"Split ticketing is where it turns out that, instead of buying one ticket to the destination, it can be cheaper to buy several tickets for part of the journey. Examples might be a peak-hour ticket to the first station, where off-peak rates kick in, then a separate off-peak ticket for the rest of the trip. Another is where a journey splits between two different train companies, and buying two separate tickets is often cheaper."
"Following a number of complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority, it investigated the train companies and ticket selling platforms. Although Scotrail offered split ticketing on its website, it also claimed to offer unbeatable prices, which, as the government regulates the prices, the advertising regulator decided was not a sustainable claim. Meanwhile, the online train ticket seller, My Train Ticket, was also ruled unable to consistently guarantee the "cheapest tickets" as claimed on its website."
"Two train companies and one train ticket seller have been rapped over the knuckles for claims that they offered the cheapest possible tickets. Both Greater Anglia and ScotRail were found to have misleadingly advertised the cheapest tickets possible, because they didn't sufficiently highlight the availability of split ticketing, which can reduce the headline figure offered on some journeys. Greater Anglia didn't advertise split-tickets, though they noted that customers can manually buy tickets in the same structure if they know how. However, the regulator ruled that, as consumers probably wouldn't understand the complexities of the ticketing system, the claim about the lowest prices wasn't always correct."
The Advertising Standards Authority ruled that two train companies and one online ticket seller misled consumers by claiming the cheapest possible tickets without sufficiently disclosing split-ticketing options. Split ticketing can reduce fares by combining separate tickets for parts of a journey, such as mixing peak and off-peak segments or buying separate tickets across operators. ScotRail offered split-ticketing but also claimed unbeatable prices, a claim judged unsustainable due to regulated fares. Greater Anglia did not advertise split tickets and relied on consumer knowledge, which the regulator found unrealistic. My Train Ticket could not consistently guarantee the cheapest fares. All three amended their websites but were judged misleading.
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