Upgrading to 1st class

[paulfoel]

Recently tried to upgrade the 2nd part of my return ticket.

Paid £18-10 for anytime day return from newport to gloucester.

Used outward portion but planned to upgrade to first class for return journey. According to nation rail website :-

"Standard Anytime Return - simply pay the difference between the Standard and First Class Anytime Single fare"

However, ticket office at Gloucester refused to do this and insisted the only way was to buy a new single 1st class ticket. £18 or so.

Was I correct?

 

[bb21]

Yes and no.

You were correct as far as information on the National Rail Enquiries website is concerned. The problem however is the information on that website appears to be incorrect. This is not only restricted to your ticket, but several other ticket types as well.

The instructions I have in hand suggests that to excess one portion only of a return ticket, you pay the difference between the fare you have already paid and the sum of the appropriate Standard Class single for one way and the appropriate First Class single for the leg you wish to upgrade. You have paid £18.10, the appropriate Standard Class single fare for your outward leg is £16.40, and the appropriate First Class single fare for your return leg is £20.30, so the upgrade should cost (£16.40 + £20.30) - £18.10 = £18.60

By your method, your excess should simply be £20.30 - £16.40 = £3.90

Both are cheaper than purchasing a new First Class single at £20.30 so there is no reason to tell you to buy a new single.

Excesses can be a bit of a minefield, and staff calculate them in all sorts of different ways, particularly in cases like this. You may wish to contact FGW asking them what their official line is, quoting the sentence on National Rail Enquiries. It would be interesting to hear what they say.

All fares available from brfares.

 

[Haywain]

The information on the National Rail Enquiries website does not apply, as the ticket held was not a Standard Anytime Return, but a Standard Anytime DAY Return. As bb21 has stated there are various ways that staff calculate the excess, although the one he has quoted is correct.

 

[paulfoel]

The information on the National Rail Enquiries website does not apply, as the ticket held was not a Standard Anytime Return, but a Standard Anytime DAY Return. As bb21 has stated there are various ways that staff calculate the excess, although the one he has quoted is correct.

DAY return. Good point.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Yes and no.

You were correct as far as information on the National Rail Enquiries website is concerned. The problem however is the information on that website appears to be incorrect. This is not only restricted to your ticket, but several other ticket types as well.

The instructions I have in hand suggests that to excess one portion only of a return ticket, you pay the difference between the fare you have already paid and the sum of the appropriate Standard Class single for one way and the appropriate First Class single for the leg you wish to upgrade. You have paid £18.10, the appropriate Standard Class single fare for your outward leg is £16.40, and the appropriate First Class single fare for your return leg is £20.30, so the upgrade should cost (£16.40 + £20.30) - £18.10 = £18.60

By your method, your excess should simply be £20.30 - £16.40 = £3.90

Both are cheaper than purchasing a new First Class single at £20.30 so there is no reason to tell you to buy a new single.

Excesses can be a bit of a minefield, and staff calculate them in all sorts of different ways, particularly in cases like this. You may wish to contact FGW asking them what their official line is, quoting the sentence on National Rail Enquiries. It would be interesting to hear what they say.

All fares available from brfares.

Yes. £3.90 is what I thought. But as other poster pointed out I had a DAY return anyway.

£3.90 is a bargain. £18.60 is not so.