Changing a VTEC Advance

[scottish rider]

Hi,

I have a VTEC 1st Advance ticket from London Kings Cross to Kirkcaldy for Tuesday 5 September, due to a family issue I may need to travel earlier than Tuesday (same journey) at short notice (evening before at the very most notice).

What would be the best ticket to seek to change the advance to?

I booked it on the new VTEC website but would be able to visit the ticket office at Kings Cross to change it. Happy to travel standard if it's possible.

Many thanks for any assistance.

 

[yorkie]

You can change the time but keep it as an Advance, by paying £10 plus any difference in price (subject to availability).

If you think you need flexibility, it may be better to upgrade it to a walk-up ticket. The only 1st class walk-up fare is very costly, but you are allowed to upgrade to a standard class fare, such as Super Off Peak. Again, a £10 admin fee applies on top of the difference.

You should be able to do it via telesales but waiting times may be very long, according to posts in another thread.

 

[westv]

It used to be a doddle changing AP tickets on the old website.

 

[Romilly]

You should be able to do it via telesales but waiting times may be very long, according to posts in another thread.

If you booked on the new website, i.e. you booked after the end of July, you have three options: you can book the new ticket you want and then, in your VTEC online account, opt to cancel the first ticket - you supply the booking reference for the new ticket you have booked, and VTEC refund your card the price of the original ticket less £10; try telesales, as Yorkie suggests; or try any staffed ticket office (although so far I have only tried a ticket office run by VTEC).

When changing the date/time on an Advance ticket, you have to still have the same origin and destination stations. This can be limiting on London-Fife Advances as, apart from the three London-Kirkcaldy-Aberdeen VTEC trains each day, you will have to change at Edinburgh onto a Scotrail service, or at somewhere between York and Edinburgh onto one of the three/four Cross Country services that go through Fife. My experience is that very few Edinburgh-Fife Scotrail services are available as connecting services for London-Fife Advance tickets.

 

[scottish rider]

That's great, thanks for the assistance. I think I'll change it to the super off peak (standard class) to give me some flexibility.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

You can also change two Advance fares into a Super Off-Peak Return (or any other return fare), but be aware that you pay an admin fee for each Advance ticket you change.

If you have regular size tickets (printed from a ticket machine) you can change them at virtually any ticket office, if you have print@home or mobile tickets your options might be much more limited.

 

[westv]

if you have print@home or mobile tickets your options might be much more limited.

It was very simple on the old site.