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The terms and conditions displayed on the TGV website leave it unclear in what circumstances TGV tickets - in particular TGV leisure tickets - can be exchanged for another ticket if the exchange is to be done at a train station different from the departure station. I'm particularly interested in the case where the departure station is always on French soil.
Does anyone have knowledge/experience in this regard to share?
The restriction on exchanges at departure stations only is for flexible fares (Pro) which can still be exchanged or refunded a little bit after departure time.
You can exchange the ticket up to one hour after departure using the TGV Pro app (which is quite restrictive).
You can exchange or get a refund up to two hours after departure at the departure station.
This is to avoid people exchanging the ticket after having actually "used" it without a check having been performed, which is really easy on some short trips like Paris-Reims (45 minutes), Paris-Lille (1 hour), etc.
Before departure, you can do exchanges via any of the channels (online, mobile, phone, train station...), with the specific restrictions for your fare.
There's nothing in their terms and conditions which forces you to exchange your ticket at the departure station. If you don't want to physically go to a train station to exchange your ticket, you can also do it online.
The only drawback is that you'll have to pay a fee depending how long before the scheduled departure you exhange your ticket :
From their website ("Exchanges & refunds" part, bottom of the page):
Exchange any Loisir or Loisir Réduit ticket free of charge or get a full refund up to 31 days before your departure. If you request an exchange or refund 2-30 days before your departure, you will be charged a fee of €5 per person and per journey On the day before and the day of departure, this fee increases to 40% of the ticket, up to a maximum of €15 for TGV travel and €12 for Intercités trains requiring reservations. Once the train has departed, Loisir tickets cannot be exchanged or refunded.
I've never changed a TGV ticket but I've often bought a TGV ticket from city A to city B in city C's train station.
