two together Railcard query

[StratfordP]

my partner and I recently bought a ticket from London to Newcastle on LNER with a two together Railcard.

My partner is no longer able to travel with me, and advance singles are not refundable. Am I okay to travel on my own with the two advanced singles(which I will take with me) with the valid Railcard? or do I need to buy an entirely new single, which would seem unfair?

Thanks in advance.

 

[30907]

my partner and I recently bought a ticket from London to Newcastle on LNER with a two together Railcard.

My partner is no longer able to travel with me, and advance singles are not refundable. Am I okay to travel on my own with the two advanced singles(which I will take with me) with the valid Railcard? or do I need to buy an entirely new single, which would seem unfair?

Thanks in advance.

The strict answer, I am afraid, is no, though you could rebook to a later date.

If you still want to do the journey solo you could try asking at Kings Cross if they would reissue, but they are not obliged to.

 

[Haywain]

If you still want to do the journey solo you could try asking at Kings Cross if they would reissue, but they are not obliged to.

What are you suggesting could be "reissued"?

 

[jfollows]

my partner and I recently bought a ticket from London to Newcastle on LNER with a two together Railcard.

My partner is no longer able to travel with me, and advance singles are not refundable. Am I okay to travel on my own with the two advanced singles(which I will take with me) with the valid Railcard? or do I need to buy an entirely new single, which would seem unfair?

Thanks in advance.

No, you are not able to travel on your own and I would advise against it - you might "get away with it" but you might also be treated as travelling without a valid ticket and reported as such which is not something you want to end up with.

 

[Snow1964]

Strictly both parties (and the railcard has two photos) need to both travel together.

The legal wording as part of the terms and conditions implies have to be together for complete journey, to the extent that separating for one to go to the toilet is technically a breach of conditions. Unlikely anyone would enforce it that far, but second person not with you could cause problems.

4.4. Discounted tickets must be bought for both cardholders at the same time, and you must travel together.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

@StratfordP . The following is from the FAQs section of the 'Two Together Railcard' webpages...

FAQs - Two Together Railcard

www.twotogether-railcard.co.uk

Extract...

Can I use the Two Together Railcard when I am travelling on my own?
A:
No. The Railcard is for use by you and the second named adult on your Railcard when you are travelling together. The two named cardholders must travel together for the entire journey for their discounted tickets to be valid.

 

[Haywain]

implies have to be together for complete journey, to the extent that separating for one to go to the toilet is technically a breach of conditions.

That is being utterly ridiculous.

 

[Deerfold]

Strictly both parties (and the railcard has two photos) need to both travel together.

The legal wording as part of the terms and conditions implies have to be together for complete journey, to the extent that separating for one to go to the toilet is technically a breach of conditions. Unlikely anyone would enforce it that far, but second person not with you could cause problems.

I don't think most would understand "travel together" to mean that. I've had hundreds of journeys on Two Together cards and on the odd occasion one of us has been in the loo, the guard has checked us on their return trip through the train or looked out for the other one of us.

 

[simonw]

I don't think most would understand "travel together" to mean that. I've had hundreds of journeys on Two Together cards and on the odd occasion one of us has been in the loo, the guard has checked us on their return trip through the train or looked out for the other one of us.

You are correct travel together doesn't mean you must be within touching distance at all times. On crowded trains my partner and I have found ourselves well separated No guard or ticket inspector has ever said we can't do that. Similarly with group save.

Strictly both parties (and the railcard has two photos) need to both travel together.

The legal wording as part of the terms and conditions implies have to be together for complete journey, to the extent that separating for one to go to the toilet is technically a breach of conditions. Unlikely anyone would enforce it that far, but second person not with you could cause problems.

No court would interpret the wording as you have.

 

[StratfordP]

thank you! does that mean I just have to give up on the ticket we’ve bought? or is there a way round this like paying an admin fee to amend to an advance single…?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

thank you! does that mean I just have to give up on the ticket we’ve bought? or is there a way round this like paying an admin fee to amend to an advance single…?

You might possibly be able to amend the date of travel for both tickets to some future date. For a fee, plus the fare difference if the future tickets are more expensive.

 

[30907]

What are you suggesting could be "reissued"?

Wrong word. Excess to undiscounted Advance single. Not strictly permitted, I realise, but I believe we have had reports of it being done, and it does seem a reasonable option.

But that's a new thread and I don't want to start it

 

[Hadders]

You can see if the ticket can be excessed to remove the railcard discount, although there’s no entitlement to this excess.

Alternatively, you can amend the date and time of travel which normally costs an admin fee of £5 per ticket plus the difference in fares with most retailers but this does at least mean you can obtain some credit for future travel.

 

[Watershed]

I don't think there's anything in the Advance terms & conditions that excludes you from being able to change your Advance to a different time or date with a different Railcard (or indeed, no Railcard at all).

Certainly that is how a lot of online retailers, including the biggest (Trainline), handle it. The latter have a change of journey functionality that lets you change the passengers (including number of adults/children and Railcards) as you wish.

 

[StratfordP]

thanks all, Just to update that a trip to the ticket office meant they were able to sell me an excess of £23.65

This was better than needing to buy a full new ticket by about £20 quid.

(we don’t use LNER often enough for credit to be helpful)

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Deerfold]

thanks all, Just to update that a trip to the ticket office meant they were able to sell me an excess of £23.65

This was better than needing to buy a full new ticket by about £20 quid.

(we don’t use LNER often enough for credit to be helpful)

Thanks for the advice.

That's good to hear.