Bus chiefs tell mum they'll give her daughter change but she must go 15 miles to collect it!
BUS chiefs told a mum whose daughter was not allowed to board after tendering a �10 note that in future a ticket will be issued but change can only be collected from head office. We are not a banking service, Richard Pengelly, operations manager of Nor
BUS chiefs told a mum whose daughter was not allowed to board after tendering a �10 note that in future a ticket will be issued but change can only be collected from head office.
"We are not a banking service," Richard Pengelly, operations manager of Norfolk Green, explained in a letter to mum Cheryl Magor.
"If it helps you in the future I will instruct the driver to take the high denomination note, issue a ticket and hand in the change to the office at the end of the day, which you can collect at your convenience or we can post to you minus the cost of Recorded Delivery."
It would mean Ms Magor having to travel 15 miles from her Fenland home to Kings Lynn to collect the change.
Mr Pengelly sent Ms Magor a two page letter, describing claims of poor service by the bus company as "ludicrous" and alleging she did not "understand the concept of public transport".
Ms Magor says she was shocked when the company said she should apologise and thank them for their service - after she had been the one writing to complain.
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She said the letter was "exceedingly rude and aggressive" and has raised the matter with Norfolk County Council.
Mr Pengelly branded her complaints about how drivers allegedly drove past people at the bus stop and refused to give change as "curious".
He said: "This statement is quite frankly ludicrous. To state that your children have suffered in their education because of two alleged incidents is beyond belief."
He also told Ms Magor: "Let me remind you it is your responsibility to ensure your child gets to school.
"It would be nice if you wrote back thanking us and apologising to us for your threats and remarks but I suspect you will not.
"I am disappointed when I receive letters like yours threatening this company."
Mr Pengelly said each driver starts the day with a �30 float which should always be enough.
It has become common practice for parents to give their children �10 and �20 notes for bus fares but there was a limit to how much change a driver could hold.
Some companies bigger than Norfolk Green had made an 'exact change' policy but "we believe that is just too draconian, however there has to be a level of common sense exhibited by fare payers on our services".
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