Greater Anglia passenger response goes viral

[northwichcat]

When a genuine appeal for a refund or compensation falls on stony ground it’s enough to make your blood boil.

Most of us vent our frustration on our friends and family, vowing to take revenge on the person or organisation that has wronged us – only to calm down in a couple of days and do… nothing.

However, when one angry Greater Anglia rail passenger was denied a refund on a ticket for a cancelled train he decided not to take rejection lying down.

He tightly rolled up the letter he had received from the company’s customer services department and enclosed it with his reply telling an advisor it would make it easier for him to ‘stick it up your arse’.

Well that’s one way of making a point!

It is unknown if Greater Anglia afforded the disgruntled passenger the courtesy of a second reply.

http://metro.co.uk/2013/05/02/disgr...ter-anglia-exactly-where-to-stick-it-3710691/

I think having a 28 day limit could be a bit harsh on occasions. What if, for instance, it was a journey to an Airport ahead of spending a month in Australia and you had to find an alternative method of getting to the Airport?

 

[bb21]

If there are mitigating circumstances, did he make it clear to them? I guess no one will know the exact circumstances.

Like sending a letter such as this will really make things better. :roll:

 

[Smudger105e]

Like sending a letter such as this will really make things better. :roll:

Probably made him smile, and it made a few others smile too, so probably worth doing!

 

[transportphoto]

I do hope AGA saw the comical value in this!!

TP

 

[Bungle73]

Like sending a letter such as this will really make things better. :roll:

Indeed. As if a company is going to respond positively to someone who sends them abusive correspondence.

This sort of thing may go down well with the Daily Mail crowd, but to those of us with a little more intelligence it's an asinine thing to do.

 

[transmanche]

As if a company is going to respond positively to someone who sends them abusive correspondence.

It's clearly a response from an exasperated customer who has given up on getting refund - and is letting off some steam. On the scale of 'abuse' its clearly at the comedy end and not malicious.

It may not be to your taste, but I'm sure most people receiving this would just laugh it off - having clearly got the message that the customer considers the service provided to be unsatisfactory.

 

[Bungle73]

It's clearly a response from an exasperated customer who has given up on getting refund - and is letting off some steam. On the scale of 'abuse' its clearly at the comedy end and not malicious.

It may not be to your taste, but I'm sure most people receiving this would just laugh it off - having clearly got the message that the customer considers the service provided to be unsatisfactory.

Soo...he puts in a claim for Delay Repay, gets refused, and the first thing he does is send off this letter. The guy's a tool.

For most people 28 days is more than enough time to put in a claim. I don't know about GA, but SE even let you do it online - it take seconds.

 

[jb]

RUK In Po-Facedness Shocker

I am completely aware I am personally as capable of po-facedness as the next man from time to time

 

[transmanche]

For most people 28 days is more than enough time to put in a claim.

You know nothing about this person or his personal circumstances. It's already been suggested by the OP poster that 28 days is too restrictive, as people might be on their way abroad for longer than that. Or he may just have been able to get a GA refund claim form...

You've made your opinion of the letter writer clear. Personally, I think it's amusing and if it were addressed to me, I would accept it on that basis. In fact, if it were addressed to me, I'd give the guy his refund for making me laugh!

 

[Qwerty133]

You know nothing about this person or his personal circumstances. It's already been suggested by the OP poster that 28 days is too restrictive, as people might be on their way abroad for longer than that. Or he may just have been able to get a GA refund claim form...

You've made your opinion of the letter writer clear. Personally, I think it's amusing and if it were addressed to me, I would accept it on that basis. In fact, if it were addressed to me, I'd give the guy his refund for making me laugh!

If it was addressed to me it would be filed straight into the bin and wouldn't get a reply.

 

[Bungle73]

You know nothing about this person or his personal circumstances.

It was also asked, by bb21, that if there were extenuating circumstance did he make these clear to GA? If he didn't, whose fault is that?

It's already been suggested by the OP poster that 28 days is too restrictive, as people might be on their way abroad for longer than that.

Do GA not take extenuating circumstances into account? I see no suggestion of that. And they do have postal services abroad you know? In normal circumstances if one can't get off one's backside to put in a claim within a month then you probably don't deserve any compensation.

Or he may just have been able to get a GA refund claim form...

You can print one off from the website.....

You've made your opinion of the letter writer clear. Personally, I think it's amusing and if it were addressed to me, I would accept it on that basis. In fact, if it were addressed to me, I'd give the guy his refund for making me laugh!

I'd file it......in the circular file.

 

[transmanche]

I'd file it......in the circular file.

I think you made that abundantly clear already. There seems to be a few on here with a serious sense of humour failure...

 

[Deerfold]

I do wonder how this got into the paper. Did the original writer copy it to Metro? I can't see GA having anything to gain by leaking it.

Seems a bit pointless for what sounds to be a second letter - perhaps you shouldn't need a second letter, but then we don't know what his first said so it's hard to judge.

If I were to receive it, it might raise a smile, but it certainly wouldn't make it likely that he'd get anything as there's no facts or requests in it. Metro assert his initial request was valid ("a genuine appeal") but there's nothing else in the article to support that. Do they know things they're not passing on to the readers?

 

[bb21]

It might not even be a letter that has been sent for all we know. Looks to me like someone wanting his 15 minutes of fame but then could also be a whole host of other possibilities.

When did language like that become funny? I didn't have a sense of humour failure. I find it crude and childish.

 

[Greenback]

I agree with bb21 and Bungle73 that this gesture is crude, childish and ultimately pointless.

 

[DarloRich]

RUK In Po-Facedness Shocker

I am completely aware I am personally as capable of po-facedness as the next man from time to time

THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Lighten up - there are some terrible stuffed shirts on here at times

 

[transmanche]

When did language like that become funny?

Probably in the 1960s. Or earlier.

Anyway, the humour isn't in the language by itself. It's the phrase used along with the rolled-up letter that makes it funny!

I agree with bb21 and Bungle73 that this gesture is crude, childish and ultimately pointless.

Each to their own, eh?

 

[DarloRich]

It might not even be a letter that has been sent for all we know. Looks to me like someone wanting his 15 minutes of fame but then could also be a whole host of other possibilities.

When did language like that become funny? I didn't have a sense of humour failure. I find it crude and childish.

I agree with bb21 and Bungle73 that this gesture is crude, childish and ultimately pointless.

Sorry to disagree - we have all fantasied about sending such a letter. I think it is funny.


The response to this thread begins to explain a great deal - of course it is childish and puerile to write such a letter but come on! I am sure it was a great stress relief for the author! Tell me in honesty, you have never , ever thought of sending such a letter and i will call a Dutch man.

No doubt next we will have the it is terrible to abuse Railway staff post. I agree, but in this case it is not directed at a named individual in person but at the company in question.

 

[tannedfrog]

They cancelled the train and are refusing to refund the ticket?

Smalls claim court should be the next step I would have thought, no 28 day limit there

 

[bb21]

Sorry to disagree - we have all fantasied about sending such a letter. I think it is funny.

Yes, but thinking about it and actually doing it then bleating off to the world are two quite different things.

Just not my cup of tea. Sorry.

 

[DarloRich]

Yes, but thinking about it and actually doing it then bleating off to the world are two quite different things.

Just not my cup of tea. Sorry.

Fine, that is your opinion - i think you are a terribly serious individual then.

 

[bb21]

Fine, that is your opinion - i think you are a terribly serious individual then.

I think dealing with childish behaviour everyday for a few years did the damage.

 

[DarloRich]

I think dealing with childish behaviour everyday for a few years did the damage.

I would prefer someone writes a letter like that out of frustration than abuses the staff in a direct, face to face manner.

 

[bb21]

I would prefer someone writes a letter like that out of frustration than abuses the staff in a direct, face to face manner.

If I have to choose between the two and no other, then of course.

 

[DarloRich]

What would you prefer he did then? Just meekly accept that the Greater Anglia have offered, in his opinion, poor customer service and slink away? The author has obviously, written to them once and been given the standard brush off.

Consider this may be someone unaccustomed to traveling by train or unfamiliar with the mechanisms associated with obtaining redress when things go wrong on the railway.

 

[Greenback]

A first response from many organisations can be quite negative. and frustrating. It sometimes requires escalation to another department or a higher position in order to get a satisfactory result.

I've had to reply to what were basically rubbish letters from npower, Lloyds Bank, FGW and others I can't remember down the years before my concerns or complaints were properly addressed. Resorting to sarcasm or telling someone they can 'stick it up their arse' might have momentarily made me feel better, but it wouldn't have helped me achieve the result I wanted to achieve.

That's the bottom line for me, and I will never understand why this was passed to the paper or deemed worthy of a story! But then it is the Metro I suppose...

 

[TheEdge]

I must say I think its quite funny, it *sort* of reminds me of the Henry Root letters.

 

[Starmill]

I had a right laugh when I saw this But my first thought was that this must happen all the time? And not just to train companies either! How does it ever get dealt with then?

 

[transmanche]

What would you prefer he did then? Just meekly accept that the Greater Anglia have offered, in his opinion, poor customer service and slink away? The author has obviously, written to them once and been given the standard brush off.

Especially when the standard brush-off includes such corporate double-speak as being "unable" to provide a refund. Of course they are able to provide a refund. They just choose not to.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

That's the bottom line for me, and I will never understand why this was passed to the paper or deemed worthy of a story! But then it is the Metro I suppose...

I suspect they picked it up from a tweet...

 

[Bungle73]

They cancelled the train and are refusing to refund the ticket?

Smalls claim court should be the next step I would have thought, no 28 day limit there

Small claims court? You must be joking.....

What would you prefer he did then? Just meekly accept that the Greater Anglia have offered, in his opinion, poor customer service and slink away? The author has obviously, written to them once and been given the standard brush off.

Consider this may be someone unaccustomed to traveling by train or unfamiliar with the mechanisms associated with obtaining redress when things go wrong on the railway.

I would have preferred that he write an actual letter putting forward his case, rather than this puerile nonsense that will achieve nothing.

The way I see it if he's taken over 28 days to do anything about it, and if there were no extenuating circumstances (I'm sure if there were he would have mentioned them), then he was obviously not that bothered about receiving compensation in the first place.