Extortionate excess rail fare (super off peak)

[skyhigh]

How did you get into Reading station? Did you scan the ticket at the barriers and did they open or not? If they opened in the middle of a period when the ticket was obviously not valid, then you might complain about that.

My advice would be: pick your battles.

The TM has done a favour by calculating a smaller excess than was actually due. There's no question that the ticket was actually valid for the train used.

 

[RPI]

Oh, I was agreeing with you and making the point for the original poster who doesn’t seem to understand the way rail tickets are priced.

Apologies, I may have come across a bit short there.

 

[nanstallon]

Your ticket indeed wasn't valid because it's not valid on:



The validity is determined by the ticket's restrictions, not the train.

The correct remedy for this is indeed an excess. This would be to an Anytime Return at £248.20, so an excess of £160.10. Or he could have sold a new Anytime Day Single at around £124. The Off Peak is also not valid as it too has an evening restriction:



I'm struggling to see how he got to fifty quid, but he has certainly done you a massive favour.

All a bit Alice in Wonderland.