Avanti mandatory seat reservations?

[trebor79]

I'm trying to get up to Glasgow next Sunday. I think my best (cheapest) option is going to be to head into London and then buy an off-peak single from Euston. However, all of the booking websites I've tried are showing hardly any services available. If I click on the "i" icon on GWR's booking engine, it informs me that "seat reservations are mandatory" on all of the services I could use (bearing in mind I don't want to travel early in the morning).
But I can't see anything on Avanti's website saying that seat reservations are indeed mandatory, only that they are recommended.
Is this a similar fudge to the one LNER are doing? Can I just book an off-peak single "booked" onto some train I have no intention of using and then rock up at the time I want to travel without issue (I accept I might have to stand)?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Exactly the same fudge, yes, though without the TVM issue as theirs don't do reservations. Reservations are not compulsory.

You cam indeed book for another service or just rock up and buy one on the day.

 

[Bald Rick]

I’ve been on the WCML a fair bit recently, and assuming you avoid the usual busy times for leisure travel, there is always space in the unreserved coaches.

Also, if you have a standard ticket, you could always upgrade to Standard Premier, which is effectively unreserved too.

 

[Mainline421]

It's better not to book a random service as someone else might want to book that service and not know you can turn up at Euston and buy from a TVM. Plus if anything does change for any reason you won't need to refund and lose £10 that way.

 

[trebor79]

Thanks for the confirmation guys.
How the ordinary punter is meant to fathom this kind of thing is a mystery. I wouldn't have even suspected this was a bodge in the ticketing data or what the workaround is if I wasn't a rail enthusiast/geek.