2hour15 min MegaBus delay on 2hour45min jouney (5h total) leads to missed £120 event

cjs1985

Hi all, I wondered if anyone could help with this situation.

On Saturday at 3.45 I got a MegaBus coach from Bristol (UWE) to London which was scheduled to arrive at 6.30, but arrived just after 8.45, a journey time of 5 hours.

This delay meant that I missed an event which I had bought two tickets for myself and a friend at a cost of £126.51. The delay was not due to an accident, but in fact was due to work on the Hammersmith flyover - see the tfl website - work which had been scheduled before I booked the ticket. I was not made aware of this work before booking or getting on the coach and I am now confident that the coach had no chance of ever making the destination by 6.30, so in fact my fate was sealed when I purchased the coach tickets.

We were stationary for over 2 hours on the road leading up to the Hammersmith flyover, yet of course I was not allowed to get off and walk the short distance to the tube as this would be a breach of regulation.

The coach company will have known about this work but did not inform me about any potential delay and wouldn't let me leave the coach to pursue another form of transport after the scheduled arrival time.

Is there anything I can do to get reimbursed for the >£120 tickets? Should it be up to coach travellers to check for work on the roads and adjust arrival times accordingly? Would Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act (for the event tickets) be of any use to me?

Many thanks for any help,
Chris

cjs1985

Perhaps this should be in the Consumer Rights forum?

wealdroam

cjs1985 wrote: »

Is there anything I can do to get reimbursed for the >£120 tickets? Would Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act (for the event tickets) be of any use to me?

Section 75 won't help you for two reasons:

1) the tickets were still valid and the event organiser/promoter/ticket seller would've let you in had you turned up on time. In other words, it is you that have failed to turn up, not the ticket seller's fault.
Section 75 only makes the credit provider equally responsible with the seller for performance of the contract, and as the seller has not 'underperformed', the credit provider owes you nothing.

2) Section 75 only covers purchases over £100 per item.
You have two tickets each worth around £60.

If you pursue Megabus they may refund your fare.

Handsome90

Did you have insurance? I'm afraid these are the things you need to buy insurance for.

cjs1985

I have Nationwide's Flex Account European Travel Insurance, I have no idea if that would cover this though.

mgdavid

what do Megabus's Conditions of Carriage say about timetabling and delays?
I think you should have been a little more self-reliant and checked travel / road works websites beforehand, it's not like the information is secret or hard to find.

dzug1

It sounds like you didn't leave any contingency in getting to the venue, wherever that was


And I'm sceptical that the delay was solely those roadworks - maybe an accident as well which had gone by the time you passed its site


But whatever the reasons, the most you can hope for is a refund of the fare.

Indie_Kid

Did you check the Megabus website for updates before you travelled?

On the rare occasion I travel that far for things like gigs, I tend to leave mine quite early just in case of delays.

cjs1985

I left over 90 minutes continuency time, allowing the journey between London and Bristol with no stops to take up to 4 and a half hours.


I am interested in how long they can keep you on the stationary coach after the expected arrival time. Surely there are situations where they will let you off the coach, or can they hold you indefinitely?

KatieDee

I believe the bus driver not allowing you off has something to do with their insurance. By letting you off at a non-designated stop, if something happened to you then they would have to defend this.

I may be wrong though! I'm sorry you missed your event.

buglawton

Mega bus could compensate OP as a goodwill gesture, but I suspect this is against another of their regulations. Still, you've made us all aware of a reason not to travel by Megabus for critical journeys. The rail companies flag up potential and actual delays on their online timetables.