Chiltern Railways have now resolved this and, from such an angry start, I've ended up extremely impressed. They've given full explanation of what must have gone wrong and even apologised. So I won't have to abandon Chiltern in favour of National Express coaches which is what I was planning to do!

Thank you all! I'm now boggling because out of the blue, before I'd written another letter to them, Chiltern Railways customer service just rang me up, said they'd noticed my complaint, were investigating why I wasn't reimbursed and will get back to me within 24 hours "hopefully with an answer you're more happy with". This may well be most amazingly pro-active customer service I've ever come across!

Oh SRPO, that's a fantastic idea - I will do that with gusto. Thank you so so much! And honeybee, wonderful to get your support and to know that they may well be hope! Thanks so much.

Hi Surfer01, thanks for the reply. No - the whole carriage heard it but I didn't take anyone else's details, or ask the guard to sign anything - we all just took his word. In the future I'll know but Chiltern must know it happened, as there was a whole trainful of people left believing in the cabs.

A couple of weeks ago a Chiltern train broke down and after several hours we were carried back to Banbury station. On board the guard told us taxis were being organised to take us to our destinations, and he went along collecting numbers and destinations so he could radio these ahead. But when we got to Banbury, no taxis had been arranged and the station staff knew nothing about them (neither did the taxi drivers on the rank). So I gathered up another person heading to Stratford upon Avon and took a cab, paying and getting a receipt at the end. I then called Chiltern and told them, and they told me to send in the receipt and the train ticket, which I did. Now I've got a reply saying that "regrettably" the taxi fare cannot be refunded "as it was not authorised". Never in a million years would I have paid £60 for a cab fare from Banbury to Stratford - and paying for someone else to come along too - had we not been told taxis would be paid for for us. Obviously I'm going to get back to Chiltern again, but does anyone know any good bits of the rail regulations I could quote at them to help? Am also angry that they gave vouchers worth £13 as refund for the £30 ticket that didn't get me anywhere near where I wanted to go. Thanks in advance!

I suspect DX itself is a [problem], even without dodgy characters trying to pretend to be them. I got a card on Saturday delivered when I was at home - they did not buzz the doorbell to try to deliver the Home Office documents they were meant to get to me. When you call, you are CHARGED for the line and then they try to force you to pay a fee to have a timed delivery. If you do not want to pay, they will only give you an eight-hour window, and it has to be from Monday to Friday, and at your home address, and in office hours. So for vast majority, impossible - forcing you to pay or else go to one of their pick-up centres which in my case will be a three hour round trip which again has to be done on one alloted day, or else your item will be removed. And they don't even tell you when during that allotted day the item will arrive! It is I believe actual blackmail - they have your Home Office documents, and they will do everything they can to force you to ring up (making them cash) and then finally in emotional exhaustion, to pay for the timed delivery. Outrageous that the Home Office is using such an organisation.