Virgin Trains luggage van beware

grunnie

My OH and I were catching the train from King's Cross on the 6th July change at Edinburgh for the train to Aberdeen. At London Virgin trains took our small cases and put them into the luggage van. When we left the train in Edinburgh someone had opened the luggage van but there was no one there to return our 2 small cases. The gap from the platform to the train was about the height and width of a kitchen chair and their were no handrails to hang onto to jump across. Myself and other passengers stood about for a while waiting but as we had a connecting train we were beginning to get anxious. My husband pulled himself across and retrieved our 2 small cases. But and big but panic he couldn't get back. I stopped 2 young passengers and they hoisted him back on to the platform and we hurried across to the other platform for our connecting train to Aberdeen.
The day after we returned home I phoned Virgin trains and spoke to a very nice lady about this health and safety issue. She said I would get a reply by letter which I did 3 weeks later. This letter stated that at all times my luggage was my responsibility and if I wanted helped I should have asked when I booked the tickets and no compensation was to be paid.
I wrote again stating that it was a health and safety issue and got an even more blunt letter back stating the same thing as the last letter.
I went to resolver and each up date had no reply till last week. 3 months on I got the reply that the luggage van is never left unattended and what I am saying is untrue. I was amazed that they were really calling me a liar and with all of the rest of the train passengers trying to get at their luggage surely we are not all liars.
Rant over I feel better now. But what a horrible way to treat their customers

IAmWales

There are plenty of Virgin staff at Edinburgh, in the unlikely event that there was no one on or near the platform you just needed to go to the customer service point. You should have asked rather than your husband put himself in danger.

grunnie

IAmWales wrote: »

There are plenty of Virgin staff at Edinburgh, in the unlikely event that there was no one on or near the platform you just needed to go to the customer service point. You should have asked rather than your husband put himself in danger.

Good point but we were very short of time to get to another platform for our connecting train. Didn't see any staff on the way there.

Kirstie_

Its not Virgins fault you didn't leave sufficient time to collect your luggage from the luggage van and make your connection.

grunnie

Kirstie_ wrote: »

Its not Virgins fault you didn't leave sufficient time to collect your luggage from the luggage van and make your connection.

How long are you supposed to wait to get your luggage. Is an hour long enough. There were many people at least 30 waiting to get luggage. What I really wanted to know was why did they open the luggage van and then disappear.
Also the luggage van should not have been opened and left unattended as someone could have stolen someone's cases.

[Deleted User]

When I arrived at London in one of the Virgin Pendolinos, the crew all disappeared leaving my bike locked in the guards van. Apparently I should have made an appointment to remove it at the time I boarded.