there is no refund due.

 

[First class]

Sounds right to me.

You chose to make alternative travel arrangements, therefore the refund was subject to a £10 admin fee.

The admin fee wiped out the value of the refund, so no refund due.

The difference in cost between an off-peak single and return can be as little as 5p!

You need a delay of over an hour to be entitled to "compensation" but not a refund.

 

[142094]

That sounds incorrect according to their Passenger Charter. See section 5.31 here

 

[island]

It's not quite true. If you used the outbound leg and not the return leg of the off-peak return ticket, and you were unable to use the return leg because of a cancellation, and you handed your ticket in to a ticket office straight away, you are entitled to a refund of the difference between a single and a return with no admin fee. With a Virgin off-peak return, this will be around £1. They are not correct in charging an admin fee in the above circumstances, but you may take the position that it is not worth pursuing.

Edit: At least this is my understanding of it. It is entirely possible that I do not have it fully correct.

 

[yorkie]

Sounds right to me.

You chose to make alternative travel arrangements, therefore the refund was subject to a £10 admin fee.

The admin fee wiped out the value of the refund, so no refund due.

The difference in cost between an off-peak single and return can be as little as 5p!

You need a delay of over an hour to be entitled to "compensation" but not a refund.

Yet another post of yours that concerns me (we are making a list now), and is, I believe, misleading.

How can an admin fee possibly apply when they have cancelled the train? If there is to be an admin fee, it should be the other way round :roll:

Unfortunately the information about the difference being payable may well be true, as SVRs (Off Peak Returns) tend to cost a few pence or a quid less than a SVS (Off Peak Single). It's daft really, as this problem would not occur with Advance Singles, so you are penalised for having a flexible return.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

:roll: Interestingly when Virgin Trains work out the amount due to you when one of their trains has been delayed, they use 50% of the SVR fare as the base figure on which to work out the amount due.

 

[AlterEgo]

If your train was cancelled and you abandoned your journey, you are entitled to a full refund of the RETURN portion of your SVR ticket (so half the cost), in travel vouchers. Telephone Customer Relations and it'll be put right straight away.

Doesn't matter when the next train was, if VT didn't provide your service and your return portion is unused, you're entitled to this. As I said, quickest way to sort this is to telephone Customer Relations and they'll rectify that for you.

HTH

Edit: For clairity, the "return" portion in case of cancelled or delayed services equates to 50% of the price of your SVR ticket. If you were claiming a refund as per TnCs for an unused return portion, where there was no fault of VT, you'd be due no refund.

 

[John @ home]

For clairity, the "return" portion in case of cancelled or delayed services equates to 50% of the price of your SVR ticket. If you were claiming a refund as per TnCs for an unused return portion, where there was no fault of VT, you'd be due no refund.

Thanks. That's useful. Do you know anywhere that this information is published?

 

[AlterEgo]

Thanks. That's useful. Do you know anywhere that this information is published?

It's written in the Passenger Charter as linked to in an earlier post the particulars about SVR tickets aren't spelled out in black and white however.