Was I overcharged by SET for High Speed excess?

[thebigcheese]

So yesterday 12th March I purchased a cheap day return from Gravesend to London Terminals routed "not valid on HS1" with a rail card discount for £8.

My travel plans changed and this meant it was easier to get the high speed service on the out direction only. I asked at the ticket office and was sold this ticket for £2.70 which did allow me to complete my journey.

However considering the price for a cheap day return routed "plus high speed" is £10.75 should I have been sold an excess that was half the price between the high speed fare and the non high speed fare given that my request was for a change of route excess? Was I overcharged by £1.35?

 

[Class377]

The £2.70 refers to the difference between the Anytime Day Single valid Via HS1 priced at £10.55 and the Anytime Day Single not valid on HS1 priced at £7.85. The list of fares page shows this as a HS Upgrade.

I don't personally know the rules with regards to excesses and upgrades but it appears to read straight off the system (I assume the High Speed upgrade "single" can apply to one portion of a return but it does seem slightly confusing). I'm sure an expert will be along shortly to explain in detail.

 

[bb21]

SouthEastern created the High Speed Supplements as a quicker alternative to excessing an otherwise invalid ticket. This does not affect the normal change of route procedure.

I think you are indeed overcharged, although I think if you did not specifically ask for a change of route excess then an argument can be made that you were dealt with correctly. I do not believe this is morally right but this is how it is promoted.

 

[island]

It depends heavily on what you asked for. If you asked for a "supplement" or "upgrade" then that is what you were sold.

 

[yorkie]

Was I overcharged by £1.35?

I'd say so. Please write to Southeastern, and if they do not give you a satisfactory response, your next step is Passenger Focus (Gravesend is outside the London Travelwatch area) and if Southeastern defiantly claim they are exempt from the rules, you could report that to the DfT as a franchise breach.

But give Southeastern a try directly first.

 

[thebigcheese]

Thanks for the replies. Having collected my tickets from the machine I took them to the ticket office and handed them over saying "I'd like to travel high speed one way please". I don't think it's fair that I should have to specifically ask for a change of route excess but given the Sunday engineering work it looks like I'm going to have to do the same thing again (having already collected my ToD tickets).

I'll see what happens tomorrow and since I've had reason to complain to SET before about incorrect excesses I might end up following Yorkie's advice anyway.
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Well I specifically asked for a change of route excess today and was sold the £2.70 ticket again. Apparently my ticket can't be excessed as it's an advanced ticket (aka a cheap day return purchased in advance). I didn't feel like arguing the point however I'll give an update when I get a reply from SET.‎
‎

 

[island]

That's a bit dubious.

 

[MikeWh]

Apparently my ticket can't be excessed as it's an advanced ticket (aka a cheap day return purchased in advance). I didn't feel like arguing the point however I'll give an update when I get a reply from SET.‎
‎

They're making up their own rules again. You can't excess an advance ticket, but there is no difference between a ticket bought in advance and one bought on the day of travel. An off-peak day return is NOT an advance ticket!

 

[thebigcheese]

Reply received; still they should be available on TVM's

I'm sorry that you were sold high speed upgrades instead of excess route changes for your off-peak return tickets between Gravesend and London recently.

Having looked into the case, I can see that the high speed upgrades are only "anytime" tickets, and that the excess is essentially the off-peak version of this. Therefore I've arranged a cheque for £2.70 to be sent to you under separate cover. This should arrive in the next 28 days.

I've also been sure to pass your request for staff briefings to the station manage for Gravesend. He'll be able to look into the issues you've described, and take the appropriate actions.

 

[embers25]

Southeastern must really be loving all the hassle with Gravesend HS1 tickets!! Maybe if they hadn't just half-assed Ebbsfleet tickets as the same as Gravesend in the first place many would have been avoided.

 

[Merseysider]

Therefore I've arranged a cheque for £2.70 to be sent to you under separate cover. This should arrive in the next 28 days.

Glad to see they've accepted some responsibility over this. Do let us know how far along the 28 day window your cheque arrives

 

[yorkie]

Did you not charge them a £10 admin fee? I'm disappointed :P

A small victory, and it won't stop them treating other passengers badly. After all, if we underpay by 10p we can be prosecuted, but if they overcharge us, we have no adequate redress as there is no effective regulator, no proper ombudsman and, well you know the rest!