Changing season ticket before start date

[Brucey]

I (stupidly) bought a Bedhampton to London Zones 1-6 odd period ticket (1 month, 2 days) for £531.40 which starts on 12th August and ends on 13th September.

Anyway, it seems I'll be moving to Zone 6 on 10th September.

Ideally I'd like to get a refund and I'd PAYG into work (as I work in Zone 2 but will be on a course in Zone 1 for part of this). I'd guessing I'd get £521.40 back? Can any ticket office issue this or would it have to be sent off to Southern (bought on their website)?

Alternatively, I could get a changeover to Zones 2-6. Would I be correct in saying I'd get the difference back without any admin fee (i.e. 531.40 - 155.80 = £375.60)? Again, can I do this anywhere (e.g. Havant, my nearest manned station at the weekend)? Is it possible to get the paper ticket transferred onto an Oyster card?

 

[hairyhandedfool]

....I'd guessing I'd get £521.40 back?....

Correct. you would get everything except a £10 admin fee back if handed in before the start date of the ticket

....Can any ticket office issue this or would it have to be sent off to Southern (bought on their website)?.....

You could hand it in at any station, but they will send it to Southern head office for processing (ticket offices cannot process card, cheque or Warrant refunds).

....Alternatively, I could get a changeover to Zones 2-6. Would I be correct in saying I'd get the difference back without any admin fee (i.e. 531.40 - 155.80 = £375.60)?....

In theory.

Note: Ordinarily a changeover is done on the day of change, I'm not entirely sure if it's possible to do it in advance or not, I've never tried to do it and if you leave it until the day, you *may* get charged one day's use at the old rate.

....Again, can I do this anywhere (e.g. Havant, my nearest manned station at the weekend)?....

In theory any ticket office can do a changeover (regardless of where it was bought), though you might want to pick one close to where you will live.

....Is it possible to get the paper ticket transferred onto an Oyster card?

As far as I am aware, it cannot be transferred on to Oyster, but others from the London area might know better.

 

[MikeWh]

Perhaps I'm being a bit dim here, but surely you need the whole ticket for August 12th to September 9th which is almost the whole period.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

I obviously couldn't see the wood for the trees there, but you're right that is what the op says, perhaps they move on the 10th August, not September?

But if the op is correct, than there'd be little point in changing the ticket.

 

[maniacmartin]

As far as I am aware, it cannot be transferred on to Oyster, but others from the London area might know better.

It can be done, but only a very small handful of stations can do it. You need a National Rail station station that has a LUL TIS.The only station I recall that has this is Wimbledon, where a friend of mine had this done very recently.

I believe the process is they print the ticket on the normal TIS, then void the tickets and add the season to the Oyster using the LUL TIS

 

[CyrusWuff]

As far as I am aware, it cannot be transferred on to Oyster, but others from the London area might know better.

I believe the process is they print the ticket on the normal TIS, then void the tickets and add the season to the Oyster using the LUL TIS

Being pedantic, the "other" TIS is Cubic FasTIS+ (the + indicating it's Oyster-enabled) in non-revenue mode. And just to confuse matters, you can't undertake such a transfer where FasTIS+ is the ticket issuing system in use.

 

[Brucey]

I obviously couldn't see the wood for the trees there, but you're right that is what the op says, perhaps they move on the 10th August, not September?

But if the op is correct, than there'd be little point in changing the ticket.

Yes, in the rush of getting everything sorted I did incorrectly type September when I was meaning 10th August.

Thank you all for your replies and it seems the best option will be to get a refund on the ticket. My Zone 1 journeys will be covered by my employer anyway, so doing them on Oyster PAYG will be far easier to claim back.

 

[island]

My Zone 1 journeys will be covered by my employer anyway, so doing them on Oyster PAYG will be far easier to claim back.

Make sure you (1) surrender the ticket before its start date as otherwise the refund you get will be less and (2) declare the refund of your Oyster fares to the tax office.

 

[Brucey]

(2) declare the refund of your Oyster fares to the tax office.

It is all dealt with through our payroll department who deduct tax as necessary (I work for a government body).
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I'll be handing the ticket in at London Waterloo tonight.

Can someone confirm: 1. the office will stamp/otherwise mark the ticket to confirm the date I handed it in, and 2. they will provide a receipt for the ticket once it has been handed over.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

For a refund there is a space on the refund form for the clerk to note when it is handed in. You should receive a copy of the refund form which the clerk should sign, date and stamp to confirm it has been handed in.

 

[Brucey]

Well, this is a summary of what happened:

1. London Victoria. Told me to phone the Southern website. Awful service, having queued for almost 20 minutes.

2. Phone call. Rather unhelpful. Told me to post it back where I "may or may not" receive a full refund if it doesn't arrive in time.

3. Clapham Junction. Said any Southern station could do this.

4. East Croydon. "You're not in the system, so you didn't buy it from Southern or Gatwick Express". She then effectively accused me (without using such words) of forging the ticket as the NLC (6330) wasn't in her system (this is the Gatwick Express WebTIS NLC).

Absolutely useless. Apart from sending a strongly worded complaint, what do I do now? I have a £531.40 piece of cardboard I won't use!

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Send it 'recorded delivery' or 'special delivery' to Southern/Gatwick Express as advised by the telesales person????