eurosun complaint

[bambisoloved]

can anybody give me some advice

i bought two tickets from eurosun coach company, lowestoft to go to ikea
on the day we were dropped off at lakeside, when i reminded the driver he was sopossed to take us to ikea he said he was told to go to lakeside only when i pressed him further he then went on to say he had to take a 45 minute break and anyway he didnt know where ikea was so wasnt taking me
i contacted eurosun office to ask them to tell driver to take me to ikea but he was useless and suggested i walk and said he didnt want to upset his driver
i wasnt familiar with lakeside and didnt know how far away ikea was so had to get a taxi their and return journey to pick up point costing a toatal of £10
i have written two letters of complaint to eurosun asking for a partial refund and costs for taxi fares but have had no reply
what else can i do?
they seem to be ignoring me

[bluebottle]

Re: eurosun complaint

Hi Bambisoloved,

I'll start with the 45-minute break the driver took. Under Drivers' Hours Regulations, drivers of Large Goods Vehicles (LGVs) and Passenger Carrying Vehicles (PCVs) are required, by law, to take a break of at least 45 minutes after four hours of driving. If they don't and continue driving, the police can stop and impound their vehicle until the driver has taken the required rest period. On top of that, a driver who is found to be in breach of the Drivers' Hours Regulations can be prosecuted and face disqualification from driving.

These regulations and penalties may seem rather harsh, but they exist for a very good reason. I was a policeman, but am now retired. An LGV can weigh anything up to 44 tons and a PCV (bus or coach) can weigh anything up to 20 tons and carry up to 100 passengers. If a driver of one of these vehicles falls asleep at the wheel through not taking proper rest breaks, the result can be carnage. A 44-ton LGV ploughing into a line of, say, 20 cars each carrying, say, 4 occupants each, making a total of 80, will, probably, kill most of them. A double decker coach, which carries 80 passengers plus two drivers, coming off the road and overturning is going to result in at least 20 fatalities and around 40 seriously-injured. It's traumatic for those involved and those who have to deal with it. Having to break news to a family that their loved one has been killed by a driver who has fallen asleep at the wheel is one of the worst aspects of police work. I've had to do it a number of times. You never get used to it because you can't anticipate how people are going to react to tragic news.

With regard to Eurosun's attitude, I would speak, first, to Consumer Direct on 0845 4040506. I would also speak to the Traffic Commissioner for your area in respect of Eurosun sending out a driver who it would appear they were aware was nearing his statutory rest period.

If you go to http://www.dft/topics/tpm/traffic-commissioners you will find the name and contact details for the Traffic Commissioner for your area on the right-hand side of the page.

Bluebottle

[bambisoloved]

Re: eurosun complaint

thank you bluebottle for you reply

i have no problem with the driver taking a 45 minuete break i whole heartily agree with it i didnt mean for it to sound as if i was complaining about him taking a break
if he had said to me i have to take a break now go and have a cup of tea and when i come back i will take you to ikea but he didnt he just totally refused to take me and as this is what i had paid for i think he was toatally wrong
i will take your advice and contact traffic commisioner though
thanks for that

bambisoloved

[bluebottle]

Re: eurosun complaint

thank you bluebottle for you reply

i have no problem with the driver taking a 45 minuete break i whole heartily agree with it i didnt mean for it to sound as if i was complaining about him taking a break
if he had said to me i have to take a break now go and have a cup of tea and when i come back i will take you to ikea but he didnt he just totally refused to take me and as this is what i had paid for i think he was toatally wrong
i will take your advice and contact traffic commisioner though
thanks for that

bambisoloved

Hi Bambisoloved,

The reason I advised you to contact the Traffic Commissioner for your area is because instances like this can, sometimes, uncover drivers' hours violations by transport firms. If the trip you booked was for IKEA and was advertised as IKEA, that's where you should have gone. It's a basic principle of Contract Law. Was there a clause giving Eurosun the right to change the trip destination without notice? Check, because coach firms will try and bury things like that in the small print. Definitely contact Consumer Direct on the number I gave you in my last post and discuss it with them.

One piece of legislation Consumer Direct might cite is Section 2, Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. This requires the provider of goods or services to provide the goods or services with a reasonable standard of care, to a reasonable standard of workmanship within a reasonable period of time. They may also mention the Trade Descriptions Act 1968. Discuss with them whether you are entitled to compensation.

My gut feeling is that you would probably get the £10 taxi fare back and, possibly, some of the fare you paid to Eurosun. If that's the case and they try to offer you vouchers or replacement tickets, instead of cash, remember that it's your right to determine the mode of reimbursement. At present, the modes of reimbursement are -

Cash - must be cash
Cheque - cheque can be legitimately tendered as reimbursement
Debit/Credit Card - credit on card

If you are entitled to compensation, bearing in mind how you paid for the tickets and taxi fare, if it was cash and they offer a cheque, there is legislation that makes it a criminal offence to offer a cheque in order to delay settlement, namely, Inducing A Creditor to Wait for Payment, contrary to Section 2, Theft Act 1978. Ignore any excuse of "Company Policy". It's a favourite, it's bull and it's illegal.

Let us know how you fare (Sorry - no pun intended!)

Bluebottle

[bambisoloved]

Re: eurosun complaint

thank you bluebottle for your reply

you have given me a lot of information i can use to back up my case
like you say contract law for not fulfilling their contract with me to take me to ikea as advertized and paid for
the only paper work i got was the ticket they sent me and i cant see any small print saying they have the right to change anything
i have got the address for the traffic commissioner and will write to them about my case. the thing that got me the most was the drivers attitude and the fact he was quite willing to leave me and my 7 yr old grandaughter stranded . my grandaughter was worried all day that the driver wasnt going to take us home and spoilt the whole day
perhaps they will reply to the traffic commissioner as they have ignored me so far

[bluebottle]

Re: eurosun complaint

thank you bluebottle for your reply

you have given me a lot of information i can use to back up my case
like you say contract law for not fulfilling their contract with me to take me to ikea as advertized and paid for
the only paper work i got was the ticket they sent me and i cant see any small print saying they have the right to change anything
i have got the address for the traffic commissioner and will write to them about my case. the thing that got me the most was the drivers attitude and the fact he was quite willing to leave me and my 7 yr old grandaughter stranded . my grandaughter was worried all day that the driver wasnt going to take us home and spoilt the whole day
perhaps they will reply to the traffic commissioner as they have ignored me so far

Hi Bambisoloved,

Thank you for getting back to me.

I was appalled at what you have told me about the attitude of the Eurosun coach driver and Eurosun.

Definitely ring Consumer Direct about this one. The Traffic Commissioner won't be able to get you any money back, but, like I said previously, they can investigate any breaches of Eurosun's PCV Operator's Licence and Drivers' Hours Regulation infringements. Consumer Direct are the best ones to speak to about getting any money back.

When you write to the Traffic Commissioner, mention the fact that the driver was out of drive-time when he pulled up at Lakeside. My gut feeling tells me that Eurosun may need investigating about Drivers' Hours, which is something the Traffic Commissioner deals with.

Regards,

Bluebottle

[bambisoloved]

Re: eurosun complaint

hello bluebottle

yes i was livid beyond belief about the drivers attitude he just didnt seem to care at all. all the other passengers were angry too as they saw how i was being treated i mean what a way to run a business
i have written to traffic commitioner about my case i have also written an on line complaint to consumer direct
lets hope eurosun wont be able to ignore them as they have done with me

regards

bambisoloved

[teaboy2]

Re: eurosun complaint

Just to add to what blue bottle has said. There refusal to take you to ikea is not only a breach of contract under the sales of goods and services act, but is also a complete refusal to perform their part of the contract, which in contract law terms is repudiation of contract. As such they would legally be required to refund you the price of the ticket and any costs you incurred as a result of their repudiation of contract. Include that in your letter to the traffic commissioner as well what blue bottle has advised you.

[bluebottle]

Re: eurosun complaint

Just to add to what blue bottle has said. There refusal to take you to ikea is not only a breach of contract under the sales of goods and services act, but is also a complete refusal to perform their part of the contract, which in contract law terms is repudiation of contract. As such they would legally be required to refund you the price of the ticket and any costs you incurred as a result of their repudiation of contract. Include that in your letter to the traffic commissioner as well what blue bottle has advised you.

Thanks for that, Teaboy, I clean forgot about breach of contract. It's going to be interesting to see how Consumer Direct and the Area Traffic Commissioner approach this. I don't know why, but I've got this nagging feeling that Eurosun are going to get turned over by the TC for drivers' hours. Knowing the TC, it won't just stop there. They normally send VOSA engineers into a coach company's premises and go through every vehicle with a fine toothcomb as well. Boy, does it p*** the coach companies off when that happens.

[bambisoloved]

Re: eurosun complaint

thank for that information teaboy

i have only asked for a partial refund thinking that well they did take me to lakeside but i think i will add repudiation of contract to my complaint
do you think i should write to eurosun and tell them that i have written to traffic commissioner and consumer direct? in the hope that they will see that i am serious about my complaint and respond to me

bambisoloved

[bluebottle]

Re: eurosun complaint

If you are going to do that Bambi, you will need to insert, in between address block and "Dear Sir", on your letter to Eurosun, the words WITHOUT PREJUDICE. This tells Eurosun that you do not agree with their attitude and keeps the door open to go back and give them another kicking, if need be.

Once you place a complaint in the hands of Consumer Direct, it is emailed through to your local Trading Standards Department within 1-2 hours of you telephoning Consumer Direct. Another email is sent to OFT HQ in London, which is a copy of your complaint. What happens after that depends on what Consumer Direct advises you to do.

Turning to the Traffic Commissioner, you should restrict yourself solely to the fact that the Eurosun coach driver was out of drive-time and truncated the journey. In my experience, incidents like these tend to reveal drivers' hours violations and, sometimes, vehicle maintenance issues, too.

In answer to your question as to whether you should tell Eurosun that you have reported the incident to Consumer Direct and the TC, my advice is that you do not inform Eurosun. Only follow the advice given to you by Consumer Direct. The TC will not appreciate you forewarning Eurosun of their involvement. If there are drivers' hours issues at Eurosun, then the TC needs to catch them red-handed.

Stick to the advice given to you by Consumer Direct for the timebeing and see what develops. Would you please let us know how things develop?

Bluebottle

[bambisoloved]

Re: eurosun complaint

thank you for your advice bluebottle

i will take your advice and not write to eurosun
what you say makes sense
i will just have to be patient and wait
thanks again

bambisoloved

[bluebottle]

Re: eurosun complaint

Hello Bambi,

If you don't hear from Eurosun about them refunding the fare you paid, wholly or in part, you will need to contact Consumer Direct again for further guidance. Their call centre staff are trained to advise accordingly and I find they are very helpful. There is one at Camborne, in Cornwall, that covers the southern half of the country. There's another one up near Warrington, I believe, that covers the northern half. If your case reference begins SW, you are dealing with the call centre in Cornwall. If it starts with NW, you are dealing with the call centre up north.

Please let us know what transpires with your request for a refund from Eurosun and the response you receive from the TC.

Regards,

Bluebottle

[bambisoloved]

Re: eurosun complaint

thanks for that bluebottle

i have had an responce from consumer direct via email today
they have asked me to clarify a point and ask if i specifically asked eurosun to drop me off at ikea because ikea could be seen as part of lakeside
i asked them to take me to ikea isnt that specific enough?
i have a excurtion ticket with destination lakeside/bluwater/ikea on it
i am not sure how to respond?

[bluebottle]

Re: eurosun complaint

thanks for that bluebottle

i have had an responce from consumer direct via email today
they have asked me to clarify a point and ask if i specifically asked eurosun to drop me off at ikea because ikea could be seen as part of lakeside
i asked them to take me to ikea isnt that specific enough?
i have a excurtion ticket with destination lakeside/bluwater/ikea on it
i am not sure how to respond?

Hello again Bambi,

As I understand it, Lakeside is in Essex and Bluewater is in Kent. Where is the IKEA you booked for and how near is it to Lakeside?

Would you let me know soonest, please?

Bluebottle