Southeastern Off-Peak day return query

[Rajan Malhotra]

Hello,

I buy my Southeastern off-peak tickets in advance via either trip.com or trainpal. For next week, I bought a ticket for Thursday (7th Nov) but I actually need to travel on Tuesday 5th Nov instead. On the e-ticket, next Thursday's date is mentioned but it also says 'valid until 7th November'. The itinerary for 7th November is referred to as an 'optional reservation'..

My question is, can I use this ticket for next Tuesday 4th Nov instead of the 7th or do I need to somehow get a refund and buy a new one? It's confusing because the 'valid until' line has thrown me a bit as has the optional reservation line which makes me think the ticket can be used any time up until 7th November.

Thanks!

 

[MrJeeves]

The ticket, according to the thread title, is a day return, meaning it is only valid for one day outbound and one day inbound.

The E-Ticket should show a larger date just under the barcode, which is the date it becomes valid, along with the valid until date below that. Both of these dates should be 7 November, meaning that the ticket is only valid on that specific date.

The optional reservations section is somewhat misleading as Southeastern do not actually offer individual seat reservations like some other TOCs do. Optional means that the ticket is flexible (i.e. you don't need to travel on the exact trains it lists, unlike how you would have to with an Advance ticket).

 

[Haywain]

Southeastern do not actually offer individual seat reservations

Apart from 'counted places' on HS1.

 

[Rajan Malhotra]

It's the 'valid until' date that's confusing. Why does it say 'valid until' rather than 'valid on'? 'valid until' suggests the ticket is valid on any day until the date listed.

 

[alistairlees]

Your ticket is valid only on 7th November. Maybe the wording could be clearer but it’s not valid earlier than that. Refund it and buy a new ticket if you want to travel on 5th November.

 

[Watershed]

Apart from 'counted places' on HS1.

They have "counted place" reservations on many of their services now - not just HS1. In fact it may even be all trains except for the "metro" and Kent "branch line" ones.

 

[island]

They have "counted place" reservations on many of their services now - not just HS1. In fact it may even be all trains except for the "metro" and Kent "branch line" ones.

Correct.

But returning to the OP's question, no off peak ticket purchased for 7 November will be valid any earlier than 7 November. It might be valid later depending on the ticket type, but will never be valid earlier.

Off-peak tickets can be bought up to the point of travel, so buying them in advance will rarely be a good idea especially if your plans change. You'll need to contact whoever you purchased the ticket from and submit it for a refund, then purchase a new ticket for the right date. An admin fee may apply. If you'd bought direct from Southeastern there would be no fee.

 

[Wallsendmag]

It's the 'valid until' date that's confusing. Why does it say 'valid until' rather than 'valid on'? 'valid until' suggests the ticket is valid on any day until the date listed.

Because the same text is used for tickets that are valid for longer than a day.