Coronavirus refund information
Refunds
If you bought a ticket from a Southeastern station or the Southeastern website or app and you decide not to travel due to concerns about coronavirus, please see below.
We cannot process refunds for tickets bought from other retailers or operators. Please contact your original ticket retailer for refund assistance.
How to obtain a refund
Online
- If you purchased your tickets from Southeastern’s website, you can use our self-service refund facility (except for Advance tickets and daily tickets which have passed their date of travel). Please log in, navigate to My Account, then Manage my tickets/refunds to apply.
- If you have the Key, and are unable can’t log into your account and/or use the self-service refund facility, please complete our online Key refund form.
- If you purchased your paper Season ticket, or paper Season ticket including PlusBus, at a Southeastern-managed station you wouldn’t usually be able to request a refund online. But we know that many passengers can’t currently go to a ticket office or post office. So we’ve introduced a new temporary refund process to allow passengers with paper Season tickets to claim refunds online during the coronavirus pandemic.
By post
- If you purchased your Season ticket at a Southeastern-managed station, you can apply for a part-refund by post by downloading and completing the refund form and sending it to us with your ticket. We recommend you use recorded delivery. Please be aware, that due to unprecedented demand, this process will take longer than normal to complete.
- If you purchased an Advance ticket from Southeastern’s website and it is eligible for a refund (category 1 or 2 above), please download and complete the refund form and send it with the ticket(s) you want refunded and a copy of your booking confirmation (or just the booking confirmation if the ticket has not been printed).
- For daily tickets purchased from Southeastern’s website which have passed their validity date, please download and complete the download the refund form and send it with the ticket you want refunded, and a copy of your booking confirmation (or just the booking confirmation if the ticket is a Key smartcard).
- All postal refund applications should be sent to:
Southeastern Online Refunds
Freepost RTSK-BXJE-CCHL
ASHBY DE LA ZOUCH
LE65 9EL
Refunds on Season tickets
Tickets that haven't started yet:
- Tickets purchased from Southeastern which have not started yet can be refunded in full minus a £10 admin fee
Tickets which have passed their start date:
If you bought your Season Ticket directly from us, we can generally give you a refund if there is:
- For an annual Season Ticket, there may not be any monetary value left in an if it is surrendered in the last couple of months of validity. Annual Season tickets have no refund value after 10 months and 12 days, although they are still valid for travel until the expiry date and you can continue to enjoy any Gold Card benefits along with it.
- Seven days (or more) left on a Season Ticket valid between one and ten months
- Three days (or more) left on a weekly Season Ticket
- You can apply for a part-refund on your season ticket by surrendering its remaining validity and please note a £10 admin fee is charged for all season ticket refunds.
- Refunds are calculated from the first to the last date of travel and is the difference between what you originally paid and what you would have paid for a Season Ticket (or combination of tickets) covering that period. Refunds are not calculated on a pro rata basis.
- You won’t get a complete refund for the period of time left on your ticket. To explain, an annual season ticket gives 52 weeks’ worth of travel for the cost of 40, so refunds are calculated on the basis of what you paid rather than period left on the ticket. To find out what your refund might be please use our Season ticket refund calculator below.
- We can’t give you a refund if you don’t use your Season Ticket for a period of time then start using it again, unless you have been ill. If you are the ticketholder and have been ill for more than four unbroken weeks we will provide a part-refund for the time the ticket was unused. To claim a sickness refund please send a copy of your ticket and copies of your medical certificate to our Customer Services team.
- We do not provide a Season Ticket suspension service.
Season ticket refund calculator for Coronavirus refunds
You can use our season ticket refund calculator to get an estimate of how much you’ll receive for an Annual or Custom length (longer than one month) season ticket.
The exact amount you receive may vary depending on the final validation of the refund application.
Refunds are normally calculated based on the date you submit the ticket for refund; however there are certain circumstances in which backdated claims can be made if you have not travelled during the period you are claiming for:
- From 12 May, if you have been unable to travel claims may be backdated for a maximum of 56 days (eight weeks) from the date you submit your claim, unless you have been unwell.
If you are the ticketholder and have been ill for more than four unbroken weeks we will provide a part-refund for the time the ticket was unused. To claim a sickness refund please send a copy of your ticket and copies of your medical certificate to our Customer Services team.
Refunds for Annual and Custom length season tickets are calculated as follows:
- An equivalent weekly price of the ticket purchased is multiplied by the number of weeks the ticket has been used for (up to a cap of 40 weeks for an Annual season ticket).
- The resultant value is deducted from the original purchase price of the season ticket, minus a £10 administration fee.
If you apply for a refund from Monday 8 June onwards, your request will be processed and paid within 28 days (in line with the National Rail Conditions of Travel)
Under normal circumstances Advance tickets are not refundable, but in line with the government policy we have temporarily amended these rules -
- Advance tickets purchased before 7am on Monday 23 March for travel before 23 March can be exchanged for a voucher.
- All Advance tickets purchased before 7am on Monday 23 March for travel from this date onwards are now eligible for a fee-free refund, regardless of whether the train is cancelled. This date coincides with the new reduced timetable.
- Any Advance tickets purchased after 7am on Monday 23 March will only be eligible for a refund if the service is subsequently cancelled or delayed and the passenger decides not to travel, in accordance with the National Rail Conditions of Travel.
| 1. Advance tickets purchased for travel before 23 March | 2. Advance tickets purchased before 7am on 23 March for travel from this date onwards |
3. Advance tickets purchased after 7am on 23 March |
A voucher will be provided to the value of the ticket, to be used for travel at a later date. |
Full refund with no admin fee |
Eligible for a refund only if the service is subsequently cancelled or delayed and you decide not to travel, in accordance with the National Rail Conditions of Travel. |
Tickets that haven't started yet:
- Tickets purchased from Southeastern which have not started yet can be refunded in full.
- Southeastern will not charge an admin fee for these refunds.
Tickets which have passed their date of travel:
- Unused daily tickets purchased from us can be refunded in full, with no admin fee.
- Under normal circumstances we charge an admin fee for refunds of daily tickets which have passed their date of validity. We have temporarily waived this rule and no admin fees will be charged.
- A deduction from the refund will be made in the case of part-used tickets, minus the cost of the journey(s) actually made
- We will only accept refund applications up to 56 days after the date of travel.
If you have any additional refund queries please contact our Customer Services team.
Refunds for parking season tickets are available, subject to an admin fee of £10.
The refund can be backdated to a maximum of 56 days for the point of application.
Refunds are calculated based on the equivalent products that would have been purchased over the same period being deducted from the price of the permit.
To apply for a refund please go to the Saba website.
We are working with our industry partners in the best way to assist you if you have a railcard and have not been able travel during COVID-19.
As soon as we have further information we will update our website.
Any Rail Travel Voucher that has an expiry date between 17th March 2020 and 16th September 2020, may be accepted for a maximum of 6 months after the original expiry date.
E.g. an RTV that expires on 10th June 2020 may continue to be accepted up to and including 9th December 2020.