Letter of complaint to Stansted Express

[rhialto]

Date: Tue, 27 May 2008 21:05:21 +0200
From: Olaf Seibert <rhialto@...nl>
Subject: Complaint and demand for refund
To: nxea.customerrelations@nationalexpress.com

Sir, Madam,

I am writing you to express my extreme displeasure about your Stansted Express service.

Yesterday, monday 26 may 2008, I had to take your 17.36 service from Tottenham Hale to Stansted Airport, for which I had already purchased a return ticket.

During the day I had checked several times on your website, www.stanstedexpress.com, which each time proclaimed "All services are currently running normally." I have checked this up to approximately 20 minutes before the scheduled departure.

Upon arriving at Tottenham Hale station, I discovered it locked and out of service. This had obviously been the case for some time.

According to a bus driver on the bus service to and from Seven Sisters, there were no trains from Seven Sisters either.

Faced with this lack of options, and unable to spend much time on trying to find out the situation at Seven Sisters in more detail, I was forced to use a minicab for transportation to Stansted Airport, which cost £ 40,00.

Due to your deliberate misinformation of your passengers (i.e., me), you are liable for your incorrect information and its consequences. I expect you to promptly credit my Dutch bank account (details below) with the equivalent of £ 40,00 (at least EUR 50,33).

In addition, I would like to note that on a similar service, several weeks ago, the train was literally chock full of football supporters, and not a single extra passenger could squeeze aboard. I myself was forced to balance between and to lean on other passengers for a significant amount of time, much to their (and my) displeasure, and obviously no seat was available.

I expect better service for your extortionate fares. I have made a quick calculation which has shown me that for instance the luxurious Eurostar trains are far cheaper than the Stansted Express by several factors, so I expect commensurate service from you, or a fare which is in line with the quality of your rickety old rolling stock.

Kind regards,
me
The Netherlands.