Day Return Ticket Query

[RedPostJunc]

I have read with some disquiet a number of posts in this Forum, where people have had to pay Penalty Fares because they accidentally bought the wrong ticket. I am not thinking of deliberate Fare Evasion, but people who have been caught out because of the quirks and obscure rules of the ticketing system.

I have a question about Day Return Fares (it also applies to other return fares).

A friend and I want to meet for lunch. Stations
I will board a train at station A, my friend will collect me from station B. We will go to lunch at a venue (x) between station B and station C, but my friend wants to drop me back to station C.


A-----B--x--C

Let us assume that the price of tickets is as follows (just to eliminate anything quirky like a day return A to C is cheaper than a Day Return A to B):
Single A to C £8
Single A to B £5
Single B to C £5

Day Return A to B £6
Day Return A to C £9


One option would be to buy a single ticket from A to B, then buy a single ticket from C to A.
Another option would be to buy a Day Return from A to B and a single from C to B.

Could I buy a Day Return from A to C, but alight at B on the outward journey, without falling foul of Revenue Protection?
What about a slightly different scenario?
My friend wants to collect me from station C, but drop me back to station B after lunch.
Could I buy a Day Return from A to C, but join at B on the return journey, without falling foul of Revenue Protection?

 

[ainsworth74]

Could I buy a Day Return from A to C, but alight at B on the outward journey, without falling foul of Revenue Protection?
What about a slightly different scenario?
My friend wants to collect me from station C, but drop me back to station B after lunch.
Could I buy a Day Return from A to C, but join at B on the return journey, without falling foul of Revenue Protection?

As long as there is no break of journey prohibition (which are quite rare on flexible tickets) that's perfectly valid. It is possible that revenue protection might be confused but the likelihood of them trying to issue a penalty fare is fairly small. But, sadly, nothing can be certain because of the dire state of training that many revenue protection staff receive meaning that often they have less knowledge than most members on here despite them being paid to deal with revenue protection!

 

[pedr]

You may start your journey, or break and resume it, at any intermediate station between the origin and destination and you may also end your journey before the destination, if you have a ticket which permits 'break of journey'. Most Day Return tickets will permit this but the specific restriction applicable to the precise ticket purchased will set this out. Advance tickets do not permit break of journey (but don't have return tickets anyway, so this precise scenario wouldn't arise).

Tickets might not operate all barriers at intermediate stations, so sometimes you'll have to speak to a gateline attendant to be allowed out or in but this does not determine the validity, only whether the gates have been programmed to accept particular tickets automatically.