Hi, just wondered if anyone on here has had a similar experience and what the response was from Nat Ex, and whether I should bother pressing a proper complaint (can't see any other threads covering this, but please let me know if there are).
My friend had a ticket for the 18.45 201 from Bristol to Heathrow. We arrived at the bus station at 18.35 to see a 201 pulling out and driving off - I assumed it had the wrong sign on or was going to drive around and come back or something.
Two minutes later the 18.45 disappeared from the departure board and I realized the 201 I saw leaving must have been it. I was beyond shocked. All the Nat Ex offices at Bristol are shut at this time of day, I asked the 040 driver about it and he was beyond useless. So I called Nat Ex and she said she could change the ticket to the next journey (0040), and then said that would cost £23 in amendment fees!! She kept banging on about how the t&cs say you should be there 10 mins before departure - which we were (just) anyway. Regardless, posters at the bus station say things like 'aim to get there ten mins before ' and certainly not that the driver can just leave 10 mins early.
I told the woman we would think about what to do. Called back and someone else answered and said it could be amended for free because it had left early!
Sorry for going on a bit, but Im mainly interested to see if anyone else has had this happen, and just want to check I'm not the only who thinks Nat Ex behaved ridiculously in both departing early and initially trying to charge for it. Surely the driver has the list of passengers so knew there would be more?? Furthermore, fortunately my friend was not flying anywhere but if she had been telling her to just get a coach six hours later is unbelievable
(ps there was another passenger who arrived at the same time thus also missing it)
My friend had a ticket for the 18.45 201 from Bristol to Heathrow. We arrived at the bus station at 18.35 to see a 201 pulling out and driving off - I assumed it had the wrong sign on or was going to drive around and come back or something.
Two minutes later the 18.45 disappeared from the departure board and I realized the 201 I saw leaving must have been it. I was beyond shocked. All the Nat Ex offices at Bristol are shut at this time of day, I asked the 040 driver about it and he was beyond useless. So I called Nat Ex and she said she could change the ticket to the next journey (0040), and then said that would cost £23 in amendment fees!! She kept banging on about how the t&cs say you should be there 10 mins before departure - which we were (just) anyway. Regardless, posters at the bus station say things like 'aim to get there ten mins before ' and certainly not that the driver can just leave 10 mins early.
I told the woman we would think about what to do. Called back and someone else answered and said it could be amended for free because it had left early!
Sorry for going on a bit, but Im mainly interested to see if anyone else has had this happen, and just want to check I'm not the only who thinks Nat Ex behaved ridiculously in both departing early and initially trying to charge for it. Surely the driver has the list of passengers so knew there would be more?? Furthermore, fortunately my friend was not flying anywhere but if she had been telling her to just get a coach six hours later is unbelievable
(ps there was another passenger who arrived at the same time thus also missing it)
