Different railcards and return ticket

[Wallsendmag]

As long as it is the same amount of discount YNG to TST or SNR... it is not a problem to do.

All depends on which TIS is being used and th ticket type

 

[CyrusWuff]

As long as it is the same amount of discount YNG to TST or SNR... it is not a problem to do.

Having just tried it, there are only two obvious ways to change the discount on the TIS that GTR use:

• Refund the original ticket and reissue it with the correct discount applied. (Likely only to be an option on the day the ticket was bought and it would need to have been bought from GTR.)
• Set the Excess up as if the new discount had been applied at the original time of issue. It's not possible to select a different discount as part of the Excess process.

 

[sot]

Set the Excess up as if the new discount had been applied at the original time of issue. It's not possible to select a different discount as part of the Excess process.

I have had this inadvertently in the past, I was doing several transactions and the office accidentally keyed it up in that way.

That being said would there not have to be some other change otherwise the excess would literally be the original ticket!?

 

[CyrusWuff]

I have had this inadvertently in the past, I was doing several transactions and the office accidentally keyed it up in that way.

That being said would there not have to be some other change otherwise the excess would literally be the original ticket!?

Depends on local accountancy procedures. My TOC don't object to Ticket Offices issuing zero fare excesses.

 

[sot]

Oh yes I understand that.

But you are effectively saying to key it in wrong from the start, so other than this particularly niche application what is the excess reason for example:

Redhill to Stafford any permitted standard class NGC status code (keyed in as this but ticket held is actually YNG) to
Redhill to Stafford any permitted standard class NGC status code?

What is the excess reason for this? It is not overdistance or change of class?

 

[CyrusWuff]

Oh yes I understand that.

But you are effectively saying to key it in wrong from the start, so other than this particularly niche application what is the excess reason for example:

Redhill to Stafford any permitted standard class NGC status code (keyed in as this but ticket held is actually YNG) to
Redhill to Stafford any permitted standard class NGC status code?

What is the excess reason for this? It is not overdistance or change of class?

If doing an Excess, we'd put it down as a Change of Ticket Type (appreciating that further compounds the problem) though Refund & Reissue would be the proper way to do it (but isn't always possible.)

 

[sot]

What is then a question is the excess then actually valid to use after all this effort?

I imagine it is the it was issued at an office or by a person so it's not the pax fault if it isn't what is supposed to be done.

I seem to recall in some internal post office/royal mail documents that if an item was under marked for post but was blatantly through a PO (franked/cancelled with a PO stamp) that it would be let through the system unlike unrfanked items clearly from a postbox.

 

[starlight73]

There was a case of a passenger being threatened with prosecution by a TOC for trying to use a 26-30 railcard with a ticket bought for a 16-25 railcard:

• A passenger was threatened with prosecution for accidentally selecting a 16-25 railcard discount when they had a 26-30 railcard. Both railcards provide the same discount. So, although the ticket was technically invalid, there was no difference in the fare and therefore no net loss to industry. The case was eventually dropped after their MP became involved.

source: ORR, number 14. https://www.orr.gov.uk/independent-review-train-operators-revenue-protection-practices

see also this post: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/wrong-railcard.291566/#post-7449122

 

[sot]

I attempted again to get this sorted alas no GTR office would do it.

Is it possible the excess the discount away fully? I.e. turn the ticket into a ticket with no status code?

 

[Haywain]

I attempted again to get this sorted alas no GTR office would do it.

What wouldn't they do?

Is it possible the excess the discount away fully? I.e. turn the ticket into a ticket with no status code?

There is no clear right to do so. The appropriate method would be to refund the discounted ticket and buy an undiscounted ticket

 

[sot]

A swap of status code.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Jan 2026 ==

Although for about a minute I was swapped directly with another ticket but the original would be cancelled which would lose the Avanti club credits

 

[Haywain]

A swap of status code.

Could perhaps be done by a 'bodge' but there is no process for doing it and staff will not be trained to find a work round.

 

[John R]

GWR have a close to single leg pricing basis* on its high speed network, so I would buy two singles.

* I believe the single leg is priced at around 15% above half the return price, or at least it used to be.