National Express driver tried to half kidnap me from Heathrow to Victoria.

Kiko4564

True, but it'd still be poor service not to at least pass it onto National Express. I'd recommend reporting an illegal act like this to the Police.

martindow

Jumblebumble wrote: »

And what do you think the word primarily means ?

Indeed, for instance Heathrow to Woking is contracted out to Reading Buses, running between two of the places on the list.

Kiko4564

True, as you might not know then the OP may as well just leave it to National Express to deal with the complaint. If they are not satisfied, then they can go to the relevant ombudsman.

wishuponastar

Jumblebumble wrote: »

What sort of explanation does the OP want beyond the fact that the driver is an imbecile

I'm sure he's not an imbecile, i was hoping for a less harsh explanation to try to understand why it happened. I'm just trying to give the benefit of the doubt and hoped he might have made a mistake or been having a bad day or some reason i could understand (even though that doesn't excuse his behaviour but by reporting it hopefully can stop others being in the same situation me or the other 3 passengers).

I probably won't ever know which is fine, but as long as it doesn't happen again, then that's the main thing.

wishuponastar

brianposter wrote: »

It is not particularly easy to find, but from wikipedia;

"Franchised operators
The majority of National Express services are contracted on long-term agreements to local coach companies, known as Partner Operators. As part of the contract, operators are required to use coaches in full National Express livery. On occasion, an operator will use its own branded vehicle due to lack of availability, but will be penalised financially for doing so. ..............
National Express does operate some services itself, primarily services between Gatwick, Heathrow and Luton airports, and Victoria Coach Station, London Liverpool Street and Woking.
Below is a list of partner operators:

• Ambassador Travel,Great Yarmouth
• Bennetts Coaches,Gloucester
• Bruce's Co..................................................................."

Whilst i appreciate that may well be the case, my ticket was with NE, all the signs on the coach were NE and i'd have no way of knowing which one to contact if it was one of their partners.

So best for NE to deal with it and if it was one of their Partner operators responsible then they can take it up with them. As that makes more sense in my opinion.

wishuponastar

If you are posting on the thread, please be nice and ensure your comments can't be taken as argumentative in any way or negatively. If you differ in opinion with someone that posts a comment and can't say something constructive and in the nicest way you can, best not to say anything at all (in my opinion) as i don't want arguments. Valid points but not comments that may appear or come across as snide.

Thanks.

brianposter

wishuponastar wrote: »

Whilst i appreciate that may well be the case, my ticket was with NE, all the signs on the coach were NE and i'd have no way of knowing which one to contact if it was one of their partners.

So best for NE to deal with it and if it was one of their Partner operators responsible then they can take it up with them. As that makes more sense in my opinion.

It may make more sense, but it is also why you were very unlikely to get an informative response.
Should you ever need to discover the coach operator, it is usually fairly obvious if you look through the full list.

marmite1979

brianposter wrote: »

It may make more sense, but it is also why you were very unlikely to get an informative response.
Should you ever need to discover the coach operator, it is usually fairly obvious if you look through the full list.

99% of travellers aren't Bus Spotters, as far as they're concerned the issue is with the company they bought the ticket with, the one emblazoned across the bus and that's who any complaints get sent to.
And when catching a flight I guess there are a million things more interesting to read than a list of Coach operators that may be working for National Express

victor2

wishuponastar wrote: »

Whilst i appreciate that may well be the case, my ticket was with NE, all the signs on the coach were NE and i'd have no way of knowing which one to contact if it was one of their partners.

So best for NE to deal with it and if it was one of their Partner operators responsible then they can take it up with them. As that makes more sense in my opinion.

Absolutely!
It is the company you buy the service from that are ultimately responsible for the delivery of the goods/service. If it is a sub-contracted employee, that is not your problem, but theirs. They didn't use it as an excuse anyway, so there's nothing to argue about.

brianposter

marmite1979 wrote: »

99% of travellers aren't Bus Spotters, as far as they're concerned the issue is with the company they bought the ticket with, the one emblazoned across the bus and that's who any complaints get sent to.
And when catching a flight I guess there are a million things more interesting to read than a list of Coach operators that may be working for National Express

Most people in the UK complain with the intention of getting a result. To get a result often involves putting in a little extra effort.