Open Return Refundable?

[MrElectrostar]

Hi all, long-time reader of the forum here. I bought an off-peak open return from London Terminals to Uckfield last month and although I used to out portion on the day, I haven't used the return leg yet and I won't end up doing so before it expires next week. Although I thought that the ticket was refundable, when I tried to ask in the ticket office at London Bridge, I was told that it wasn't worth trying to get a refund as there would be an £5 admin fee as I already used the out portion. Is this the case even though the ticket is still valid? And if so is the general policy with trying this procedure with open returns? Would I have any other options such as taking it to a ticket office and asking them to issue me another one with a new date?

 

[John R]

This, from the Conditions of Travel might be of use, and suggests that the ticket office was correct.

29. Refunds on Tickets Which You Have Chosen Not to Use or Have Been Part-used
If you purchase any Ticket(s) and then choose not to travel, you may apply for a refund from the original retailer, unless the terms and conditions of your Ticket(s) state otherwise. You must do this no more than 28 days after the expiry of the Ticket(s) unless the terms and conditions of your Ticket state otherwise. In such cases, a deduction from your refund in the case of part-used Tickets will normally be calculated on the cost of the journey(s) actually made.
An administration charge may also be made, which will not exceed £5 per Ticket (£10 per Ticket in the case of Season Tickets, as set out in Part G); however, if the administrative charge and/or other deductions exceed the refund amount no refund will be payable. If a delay or cancellation on any leg of your journey is the reason you could not complete your journey, you are entitled to a full refund on any Tickets held for that journey under Condition 30.1.

So the refund will be the cost of the ticket, less the cost of the single fare, less the £5 admin cost.

There is no provision for them to issue you with a new ticket, as that would effectively be extending the 30 day limit on the validity of the ticket.

 

[Watershed]

The ticket office staff were wrong. They were correct that there can be an admin fee of up to £5 applied, but a single from London to Uckfield is £22.70 whilst an Off-Peak Return is £36.30 - so you would receive back £8.60. Even if you used a Railcard, you would still get back £4.05.

You can apply for a refund up to 28 days after the last day on which your ticket was valid, so you are still in plenty of time to get a refund. Refunds should be claimed through the place you bought them: if online - through the relevant retailer's customer services, or if at a ticket office or machine - at a ticket office operated by the same company or their customer services.

It's also worth noting that whilst the above is the current position for 'walkup' tickets (i.e. Off-Peak and Anytime singles/returns), the rules will change once a future change to the Conditions of Travel takes effect - see this thread. Walkup tickets will generally no longer be refundable from the first day they are valid.