Great Western Coffee Shop

A passenger holds an advanced fare from PAD to CNM for Thursday evening (30 pounds). However, on Tuesday his plans are changed and he goes to PAD to ask to change this to a ticket from PAD to MKM for Wednesday evening, using "maximum flexibiity" and expecting to to charged a tenner. However, he's told that he cannot change the ROUTE of the ticket, and is offered a 76 pound fare with "you're choosing to travel at the most expensive time of day"

Passenger is assured, however, that his PAD to CNM ticket can be used on Thursday evening for a journey on that same train, joining at SWI for the journey to CNM.

I was / am the passenger, and am slightly surprised
a) Surely maximum flexibility should let me buy an MKM ticket rather than a CNM?
b) I didn't think joining late was allowed on advance tickets?

Three things I'm not surprised at
c) "you're choosing to travel at the most expensive time of day" ... but no alternative suggested.  Apart from sleeping on the platform overnight, when would have been cheaper??  I would have been happy to wait for the 19:30, but there's no connection ...
d) In the end I bought a fresh PAD to DID peak, and a super offpeak DID to MKM, suitable for the 17:30 change at SWI, but flexible (in so far as I could at least get to CPM at any time)
e) An announcement on the train that "Off peak tickets are not valid on this service", even though mine was ... and indeed was accepted without question by two menacing looking bruisers who passed through the carriage checking everyone's tickets.

I ended up travelling on the 18:00 off PAD, which is supposed to arrive at CPM two minutes before the early evening (also First) bus.   The train was 2 minues late into CPM;  not trusting the connection, I had taken up favour - a kind offer of a lift, and my pickup told me that the bus had pulled out as the train entered the station.  Another nice one First ... after the 7.15 bus the next one's 10.15

Can anyone comment on (a) and (b) - should I have been allowed to change my ticket as I wanted?   And am I able to use it this evening on the 19:53 SWI to CNM?

Cast list:
PAD - Paddington
DID - Didcot
SWI - Swindon
CPM - Chippenham
MKM - Melksham
CNM - Cheltenham

a) When changing an Advance Purchase ticket, the origin and destination must stay the same. Difference in fares (cheapest available fare for the journey you wish to undertake) plus ^10 should then be charged. So you should have been able to change your Thursday PAD-CNM Advance to a ticket for Wednesday between the same two stations.

b) What you were told is incorrect and you could've been liable for a Penalty Fare or prosecution. I'd be complaining about that advice.

I won't be chasing up on this ... although perhaps I should.  I contend that I was told by an FGW employee in the course of his duty that I could legitimately use this ticket on the 18:47 from Paddington for a partial journey, and actually (with this given permission of his) I could have done so, even though it was an extension of normal rights.   Rather like a train manager allowing someone to sit in First on a standard ticket - perhaps a frail old dear on a standard train of drunken revellers.

Sure, it would have be hard to prove - BUT I have the receipt for other tickets bought from the chap at Paddington, so that they could have worked out who it was and checked with him.

Harder for me to justify now that I've had it stated that the advise was wrong ... and I'm travelling 2 hours earlier from BoA via BRI - faster, better choice of services ...

G4S, or Group 4 Security, probably?  ::)

and my pickup told me that the bus had pulled out as the train entered the station.  Another nice one First ... after the 7.15 bus the next one's.....
Not aware of any guaranteed train/bus connections down our way either.
Would make sense to (but then what happens with a late running train?).