National Express driver tried to half kidnap me from Heathrow to Victoria.
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wishuponastar
Posts: 779 Forumite
I purchased a ticket to London heathrow online (for last nights coach). One bag was put in the hold and i carried my smaller hand luggage.
At heathrow, the driver didn't announce he was there but fortunately i'd seen the road signs telling me i was there and i'd been watching. So at T2/3 when the coach stopped i said to the driver i needed to get off as this was my stop. No one else got on or got off (probably any other passengers on the coach didn't know they were there). He said no he wouldn't let me and i needed to go to London Victoria?!?
I said no way, you can't kidnap me and i need to get my bag from the hold. He kept saying no i need to stay on until Victoria. I told him my ticket was to Heathrow this stop and was in process of showing him it again and i kept saying i need to get off. Because i was now talking loud so the other passengers near the front could hear i wanted to get off and he wasn't opening the doors, it was clear he would have been taking me against my wishes, he eventually opened the doors when he realised other passengers had witnessed his potential kidnapping. Then he proceeded to throw bags and suitcases out of the hold onto the tarmac saying "is this one yours?" like a crazy man. Eventually i got the right bag but i hate to think of the other bags and their contents that got thrown hard over the ground.
Called this morning to complain and they've logged the complaint so just waiting to hear back (which they've said can take 2 weeks).
Anyone else experienced this or was on the same coach last night overnight? It really was awful. Especially when catching a flight, my stress levels were through the roof and heart beating out of my chest. Not good at all.
Any advice appreciated? Do i just wait the two weeks or should i do anything else in meantime? What should i expect to hear from them or will i hear a bunch of excuses?
At heathrow, the driver didn't announce he was there but fortunately i'd seen the road signs telling me i was there and i'd been watching. So at T2/3 when the coach stopped i said to the driver i needed to get off as this was my stop. No one else got on or got off (probably any other passengers on the coach didn't know they were there). He said no he wouldn't let me and i needed to go to London Victoria?!?
I said no way, you can't kidnap me and i need to get my bag from the hold. He kept saying no i need to stay on until Victoria. I told him my ticket was to Heathrow this stop and was in process of showing him it again and i kept saying i need to get off. Because i was now talking loud so the other passengers near the front could hear i wanted to get off and he wasn't opening the doors, it was clear he would have been taking me against my wishes, he eventually opened the doors when he realised other passengers had witnessed his potential kidnapping. Then he proceeded to throw bags and suitcases out of the hold onto the tarmac saying "is this one yours?" like a crazy man. Eventually i got the right bag but i hate to think of the other bags and their contents that got thrown hard over the ground.
Called this morning to complain and they've logged the complaint so just waiting to hear back (which they've said can take 2 weeks).
Anyone else experienced this or was on the same coach last night overnight? It really was awful. Especially when catching a flight, my stress levels were through the roof and heart beating out of my chest. Not good at all.
Any advice appreciated? Do i just wait the two weeks or should i do anything else in meantime? What should i expect to hear from them or will i hear a bunch of excuses?
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Comments
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Not exactly a kidnap attempt, but unpleasant nevertheless. Maybe other passengers have complained about the driver's attitude too.
If they investigate and conclude anything that confirms your story, you might get an apology and voucher for another trip. Don't have any experience complaning to National Express and have used them to Heathrow with no trouble. I'd give them the two weeks to investigate and see what happens.I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the In My Home MoneySaving, Energy and Techie Stuff boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.
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In that instance i would assume that there was a misunderstanding somewhere. Id imagine the thought of me being kidnapped by a coach driver working for a national coach company with witnesses on board would be right near the bottom of the list of potential scenarios id be envisaging.0
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Yeah, the bus driver was definitely attempting to "kidnap" you and put you off at Victoria instead
Did you make the same complaint to the Bus Company as you've detailed here?
Why exaggerate so much? Are you expecting increased "compo" by doing this?1 -
In that instance i would assume that there was a misunderstanding somewhere. Id imagine the thought of me being kidnapped by a coach driver working for a national coach company with witnesses on board would be right near the bottom of the list of potential scenarios id be envisaging.
I'd have imagined the same too, until he was not opening the door letting me off and saying he was going to make me go to victoria! I was starting to panic.
Not sure what part of "this is my stop, i need to get off please" could he misunderstand. Maybe he was having a bad day.0 -
wishuponastar wrote: »I'd have imagined the same too, until he was not opening the door letting me off and saying he was going to make me go to victoria! I was starting to panic.
Not sure what part of "this is my stop, i need to get off please" could he misunderstand. Maybe he was having a bad day.
The way youve worded your post sounds like you tried to get off at the T2/3 entrance? According to their website they dont actually stop there but they stop at the Heathrow Coach station a bit further away.
So im thinking whilst you where panicking you mightve not head something like, 'youve missed your stop, next one is london victoria, im not allowed to drop off here'? Until he realised you where going to cause a scene by suggesting he was trying to kidnap you.
Maybe it was a bad day for him. It just seems incredibly unreasonable to not let someone off a bus for no apparent reason. Really bizarre to arbitrarily pick a passenger at random and to try and determine when they get off. Id just see that as likely to cause a problem if i was a coach driver. The fact that you suggest he kept repeating the same suggests to me that you wherent really listening, potentially due to the panic you mention.
So youre trying to show him a ticket and he just says no youre going to victoria, but this is my stop, no youre going to victoria, ive got a plane to catch, no youre going to victoria. You cant kidnap me, o damn youre right, id didnt realise that, ill go and get your bags. Is that how it went?0 -
Moneyineptitude wrote: »Yeah, the bus driver was definitely attempting to "kidnap" you and put you off at Victoria instead
Did you make the same complaint to the Bus Company as you've detailed here?
Why exaggerate so much? Are you expecting increased "compo" by doing this?
Maybe kidnap is the wrong word since he was going to put me off at the wrong stop, victoria and wasn't going to keep me. So not sure what word to use to describe that scenario without using a lot of words? He wasn't for opening the door at all until near the end when the other passengers were aware of what was happening. I really was panicking.
Everything else is as i've said, no exaggeration. So yes that was how it was and that was what i told NE when i phoned. I'm sure there will be other complaints about the baggage he threw before mine and possibly others who didn't know they were at Heathrow who ended up at Victoria. Unless people are used to that sort of thing on NE and just take whatever may have got broken or damaged on the chin.
NE say to allow 3 hours before flying, maybe this is the reason why, because the drivers try to force you to go to Victoria and have to make your own way back to Heathrow.0 -
Not exactly a kidnap attempt, but unpleasant nevertheless. Maybe other passengers have complained about the driver's attitude too.
If they investigate and conclude anything that confirms your story, you might get an apology and voucher for another trip. Don't have any experience complaning to National Express and have used them to Heathrow with no trouble. I'd give them the two weeks to investigate and see what happens.
Ok i admit kidnap is the wrong word since he was going to let me off at Victoria but i don't know the right word to use to describe this scenario, if someone can help me with it, i'll edit.
That's good you've not had any trouble getting to heathrow. In your experience, does the driver normally announce the stops for people on the coach to know where they are? Which terminal do you normally get the coach to? My experience was for T2/3.
Thanks, i'll wait the time and wait to hear what they say.0 -
This seems the most likely explanation if the OP didn't realise this and had inadvertently missed that stop. There's no reason for the coach to be at Heathrow if there wasn't a planned stop there. Did the ticket say Heathrow T2/3 or just Heathrow? So from the drivers's point of view - they had a passenger demanding to be let off at a random point and becoming agitated. Doesn't excuse the driver slinging other customer's bags about though.The way youve worded your post sounds like you tried to get off at the T2/3 entrance? According to their website they dont actually stop there but they stop at the Heathrow Coach station a bit further away.Wash your Knobs and Knockers... Keep the Postie safe!0 -
The way youve worded your post sounds like you tried to get off at the T2/3 entrance? According to their website they dont actually stop there but they stop at the Heathrow Coach station a bit further away.
So im thinking whilst you where panicking you mightve not head something like, 'youve missed your stop, next one is london victoria, im not allowed to drop off here'? Until he realised you where going to cause a scene by suggesting he was trying to kidnap you.
Maybe it was a bad day for him. It just seems incredibly unreasonable to not let someone off a bus for no apparent reason. Really bizarre to arbitrarily pick a passenger at random and to try and determine when they get off. Id just see that as likely to cause a problem if i was a coach driver. The fact that you suggest he kept repeating the same suggests to me that you wherent really listening, potentially due to the panic you mention.
So youre trying to show him a ticket and he just says no youre going to victoria, but this is my stop, no youre going to victoria, ive got a plane to catch, no youre going to victoria. You cant kidnap me, o damn youre right, id didnt realise that, ill go and get your bags. Is that how it went?
It definitely was the coach station i got off at. He confirmed this was where we were at the start after i'd walked down the coach, before the weirdness started. He was saying i needed to go to Victoria and couldn't break my journey by getting off at Heathrow (my ticket said T2/3 heathrow not victoria). I didn't miss my stop. This wasn't what he was saying at all.
I'm glad i did make a scene, otherwise i really doubt he would have let me get off the coach.
No it didn't quite go like that, but that did give me a chuckle. It was more like he was convinced i was going to Victoria for some bizarre reason. I don't know why, maybe that's where most people go or something.
I'll wait to hear what NE say after they've spoken to the driver for his take on it and his reasons.0 -
This seems the most likely explanation if the OP didn't realise this and had inadvertently missed that stop. There's no reason for the coach to be at Heathrow if there wasn't a planned stop there. Did the ticket say Heathrow T2/3 or just Heathrow? So from the drivers's point of view - they had a passenger demanding to be let off at a random point and becoming agitated. Doesn't excuse the driver slinging other customer's bags about though.
If that was the case i'd understand why he was so annoyed but i definitely was at the heathrow coach station in T2/3 and my ticket said heathrow T2/3.
The first bag he threw off the bus really took the hit the worst. He was literally throwing them off hard onto the ground one by one until some of his anger had dissipated by the third or fourth bag.
Maybe it was just a long shift or something or he was having a bad day, i don't know. I'm looking forward to finding out.0
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