Michael R N Dolbear wrote:
Barry Salter wrote

Providing the new ticket expires on the same date as the original
ticket, this involves calculating a "base rate" for each ticket (this
[...]

If, on the other hand, you wanted the "changeover" to be for a longer
or
shorter period than that left on the original ticket, then you would
need to apply for a refund (which would be calculated by deducting
[...]

Err, no. Longer is fine and a later than original ticket expiry may be
required.. As I quoted from the NR National Conditions of Carriage :-

However, the validity of the new ticket must start on the day after the
original ticket is handed in and must be for a period that is at least
as long as that of the original ticket when it was issued. You will not
have to pay an administrative charge. ==


That's a case of the NCoC oversimplifying the procedure laid down in the
Retail Manual Part 1, on the grounds that (especially if the original
ticket is an annual) you can't *HAVE* a change-over that would have a
longer validity than the original ticket, as you would be unable to
calculate the *correct* "base rate" for it on which to base your
calculations, let alone the correct amount to charge for the new ticket.

Going back to the example I posted:

Let's say that the original ticket is an Annual, starting on 3rd January
2007 and expiring on 2nd January 2008, and costing £3650.

To calculate the base rate, we divide £3650 by 365 to get a base rate of
£10 per day.

We then look up the 7 Day rate for the new ticket as if it had been
bought to start on the 3rd of January 2007, and get £73, which we then
multiply by 40 to get the Annual rate of £2920.

We then divide *that* by 365 to get the "Base Rate" of £8 per day.

Obviously, you can't get a season ticket lasting longer than 12 months,
so you'd only be able to get a new ticket expiring, at the latest, on
2nd January 2008.

Turning to a shorter period example. Let's say you bought a 4 month
season ticket starting on 3rd January 2007 at a cost of £1536 (£100 a week).

The "base rate" on that would be £1536 / ( 4 * 30 ) days = £1536 / 120
days = £12.80 a day.

Let's also say that the new season you want to buy would have cost
£1228.80 (£80 a week) had you bought it for 4 months, starting on the
3rd of January.

That gives a base rate of £1228.80 / 120 days = £10.24 a day.

Let's say you now want to extend that new season through to 2nd of
January 2008, making it up to an Annual.

Had you bought an Annual originally, that would have cost you £3200.

But hang on a minute, the base rate for a £3200 Annual is £3200 / 365
days, which is £8.77 / day (rounded to the nearest penny), £1.47 / day
LESS than the *ORIGINAL* base rate. So how much should you charge the
passenger for the "new" ticket, and at what base rate?

Net result: If the passenger wants their change-over to expire on any
date other than that on which the original ticket expires, it's a case
of refunding the original ticket and issuing a new one.

Cheers,

Barry