We Apologise For the Late Running of This Refund


A couple of months ago I told you about the late-night shenanigans I experienced while travelling home from Cardiff (see I Don't Like Thursdays). Well, you can imagine my surprise when, on 5 December, an email from Arriva Trains Wales pinged into my inbox:



Case Reference: ATW-161007-BFD

Dear Mr O'Gorman,

Thank you for contacting us about your journey on 06 October between Cardiff and Aberdare. I am sorry to learn that your journey was disrupted, and that you were caused a delay as a result.

In order for me to fully investigate and resolve your compensation claim I do need some more information from you. Could you therefore please confirm the following?

• As you have requested to be paid by bank transfer please confirm the account name, sort code and account number we should pay your compensation to.

I look forward to hearing from you in due course.
Yours sincerely

Neil Curness
Customer Relations Advisor
Arriva Trains Wales


I emailed them back with my details, and congratulated them on their prompt handling of my complaint – with my tongue firmly in my cheek. Then I made a comment on Facebook, saying that it was reassuring to find that the administrative part of ATW proceeds at the same breathtaking pace as the trains themselves.

The problem isn't going to go away any time soon, judging from an article in today's Western Mail. I won't transcribe the whole thing, but this is the gist of it: Rail bosses have warned it will take 28 years to bring the Welsh rail standard up to standard.

Twenty-eight years? I hear you cry.

Oh yeah – and that's based on current financial projections. Wait until the EU Objective 1 and 2 money dries up, and austerity bites even further into the precarious non-metropolitan Welsh economy.

It's time for me to start bodyhacking, I think. I'll be 51 next birthday. Even though both my parents come from relatively long-lived stock, I don't lead a particularly healthy lifestyle. I need to start fasting, exercising, watching my diet, quit the beer, start on the smart drugs and nutrients, and generally do everything I can to extend my lifespan to the maximum possible. If I can live to be 150, there's a decent chance I can ride on an electric train on the Valley Lines at least once in my life.

A decent chance – nothing more than that, though.

Comments

  1. In My Opinion | Is Your Journey Really Necessary?7 February 2017 at 04:47

    […] my ‘recent'(-ish) complaint against Arriva Trains Wales (see I Don’t Like Thursdays and We Apologise For the Late Running of This Refund). The eight-week time lag between action and reaction seems to be the new industry benchmark, […]

    ReplyDelete

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