Reply from Stansted Express

[rhialto]

I received a reply to my complaint of yesterday. It sounds quite reasonable what they say, except that they don't think they have done anything wrong, by redefining "All services are currently running normally" to mean "All services are currently running according to a different timetable, which is not mentioned anywhere else on this service update." And yes, I was staying with someone who is aware that sometimes the trains operate via Seven Sisters instead of Tottenham Hale, and who specifically checked for an announcement of such an eventuality and did not find any.

National Express East Anglia Customer Services Team
nxea.customerrelations@nationalexpress.com
Contact Ref: xxxxx
Date: 28/May/2008
To: Mr O Seibert
e-mail: rhialto@....nl
............................................................................   
................................

Dear Mr Seibert,

Thank you for your email dated 27/May/2008; I was very sorry to learn about
the problems you had when attempting to travel with us recently.

I do appreciate the obvious distress and inconvenience caused, when you
arrived at the station, only to find that the station is closed and
services operating from an alternative timetable to usual.

Due to pre planned engineering works that were taking place between Clapton
and Waltham Cross we were unable to operate our Stansted express service
via Tottenham Hale. As a result we were operating the service via Seven
Sisters.

We did display information at our stations, on our websites, and advise
Ceefax of the planned work and altered services.  National Rail Enquiries
also give information on work across the whole rail network, through its
website www.nationalrail.co.uk and its telephone service 0845 48 49 50.
All in all we do our best to get the information to as many customers as
possible, so the traveller can make the decision whether or not they wish
to use our services on a day when engineering work is taking place and that
travellers are aware of the altered timetable. I am sorry that you were
unaware of the change in services.

Our services in the afternoon of the 26/May/2008 operated as scheduled
under the revised timetable, therefore I am unable to offer any
compensation or refund of the taxi you used. If you could forward me the
unused portion of your train ticket to the following address I would be
happy to refund the appropriate amount.

National Express East Anglia
Freepost RLSY-GLUC-KHCK
Customer Contact Centre
Grosvenor House
112-114 Prince of Wales Road
Norwich
Norfolk
NR1 1NS
England

Comments

[xugglybug.livejournal.com]

National Express are generally completely rubbish, in my experience. A while ago I was getting a coach with them, and my coach was in an accident on it's way to the coach station, so we had to get on other coaches going in the same sort of direction. They were saying, "We'll put you on this coach, which will drop you off in Leicester (40 miles from where I live) and other coaches with space will come by and pick you up in the order of ticket price." - in actuality "in Leicester" meant "at a service station just outside Leicester".

I refused to get on the coach and demanded that they arrange me being on a service the next morning instead as I wasn't prepared to be dumped 40 miles from home, on my own, at 9pm, where I'd be left to hope that another coach would pick me up at some point - especially with the idea that the people who had paid the most would go first, because I had only paid £1 for my ticket, because I'd booked 2 months beforehand and been lucky enough to get a really good deal. There were a good 20 or 30 other people who had paid anything from £2 to £40 who would be picked up before me and there was every possibility that I'd still be stuck in Leicester the same time the following day.

I refuse to travel with them anymore, even though it means spending more on train tickets, because I just don't trust them.

I note that they even quoted the wrong telephone number for National Rail Enquiries; it's actually 08457 48 49 50. Useless idiots.