Your experiences using loophole tickets

[Gathursty]

I will be using a loophole-ticket during the half-term. The last time I used a loophole ticket, the guard didn't bat an eyelid.

Have you had any bad luck with loophole tickets?

My definition of loophole ticket is going to be rather woolly but the general idea, I assume, is that such a ticket would be cheaper than a ticket would cost for the journey you want to make whilst not being an Advance or rover/ranger ticket. I don't want to discuss split tickets here as there are many threads on people using them. Think of the type of tickets you would be PM'd about.

PS: Please don't mention the ticket you used (obviously) but you can state the location/TOC where your ticket was checked or anecdote happened to frame the story.

*Not put in the fares forum as I thought it fitted this forum better.

 

[FQ]

It fully depends on the kind of loophole you're planning to use. I regally use them, so feel free to PM me and let me know what you're planning to use, and I can tell you from my experience. It may be worth looking at my trip report thread too, as a lot of recent stuff has been loophole related. The worst experience I've had with one is in the bottom one of the two reports in this post.

http://www.railforums.co.uk/showpost.php?p=2818059&postcount=1390

 

[Gathursty]

I regally use them...

*eagerly awaits a post from QEII on her experiences of using loophole tickets from Kings Lynn to London

 

[Kite159]

*eagerly awaits a post from QEII on her experiences of using loophole tickets from Kings Lynn to London

One doesn't need a ticket

One had foot servants to deal with one's financial matters

Quinn is the king of loophole tickets, the only ones I've made use of is those £1 Scottish specials last year

 

[ash39]

I don't even know what a loophole ticket is. Any examples?

 

[Darandio]

I don't even know what a loophole ticket is. Any examples?

They are hardly going to post them, are they?

Unless you are purposely baiting to have them made public and then removed?

 

[Kite159]

They are hardly going to post them, are they?

Unless you are purposely baiting to have them made public and then removed?

I was thinking along the lines of the old loophole tickets which no longer exist. Newport to Pye Corner via Inverness, or North Sheen to somewhere via Edinburgh

 

[Darandio]

I was thinking along the lines of the old loophole tickets which no longer exist. Newport to Pye Corner via Inverness, or North Sheen to somewhere via Edinburgh

A fair point, I didn't think about older ones.

 

[ash39]

They are hardly going to post them, are they?

Unless you are purposely baiting to have them made public and then removed?

Not at all, I'm genuinely interested. If they're valid and get past any guard/RPI what's the issue?

Unless you mean they don't want to post them incase the loophole is removed?

 

[Darandio]

Not at all, I'm genuinely interested. If they're valid and get past any guard/RPI what's the issue?

Unless you mean they don't want to post them incase the loophole is removed?

Yes, in case they are removed. As soon as anything is made public on this forum and can potentially be removed, you can bet it will be!

As noted above though, I don't see why anyone wouldn't give some legacy examples.

 

[A Challenge]

I take it that Newport is on the Isle of Wight non-train link not NWP?

 

[Segedunum]

I do remember that Sheffield to Strood was once priced at something like 8 pounds return.

I've used the Scottish 65p fares (railcard version of the 1 pound loophole) and used a bunch of them to bash the Highland Mainline. Guards were often perplexed but never had any issues.

Sent from my SM-A310F using Tapatalk

 

[Quakkerillo]

If using BRfares to look up restrictions, and then buy the cheapest ticket to either station C while only travelling A-B on A-B-C as to avoid peak restrictions, or buy A-B-C to travel A-C, and on return board back at station B to avoid peak restrictions once more, then yes. I do.

 

[yorkie]

Not at all, I'm genuinely interested. If they're valid and get past any guard/RPI what's the issue?

Quite. But some guards didn't like people using Baldock-North Sheen tickets which were issued with reservations and an itinerary via Aberdeen & Inverness and didn't want to comply with consumer law or their employer's policy to honour such fares. A group of about 20 of us experienced a particularly nasty individual, but none of us saw since so I think he retired soon after!

Most of the time you're accepted without question. I wouldn't like to admit that a ticket is a "loophole" as then you're bringing attention to it, and you risk it being withdrawn.

Carlisle to Newcastle used to be valid via York and Leeds, then either via Manchester or via the S&C. A forum member was wrongly charged for a new ticket. A refund was issued, along with a promise to get the routeing fixed! Middlesbrough to Carlisle continued for longer, and a Marton to Wigton (among others) lasted many years and was always accepted without question.

I once got simultaneous texts from two forum members, one a Guard and the other a passenger, over whether or not the ticket in question was valid! It was a loophole from the point of view it was cheaper, but it was also the shortest route. It only became a "loophole" because one of the train companies put up their intermediate prices to insane levels by exploiting loopholes in fare regulation. Many "loophole" tickets are only loopholes for that reason, so the train companies are being sneaky in the first place and are the root cause of many of the loopholes.

There are still good value fares now, but some pricing managers would try to alter their validity if they knew people were using them to get cheaper journeys than intended.