Missed National Express coach due to wrong map indication

[Satantonio999]

Hi there, I was going to pick a National Express coach to Stansted at Baker Street, but it looks like their official website provided me a wrong indication on the map, since the coach didn't stop. As a result, I ended up missing my flight and spend £400 in a taxi, another flight ticket, and a train ticket.
Would it be possible to make an official complaint in these situations?
Thank you very much.

 

[westcoaster]

Was you at the official stop in time.
What was the coach number and from where.

 

[Mike99]

Confirmation of where you were waiting will help posters to give advice, Not necessarily what was on the ticket but where you actually waited, also please include time of journey and Route number

 

[jon0844]

Hi there, I was going to pick a National Express coach to Stansted at Baker Street, but it looks like their official website provided me a wrong indication on the map, since the coach didn't stop. As a result, I ended up missing my flight and spend £400 in a taxi, another flight ticket, and a train ticket.
Would it be possible to make an official complaint in these situations?
Thank you very much.

Why didn't you get a taxi to Liverpool Street and get the Stansted Express as surely this would have been quicker than a taxi? Cheaper too, with a chance you wouldn't have missed the flight.

 

[mmh]

Commiserations, sorry to hear that. How did you spend £400 on a taxi? That doesn't sound right at all. Even on the meter rather than a fixed fare that is way more than a London taxi should be charging to Stansted. It'll vary depending on traffic getting out of London, but it should have been about £130 tops.

If you paid by card the driver's licence badge number should be on the receipt and you could query it with Transport For London. Even if National Express consider compensation, I'd seriously doubt they'd give such an inflated fare any consideration at all, I'm afraid.

 

[Mills444]

Commiserations, sorry to hear that. How did you spend £400 on a taxi? That doesn't sound right at all. Even on the meter rather than a fixed fare that is way more than a London taxi should be charging to Stansted. It'll vary depending on traffic getting out of London, but it should have been about £130 tops.

If you paid by card the driver's licence badge number should be on the receipt and you could query it with Transport For London. Even if National Express consider compensation, I'd seriously doubt they'd give such an inflated fare any consideration at all, I'm afraid.

Train and a plane ticket aswell.

 

[westcoaster]

From my point of view if they missed 1 coach and this is the result, they left little or no time at Stansted, do the coaches A numbered run every 15-20 mins.

The pic attached shows the A6 every 30 mins, along with a warning about leaving enough time.

 

[Mills444]

From my point of view if they missed 1 coach and this is the result, they left little or no time at Stansted, do the coaches A numbered run every 15-20 mins.

The pic attached shows the A6 every 30 mins, along with a warning about leaving enough time.

3 hours at Stanstead really.

 

[mmh]

Train and a plane ticket aswell.

There is that too that's strange. What's the train ticket for? And of course a taxi, at whatever price, is going to be no slower than the coach.

 

[Mwanesh]

Did you have a ticket for the service or were a paying passenger. In TFL land coaches stop at the correct place only anywhere else they will have the driver breakfast. The Stansted coaches are 30 minutes how long did you leave from arrival at the airport to your flight. Another thing is to check on the stop there is normally a National Express sticker.

 

[Smethwickian]

The abbreviated stop description on the NX website booking engine and on the public website timetables is often not very helpful. People need to open up and read the full stop location on the 'actual' ticket ( not just the email confirmation receipt) or view the ticket via 'manage my booking' at national express.com. The website also has a 'stop locator' with links to Google Maps and Street view.
Having said all of that, National Express can occasionally fall victim to short notice roadworks and stop changes and has limited time or resources to notify passengers, even when they have given contact details when booking.
National Express conditions of carriage exclude liability for any consequential losses such as missed flights, the usual response being 'that's what travel insurance is for'.

 

[Satantonio999]

Hi, thank you for your replies. I posted it right before hanging out and I didn't manage to reply immediately.

Was you at the official stop in time.
What was the coach number and from where.

The coach number was NX A6 and the departure from Baker Street was at 3:33 AM, and the arrival at Stansted Airport at 4:40 AM. I arrived about 10 minutes earlier in this exact position: https://i.imgur.com/6naREux.png
I believe the indication on the map was wrong since the coach didn't stop.

Why didn't you get a taxi to Liverpool Street and get the Stansted Express as surely this would have been quicker than a taxi? Cheaper too, with a chance you wouldn't have missed the flight.

I didn't know about this option, I'll take notice.

Commiserations, sorry to hear that. How did you spend £400 on a taxi? That doesn't sound right at all. Even on the meter rather than a fixed fare that is way more than a London taxi should be charging to Stansted. It'll vary depending on traffic getting out of London, but it should have been about £130 tops.

If you paid by card the driver's licence badge number should be on the receipt and you could query it with Transport For London. Even if National Express consider compensation, I'd seriously doubt they'd give such an inflated fare any consideration at all, I'm afraid.

I spent £190 or so on a taxi (and I regret it, I was desperate after calling five different taxi companies and I picked the first one I found in front of a hotel) and the rest was for the flight ticket to Pisa and the train to Rome. (at that point, I would have spent even more by buying another direct flight to Rome)

 

[M28361M]

The coach number was NX A6 and the departure from Baker Street was at 3:33 AM, and the arrival at Stansted Airport at 4:40 AM. I arrived about 10 minutes earlier in this exact position: https://i.imgur.com/6naREux.png
I believe the indication on the map was wrong since the coach didn't stop.

The map on the NX website stop finder is a bit confusing. Although there is only one place marked "Baker Street", there actually seem to be three different stops depending on your destination.

Were you waiting at "Stop 19", near Dorset Square? This is a link to the Google Street View: https://goo.gl/maps/S4rMpbHneUAZNBd26 which shows a "Coach Stop" flag marked for the A6.

 

[Satantonio999]

The map on the NX website stop finder is a bit confusing. Although there is only one place marked "Baker Street", there actually seem to be three different stops depending on your destination.

Were you waiting at "Stop 19", near Dorset Square? This is a link to the Google Street View: https://goo.gl/maps/S4rMpbHneUAZNBd26 which shows a "Coach Stop" flag marked for the A6.

OK, it seems that I have now the confirmation of the wrong map indication since I was right after the crossroads with Melcombe Street as indicated in the map.
I don't remember now the number of the stop I was standing, and to be honest, if they provide me a wrong position on the map how can I find the stop number by myself? IMHO this is clearly an NX fault.

 

[westcoaster]

The map on the NX website stop finder is a bit confusing. Although there is only one place marked "Baker Street", there actually seem to be three different stops depending on your destination.

Were you waiting at "Stop 19", near Dorset Square? This is a link to the Google Street View: https://goo.gl/maps/S4rMpbHneUAZNBd26 which shows a "Coach Stop" flag marked for the A6.

As you say it looks to be the correct stop 19/T on the corner of Dorset Square and Gloucester road

 

[westcoaster]

It states stop 19 under the map you have provided.

 

[yorkie]

This doesn't seem right to me.

The coach number was NX A6 and the departure from Baker Street was at 3:33 AM, and the arrival at Stansted Airport at 4:40 AM.

What date was this?

What time was your flight?

On a normal weekday you would have been able to get a bus (or taxi) to Liverpool Street and from there regular train services depart to Stansted Airport, e.g. at 0410, 0440.

What time did the taxi depart from Baker Street and what time did it arrive at Stansted Airport?

 

[Mike99]

If your A6 didn't show up at 03:33 the following service was at 04:03 arriving at Stanstead at 05:15, maybe you weren't aware of this, what time was your airline check in deadline? Were you scheduled to be at Stanstead 2 hours before the 06:25 Ryanair flight?

 

[yorkie]

If your A6 didn't show up at 03:33 the following service was at 04:03 arriving at Stanstead at 05:15, maybe you weren't aware of this, what time was your airline check in deadline? Were you scheduled to be at Stanstead 2 hours before the 06:25 Ryanair flight?

If it was Ryanair, the 2 hour check-in deadline applies to the time you check in online. Providing you are at the boarding gate desk no later than 30 minutes before the departure there should be no issues.

It sounds to me like the wrong decisions were made once the coach had been missed and/or insufficient time was allowed to get to the Airport.

 

[Mike99]

It sounds to me like the wrong decisions were made once the coach had been missed and/or insufficient time was allowed to get to the Airport.

Exactly

 

[Stan Drews]

...I don't remember now the number of the stop I was standing, and to be honest, if they provide me a wrong position on the map how can I find the stop number by myself? IMHO this is clearly an NX fault.

You seem to have completely misread the information they provided, which indicates ‘Stop 19’, and stood at the wrong stop, so good luck with your attempts to say it was the fault of NX.

 

[Satantonio999]

You seem to have completely misread the information they provided, which indicates ‘Stop 19’, and stood at the wrong stop, so good luck with your attempts to say it was the fault of NX.

So if I give to a tourist in Rome the indication about Piazza del Popolo and instead the map indicates Piazza Venezia, it would be the tourist fault?
I can admit I relied too much on the service by not giving more time to recover the flight, but they literally indicated me a different stop on the map. It's a matter of principle.

This doesn't seem right to me.

What date was this?

What time was your flight?

On a normal weekday you would have been able to get a bus (or taxi) to Liverpool Street and from there regular train services depart to Stansted Airport, e.g. at 0410, 0440.

What time did the taxi depart from Baker Street and what time did it arrive at Stansted Airport?

Monday 16th, the time of the flight was 6:25 AM. Again, I didn't know about the train from Liverpool Street and the taxi departed at 4:10 AM or so. (I lost time by calling 5 different taxi companies and I only found one by accident in front of a hotel)

 

[Satantonio999]

If your A6 didn't show up at 03:33 the following service was at 04:03 arriving at Stanstead at 05:15, maybe you weren't aware of this, what time was your airline check in deadline? Were you scheduled to be at Stanstead 2 hours before the 06:25 Ryanair flight?

Actually, the A6 you mentioned showed up at 4:00 AM, but it didn't stop. Even a family who was waiting for it remained surprised by this inconvenience.

 

[mmh]

It sounds more and more as if you were seriously let down by your "taxi" - I'm quoting that, as by phoning around it sounds like it was probably not a hackney carriage, a London "black cab" taxi, but a private hire "minicab." Leaving London at 4:10am should have been plenty of time to get to Stansted for your flight at that time in the morning. I'd guess you've been driven a roundabout route, I'm afraid.

 

[185]

I arrived about 10 minutes earlier in this exact position: https://i.imgur.com/6naREux.png
I believe the indication on the map was wrong since the coach didn't stop.

Seems to be multiple snippets of information suggesting both locations are correct. Regardless of any sub-text, when you enter a journey onto the NX website, the stop finder's map for the A6 does indeed suggest standing at the corner near the Alsop Arms; whilst the text, contrarily (and poorly worded, especially for tourists not speaking English) states LEAVING LONDON EXCEPT TO LUTON AIRPORT passengers should stand at stop 19. In this day and age of app bookings for web based coach operators, if NX think ambiguous, poorly typed information is sufficient then they will fall behind other operators... it would be interesting to see if someone challenged them via the small claims court for incurred losses - regardless of NX writing "E&OE" on everything for the last 30 years.

 

[dutchbedford]

Actually, the A6 you mentioned showed up at 4:00 AM, but it didn't stop. Even a family who was waiting for it remained surprised by this inconvenience.

So they were at the Allsop waiting for the A6 too? Did any of you speak to an A1/2 driver, they would have told you exactly where it stops..

 

[Satantonio999]

Hi there, hoping to help someone else who may be encounter the same ordeal, I give you the final updates.

National Express recognized the mistake on the map, but according to the policy I was unable to have a full refund of the expenses as the departure time of the bus was not at least three hours before the flight. However, I was reimbursed for the taxi, so I was at least reimbursed for half the losses.

 

[[.n]]

Thanks for the update