Must I buy more expensive ticket?

[suzanneparis]

Today, Mon 8 July 2024, I am travelling from Leicester to Leamington Spa and return.
I was planning to travel on the 10:50 from Leicester. I was planning on buying my ticket when I get to the station in Leicester.
BUT that train shows as cancelled. The fare is shown as £27.50 return. (Coming back on 14:40 from Leamington Spa)

Now it seems I must travel on the 10:16 train, but the fare is shown as £40.70 return.

I presume the reason is that the cheaper train is via Nuneaton but the more expensive is via Birmingham.

Must I buy the more expensive ticket or can I buy a ticket as if I was travelling on the 10:50 but still go via Birmingham with a cheaper ticket?

Thanks for any help and best wishes

 

[hkstudent]

Today, Mon 8 July 2024, I am travelling from Leicester to Leamington Spa and return.
I was planning to travel on the 10:50 from Leicester. I was planning on buying my ticket when I get to the station in Leicester.
BUT that train shows as cancelled. The fare is shown as £27.50 return. (Coming back on 14:40 from Leamington Spa)

Now it seems I must travel on the 10:16 train, but the fare is shown as £40.70 return.

I presume the reason is that the cheaper train is via Nuneaton but the more expensive is via Birmingham.

Must I buy the more expensive ticket or can I buy a ticket as if I was travelling on the 10:50 but still go via Birmingham with a cheaper ticket?

Thanks for any help and best wishes

You can still try buying the cheaper “not via Birmingham” fare of that of 1050/1150 and then try your luck at ticket office at Leicester ticket office to endorse your ticket to go via Birmingham, as they next arrival is more than 60 minutes after which fit into the rerouting right under PRO rule. But try getting paper ticket for convenience.


But maybe tricky, and may be at the end being asked to excess the ticket.

 

[gray1404]

If the ticket office refuse then you could simply board the XC and worst case is they excess you on board. But if you explain the situation you might be fine.

 

[Bletchleyite]

If the ticket office refuse then you could simply board the XC and worst case is they excess you on board. But if you explain the situation you might be fine.

I'd say worst case in reality is that they insist on selling a new Anytime ticket (XC is not a Penalty Fares TOC). If they do, it is important to pay it and pick up the issue with Customer Services later. If you refuse (or lack the means to), it's more likely they will progress onto writing it up as a refusal to pay which could end up in Court, however unfair and wrong that is, with all the associated stress even if you win. It's much easier to get an incorrectly sold fare refunded than deal with all that.

(There's a small risk they would do that anyway, but if you're co-operative that would be unlikely)

 

[suzanneparis]

Conclusion, yes, forced to buy more expensive ticket.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Jul 2024 ==

Insult to injury. Connection at Birmingham New St problematic. So have walk to Moor St.

Paid more money, arrived later than planned train, even though left earlier, and much more inconvenient.

 

[Hadders]

Tickets between Leicester and Leamington Spa are routed ‘Via Nuneaton’ and ‘Not via Birmingham’.

I’d have purchased the cheaper ‘not via Birmingham’ ticket, if necessary from the ticket machine (in the event of non co-operative ticket office staff) which can be change of route excessed one way to ‘via Nuneaton’ for half the difference. The excess can be purchased on board with no penalty.

Given the disruption the OP should be allowed to travel via Birmingham anyway.

 

[30907]

Conclusion, yes, forced to buy more expensive ticket.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Jul 2024 ==

Insult to injury. Connection at Birmingham New St problematic. So have walk to Moor St.

Paid more money, arrived later than planned train, even though left earlier, and much more inconvenient.

I am somewhat confused. Which train was cancelled and on what day?

 

[Mike99]

I am somewhat confused. Which train was cancelled and on what day?

Post #1 covers the info you need, "Today, Mon 8 July 2024, I am travelling from Leicester to Leamington Spa and return.
I was planning to travel on the 10:50 from Leicester. I was planning on buying my ticket when I get to the station in Leicester.
BUT that train shows as cancelled. The fare is shown as £27.50 return. (Coming back on 14:40 from Leamington Spa)"

 

[suzanneparis]

30907
Thanks and agree but..
I was a bit scared of having to pay penalty.
Ticket collector said he would have been sympathetic if it was a later train. But I caught train BEFORE 10.50 .

 

[Haywain]

Post #1 covers the info you need, "Today, Mon 8 July 2024, I am travelling from Leicester to Leamington Spa and return.
I was planning to travel on the 10:50 from Leicester. I was planning on buying my ticket when I get to the station in Leicester.
BUT that train shows as cancelled. The fare is shown as £27.50 return. (Coming back on 14:40 from Leamington Spa)"

Indeed, but RTT indicates that the train ran as advertised, and that it was the connecting service from Nuneaton that was cancelled.

 

[suzanneparis]

Also, connection from New St running 1 hour late I was told by staff at New St

 

[Haywain]

30907
Thanks and agree but..
I was a bit scared of having to pay penalty.
Ticket collector said he would have been sympathetic if it was a later train. But I caught train BEFORE 10.50 .

Had you travelled on the 1050, I suspect you would have been allowed to travel via Birmingham with the 'not via Birmingham' ticket.

 

[suzanneparis]

Haywain. I wanted 10.50 from Lei to L Spa. But it was cancelled. So bought more expensive ticket via Birmingham. But problems with connection at Birmingham. I think train at 11.32 is not running and next train also late. Anyway the first connection was moor st

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Jul 2024 ==

10.50 cancelled

 

[Haywain]

10.50 cancelled

10:50 from Leicester to Birmingham was not cancelled, it was the connection from Nuneaton that was cancelled.

 

[Hadders]

There is no penalty for travelling via Birmingham with a ‘not via Birmingham’ ticket.

You would be liable to pay a Change of Route Excess which for one way is half the difference in the cost of the return fares. There is no need to purchase the excess fare ahead of travel - it is the same price if purchased onboard the train.

There is, of course, the possibility of encountering a poorly trained member of staff who does not know the rules, in this situation we would assist in obtaining the correct outcome.

 

[suzanneparis]

Thank you Hadders. I didn't know that.

 

[30907]

Post #1 covers the info you need, "Today, Mon 8 July 2024, I am travelling from Leicester to Leamington Spa and return.
I was planning to travel on the 10:50 from Leicester. I was planning on buying my ticket when I get to the station in Leicester.
BUT that train shows as cancelled. The fare is shown as £27.50 return. (Coming back on 14:40 from Leamington

I was confused by the post at 10.15 which indicated they had completed their journey - obviously I misinterpreted it.

 

[yorkie]

They should only have charged you HALF the difference between the price you paid for your return ticket, and the cost of the lowest priced return ticket routed via Birmingham. This is known as a "change of route excess fare".

Even that would be harsh in the circumstances.

If you were charged more than this, you are entitled to claim money back from XC, who should also be providing the member of staff with some feedback regarding their incorrect actions, and offering re-training in this area. Unfortunately there are insufficient safeguards in place at companies such as XC to ensure that all their staff are knowledgeable and behave in an appropriate manner.

 

[Hadders]

If I’m reading the opening post correctly the ticket was purchased at Leicester ticket office so the complaint would need to go to EMR as they operate the ticket office at Leicester.

Perhaps @suzanneparis can confirm exactly where the ticket was purchased.

 

[Haywain]

There is also the problem that the ticket was purchased after the train cancellation that caused the route taken to change.

 

[Hadders]

There is also the problem that the ticket was purchased after the train cancellation that caused the route taken to change.

That doesn’t impact the position around the change of route excess, as the outward and return could’ve been made via different routes.

 

[suzanneparis]

Thanks for all of your replies.

Very kind of you.

Have decided to give up on this, life's too short and I am old.

Thanks again