A veteran was left "stranded" after missing her train when a taxi company failed to collect her. Hannah Jones, 37, moved to Canada 15 years ago where she served the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, but she recently came to Nottingham for a few days to visit one of her brothers.
As her brother had to be at work one Monday morning, Hannah decided to book a taxi with Nottingham Cars three days in advance from her brother's home in Carlton to Nottingham Train Station on the morning of Monday, May 23. The train was due to take her to St Pancras Station in London, where Hannah would then connect to Burgess Hill.
She said: "Everything seemed fine and I got a confirmation that they would pick me up. I booked it for an hour before my train was going to be there and Google said it was going to be a 15 minute drive so that would give them plenty of time if they were late."
Read more: Livid TUI passengers 'tried to rip open door' to get bags following nightmare journey
However, despite making the booking in advance, Hannah explained the taxi did not arrive on time, and she said she was repeatedly told that "someone is on their way" and that "they will be there soon".
Hannah explained she was then told by the company that they were not sure if they were going to make it. "I said I booked it in advance, 'you should have taxis available to fulfil your bookings', I was quite annoyed" said Hannah.
"I wasn’t really familiar with the buses and stuff but I knew there was a bus stop around the corner. I made it to the train station just as the train was taking off, I was completely stranded in Nottingham."
As Hannah's train ticket was for that specific train she had to buy a new train ticket which cost her £137. As Hannah is retired she is on a fixed income. She said: "I couldn’t afford it but I had to buy it.
"It really ruined my time in Nottingham, I had a fantastic visit up to that point, but that really soured my experience. I asked for compensation and they refunded me my £10 booking fee but they had no apology or anything for the £137 I was out for."
"It’s not a way to run your company. It gives Nottingham a bad name and I just thought I deserved some sort of compensation for the ticket," Hannah added. Despite getting into London later than expected, Hannah was able to make her flight.
Up until the Monday morning, Hannah said she had a "fantastic" weekend in Nottingham, visiting lots of the tourist spots and a board game cafe. Nottingham Cars did not wish to comment.
Read next:
