Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

My son has just paid for bus ticket with a twenty pound note...

281 replies

Miserylovescompany2 · 17/09/2017 08:54

The driver issued a ticket and stated he didn't have enough change - he told my son that he (my son) would have to go to the depot for his change.

All my son has is the issued ticked - it doesn't state how he paid? The depot won't refund him.

Surely it's the drivers responsibility to have change in the first instance.

What would you do?

He is still on the bus as I type...

OP posts:
orlantina · 17/09/2017 09:10

He has purchased an all day ticket

Has he been given a credit note - that's what I got when it happened to me.

But buses can't carry loads of change. They are an easy target for criminals. Imagine if all the customers paid with £20 notes.

Morehistoryplease · 17/09/2017 09:11

How can busses in some areas be correct change only? How can you know how much its going to cost, unless you have done the same journey before? Madness. But £20note is a little excessive. I'd expect the driver to have some change though.

Scottishgirl85 · 17/09/2017 09:11

Buses can't be expected to carry a lot of change. In Scotland you don't get any change at all, you're expected to have the right amount or expect to lose a bit. Get your son to ask for the driver's name and hopefully the depot can check with the driver, and the driver will remember the situation.

MrsSchadenfreude · 17/09/2017 09:12

The buses where my mother lives say"exact fare only" but it doesn't tell you anywhere what the fare is - not on the website, at the stop or on the bus.

x2boys · 17/09/2017 09:13

Not everywhere Goldfish I get the bus everyday here in Bolton the driver gives me change if I don't have the correct money I try to never pay with more than a fiver though.

Morehistoryplease · 17/09/2017 09:14

How much was the fare?

embo1 · 17/09/2017 09:14

Does he have a phone to record the driver saying this?
Do they have driver numbers/bus numbers?

Rachie1973 · 17/09/2017 09:14

An Arriva day rover in Essex is £4.00

Expecting the driver to change a £20 is excessive.

Hopefully he'll have radioed back to the depot letting them know the circumstances.

gamerwidow · 17/09/2017 09:15

London buses do not accept any cash at all you can only use prepaid oyster or contactless bank cards to pay.

OnionKnight · 17/09/2017 09:16

You get change in Essex.

Just because you don't get change it doesn't mean that everywhere is the same.

orlantina · 17/09/2017 09:16

If the driver did NOT give a note, it could be they are trying to take advantage of him.

Here, the drivers have access to the money. I don't know if they have to count up themselves at the end of their shift - so can take advantage of anyone not knowing the system.

I stress the word 'could'.

If there is excess money at the end, the driver would need to account for it - ideally with a note themselves saying that they couldn't break a £20 note.

Mix56 · 17/09/2017 09:17

he needs to get a receipt/proof of the payment, & change required,
the name of the driver, bus number.

Original poster
Miserylovescompany2 · 17/09/2017 09:19

Phew - bus driver has asked another driver at one of the stops along the route. Son has now got his change!

There is actually no phone numbers on their web page - only email, ask Alfie (some virtual bot) or live chat that I couldn't connect to?

He will definitely be sent to shop prior to his journey in the future - that way he'll have change. It's Sunday service so buses are at a reduced rate - some an hour apart.

We will be prepared in the future. Thank you all for your help. Greatly appreciated.

OP posts:
Rachie1973 · 17/09/2017 09:20

You can get change in Essex, but only if the driver has it, and it's not a stupid amount..... like £16!

OnionKnight · 17/09/2017 09:22

You can get change in Essex, but only if the driver has it, and it's not a stupid amount..... like £16!

I've got change from a £20 whenever I have used one, I've not used it often obviously but still.

Ijustwantaquietlife · 17/09/2017 09:22

Glad it got sorted op. Buses are a real bitch though and their own fault for not taking cards.

pennysnow · 17/09/2017 09:22

I bet the driver had a few beers and a couple of glasses of whiskey after his shift that evening. Grin

Seriously though. I don't think you have any way of getting it back without proof. What if the depot gave everyone 18-19 quid who claimed to have paid with a 20 and got no change?

Lesson learned here. Make sure you have the right change (or close to it anyway.)

I haven't used a bus more than twice in 10 years, as I drive or cycle or walk everywhere, and even when I used to get the bus a lot (pre 2000,) the bus drivers insisted on the correct change.

For many of them, they can't just pop to the bank, or send someone off to get some change if they run out, because they are stuck on the bus. So the last thing they want is to run out of change 2 hours into their shift, because of people wanting to pay an 80 pence fare with a 20 pound note. Jeez, I feel bad paying for something in a shop with a 20, even if the item cost 6 pounds, because it takes a bunch of change.

Pretty rude to say the driver has a scam running by the way (as one poster said!) It's not HIS fault some inconsiderate passenger gave him a 20 for a fare that was probably no more than a quid!

As I said, lesson learned eh?

WomblingThree · 17/09/2017 09:22

Madreputa you do realise there is a vast world outside London, right?

orlantina · 17/09/2017 09:23

op

It's still worrying that there is no system in place. If he had gone to the depot, they wouldn't have had a clue unless the driver had either informed them or given a credit note. Just saying 'go to the depot' isn't good enough.

Maybe a follow up call or email to the depot just asking what would have happened IF your son had had to come to the depot to get change?

orlantina · 17/09/2017 09:24

Pretty rude to say the driver has a scam running by the way (as one poster said!) It's not HIS fault some inconsiderate passenger gave him a 20 for a fare that was probably no more than a quid

You missed the phrase below:

I stress the word 'could

Ijustwantaquietlife · 17/09/2017 09:24

16 pounds is hardly a stupid amount. Many people will pay with a fiver and many families or couples will pay with a tenner!

It's not difficult to carry a float.

The bus from Glasgow to Edinburgh airport got huffy with people buying a single for 12 with a twenty even though they don't accept cards.

WestEndVBroadway · 17/09/2017 09:24

I havn't caught a bus in years so don't have much knowledge, I thought they just recommend that you have the correct change,I did not think It was mandatory. How on earth can it be legal to withhold change? Bus companies must be making a mint if this is how they operate. Surely if most people are paying with the correct amount there must be loads of change available. I know people have said that the driver has no access to itbut this is ludicrous!

orlantina · 17/09/2017 09:26

It's not difficult to carry a float

How big a float?

What if 10 people before had paid with £20 notes?

Hulababy · 17/09/2017 09:26

They all say exact change only.

None of the buses here say exact change and all give change. There are no rules that apply to the entire of the UK for this. I've never needed change from a £20 but have paid with £10 and had change many times.

pennysnow · 17/09/2017 09:27

@MiseryLovesCompany2

Phew - bus driver has asked another driver at one of the stops along the route. Son has now got his change!

Just read the update OP.

Glad you got the money back.

Make sure your son has the right change next time, or a few pound coins and 50 pences, or he may not be so lucky next time!

I hope the poster saying the bus driver was trying to scam the OP's son are ashamed of themselves. Hmm

Swipe left for the next trending thread