Help with claim for damaged property

[nonymouse]

This is a slightly long shot, I know, but any advice on this would be very gratefully received. Sorry for the length of this post!!

 

In early July, I travelled to a work meeting on a bus which was operated by Stagecoach. It was a ‘long distance’ ‘luxury coach’ type bus with leather seats, seatbelts etc as the service runs all the way from Oxford to Milton Keynes (although I was only on board for part of the journey – about 25 minutes). I was wearing my seatbelt and my handbag was on the seat next to me.

Halfway through the journey, while travelling along a road where the speed is 30mph, the bus braked very hard due to a car in front suddenly slowing to turn. Evidently the bus driver had been travelling very close to the car in front! Anyway, I was thrown forward and had to put my hands out to stop myself from hitting the seat in front. I didn’t have a spare hand to hold on to my bag, and it was thrown to the floor. We carried on regardless and I went off to my meeting and that was that.

After my meeting I went to catch a bus back and had a bit of a wait so got my iPod Nano out of my bag to listen to it, but realised it wouldn’t switch on. I’d been listening to it the evening before and it was fine, but it had been in my bag when it hit the deck and now would not switch on at all, despite any attempts to reset etc. I also realised when I got home that my (cheapy, but useful!) makeup compact and mirror was smashed to bits, and the bits of mirror had gone into the makeup so I couldn’t use it.

I emailed Stagecoach in Oxford (where the bus started from) with my complaint and was told they would pass the message on to the Bedford depot which runs the bus service. Then when I’d heard nothing for a over a week, I emailed again, and eventually I was told to put my complaint in writing to the head office in Perth. I did this on July 23rd, and the letter, sent recorded, was signed for on the 27th July. Then nothing… I wrote again in early September, again sending the letter by recorded. Again nothing.

Then today I had an email from the ‘public service vehicle claim depot’ which is basically a department of Stagecoach’s head office. The email said they were disputing my claim as the driver couldn’t remember stopping suddenly in July! Then they asked me to tell them what was damaged and what my address was (had they not read my letters?). I replied with the details, and now they have said they need to confirm my iPod is broken and asked me to either take my broken iPod to the Bedford depot for someone to look at (what, like, a random bus driver who happens to be there!) or to post the iPod to them. I’m not willing to do the first (Bedford is 90 minutes each way on a bus and I’d have to take a day off and pay my own fare) and I’m uncomfortable about sending the evidence by post to a bunch of people who take 8 weeks to reply to a letter and can’t read what my address is.

It seems like a little thing, really, but my iPod is going to cost £100 to replace, and I’d like at least some compensation for the fact that it broke following something that wasn’t my fault.

Any advice????

[Conniff]

Don't coaches have tachographs, this would prove it beyond doubt giving the exact time and the speed that he was travelling as well.

[nonymouse]

Don't coaches have tachographs, this would prove it beyond doubt giving the exact time and the speed that he was travelling as well.

 

You'd have thought so. But whether they still have records from early July as they've faffed for so long, heaven knows...

[Conniff]

They would still have records, tacho prints are legal documents.

[nonymouse]

Really? Excellent, thanks for that. Will be asking them to produce that then!

[cal37]

They have to keep the tachograph records but the tachograph has the drivers full name on it and other details so they might not let you have a copy( i know we wouldn't). Also to pick out the incident you describe would be hard for VOSA or the police to pin point, never mind yourself and the bus maybe fitted with a digital tachograph and to read this needs a specialist piece of equipment.

 

Be aware also, that not all buses are required to have a tachograph record driving, I’m not sure of the details as i'm involved with trucks but as far as I’m aware if its acting as a service bus it does not need one but i stand to be corrected.

Edited September 19, 2009 by cal37