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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Bus driver refused to give my teen DD ID back

35 replies

Mumforadecade1 · 28/03/2024 21:44

Posting from Scotland - we are very lucky that children get free bus travel , this comes in card form with photo and D.o.B . This card can be used as library card , ID , Free transport and shopping discounts etc . My DD Age 12 was coming home from school today when the bus driver said her card was damaged (slight bend in one corner ) however she had already been on two buses that day and it was still working on the machine . Bus driver snatched it off my DD and told her to order a replacement . At this point DD got on the bus with her friend and called me upset , I told her to ask the driver when she was getting off the bus to give her the card back and I will arrange a replacement. When asking the Driver refused to give her back the card and told her to get off the bus . I was furious and called the bus company who told me it is policy to remove damaged cards . I disagree with this and feel that uneasy that a bus driver would have possession of a card with DD photo and D.o.B - and I’m miffed I will now need to pay for travel and DD cannot access library etc until the replacement comes . AIBU ??

OP posts:
MsFaversham · 28/03/2024 21:49

What a stupid policy which could leave a young child stranded an unable to get home.

Original poster
Mumforadecade1 · 28/03/2024 21:53

I am not disputing in anyway that the card shouldn’t be used anymore but I can’t help but feel really uneasy that an individual has my daughters picture , name and d.o.b and I have no proof that the card was destroyed or handed back to the bus company ?!

OP posts:
Itsmychristmasdress · 28/03/2024 21:55

What if she needed to get a second bus home? That's ludicrous and surely a breach of gdpr?

xyz111 · 28/03/2024 21:55

I'd speak to them again and ask what their policy is on data protection. Especially if it has her dob on it.

SwimmingFree · 28/03/2024 22:00

I'd be so very angry too. If it's the same as us the card is also used for lunches at school, he should not have been able to remove the card from a child. Seems a mad policy.

SwimmingFree · 28/03/2024 22:01

xyz111 · 28/03/2024 21:55

I'd speak to them again and ask what their policy is on data protection. Especially if it has her dob on it.

This is a good idea. You have a right under data protection to ask for any data being held on you.

GingerLiberalFeminist · 28/03/2024 22:02

This happened to me as a teenager. My parents complained loads but it did no good.

BobbyBiscuits · 28/03/2024 22:04

It seems weird. But basically the card is the property of the bus firm, if in the t&C's.
It's no loss really is it, if it can't be used why bother need to keep it.

likepebblesonabeach · 28/03/2024 22:11

This happened to my DD, the bus was collecting them from school. I called the school office who sounded utterly exasperated and said she thought the driver was on some sort of power trip that day as they had kept lots of children's cards and she had had lots of complaints. She advised my dd to go to the school office the next day and true to her word had got every child's bus pass back for them which proved there was no need for the driver to keep them.

Notmyuser · 28/03/2024 22:14

BobbyBiscuits · 28/03/2024 22:04

It seems weird. But basically the card is the property of the bus firm, if in the t&C's.
It's no loss really is it, if it can't be used why bother need to keep it.

It has nothing to do with the bus company. The card is a Scottish government card.

transformandriseup · 28/03/2024 22:29

This happened to me as a teenager. My parents complained loads but it did no good.

It happened to me too back when the cards were just laminated. The driver took my card in the middle of the week and I didn't have another passport sized photo at home in order to get another one. If I still had the card we could have reused the old photo. My mum was disabled and on benefits and we couldn't get to the shops to get another one until later in the week. I know it's a bus company policy but it's not very well thought out.

KeinLiebeslied54321 · 28/03/2024 22:32

GingerLiberalFeminist · 28/03/2024 22:02

This happened to me as a teenager. My parents complained loads but it did no good.

Those cards haven't existed for that long, so it must have been a different type of card (unless you're around 20 now?). The current Young Scot Saltire Card is also an ID card and is used as more than a bus pass.

KeinLiebeslied54321 · 28/03/2024 22:34

BobbyBiscuits · 28/03/2024 22:04

It seems weird. But basically the card is the property of the bus firm, if in the t&C's.
It's no loss really is it, if it can't be used why bother need to keep it.

This isn't a bus pass, it's much more than that - it's ID, used to get access to certain activities, used to get discounts in shops etc.

BobbyBiscuits · 28/03/2024 22:34

@Notmyuser ah, ok. Can they look at the t&C's of the card and the bus firm. Is it because you need the old card to easily renew the new one?
I guess if the bus driver was rude in his manner then ask your daughter if she wants to complain.
Can you get her a more sturdy wallet/holder for the new card?

Notmyuser · 28/03/2024 22:40

BobbyBiscuits · 28/03/2024 22:34

@Notmyuser ah, ok. Can they look at the t&C's of the card and the bus firm. Is it because you need the old card to easily renew the new one?
I guess if the bus driver was rude in his manner then ask your daughter if she wants to complain.
Can you get her a more sturdy wallet/holder for the new card?

The card can be used on any bus, any company, for free transport anywhere in Scotland. Some schools use it to pay for school dinners, it can be used for a few other things too.

RunningAwayToJoinTheCircus · 28/03/2024 22:41

Can you report it stolen? To the local authority or whichever govt department issues them?
Even if it's not usable on the bus, it's still her property. The driver has basically stolen it. And like you say, it has her personal information on it. Even if he cut it in half or something, he still should have returned it to her.

Notmyuser · 28/03/2024 22:43

It does seem that the card was invalid at time of use though

Bus driver refused to give my teen DD ID back
WearyAuldWumman · 28/03/2024 22:45

I'm furious on your behalf. I know that you've already phoned, but email the company and copy to your MSP.

Stagecoach, perchance?

WearyAuldWumman · 28/03/2024 22:51

Notmyuser · 28/03/2024 22:43

It does seem that the card was invalid at time of use though

That only says that the council needs to be informed if the card is damaged. Doesn't say that being damaged automatically invalidates the card.

Given how important the card is to a youngster, it's appalling that the driver took it.

I'm in my 60s and do a bit of supply teaching.

One day coming back from work, the card reader wouldn't accept my card. God bless him, the driver just issued a ticket. When I got my connecting ride, the ticket worked. If the first guy had taken my ticket off me, I'd have been seriously inconvenienced. As with your daughter's card, it's also my library card plus it allows me to access the photocopiers in my school.

Given that many youngsters have their school dinner money on their card (and all free dinners are on the entitlement cards) it's a damned disgrace that the driver took it.

buswankerz · 28/03/2024 23:02

My ds has one of these cards plus a companion on it. I renewed in plenty of time but that was in November. They're waiting from something from child disability payment review to process the new card. They told me he's to use it anyway.

I would complain because they're telling others to use their young Scot's without companion even when they're renewing. They're issued by the local council so should not be removed by the driver.

Notmyuser · 28/03/2024 23:10

WearyAuldWumman · 28/03/2024 22:51

That only says that the council needs to be informed if the card is damaged. Doesn't say that being damaged automatically invalidates the card.

Given how important the card is to a youngster, it's appalling that the driver took it.

I'm in my 60s and do a bit of supply teaching.

One day coming back from work, the card reader wouldn't accept my card. God bless him, the driver just issued a ticket. When I got my connecting ride, the ticket worked. If the first guy had taken my ticket off me, I'd have been seriously inconvenienced. As with your daughter's card, it's also my library card plus it allows me to access the photocopiers in my school.

Given that many youngsters have their school dinner money on their card (and all free dinners are on the entitlement cards) it's a damned disgrace that the driver took it.

Show quote history

Read point 10, you might need to click the picture. It’s invalid if damaged.

Libraries still let you take books without the card, you need an account but not the physical card as long as you can confirm details.

You can use the school photocopiers by typing in your credentials.

The cafeteria staff can also access your account without the card.

Im a teacher so all of this is first hand info. It’s annoying, but the only thing that you really need the physical card for is the bus. And the bus company are not paid unless the card scans.

CarrotCake01 · 28/03/2024 23:16

No, that's not cool.
Letting you know it needs to be replaced is one thing or making it with a date somehow "this is only valid for 2 more weeks due to ID being damaged" or SOMETHING. But taking it off her and refusing to return it...? Unless completely and utterly destroyed beyond recognition, no! How can that be okay?!

WearyAuldWumman · 28/03/2024 23:17

Notmyuser · 28/03/2024 23:10

Read point 10, you might need to click the picture. It’s invalid if damaged.

Libraries still let you take books without the card, you need an account but not the physical card as long as you can confirm details.

You can use the school photocopiers by typing in your credentials.

The cafeteria staff can also access your account without the card.

Im a teacher so all of this is first hand info. It’s annoying, but the only thing that you really need the physical card for is the bus. And the bus company are not paid unless the card scans.

Show quote history

Yes, now that I've clicked I see that the card is not supposed to be bent.

However, the OP tells us that the card "was still working on the machine" Therefore, I'm assuming that it scanned. There is really no excuse for leaving a minor in a position where she might not have transport.

TeenyTinyCrocodile · 28/03/2024 23:27

As with many 'policies', it's nonsense. 'Policy' means nothing by itself and it's often just made up guff based on nothing that has a legal or otherwise reasonable basis. Even if it's in the T&Cs, so what? Could easily be an unfair contract term.

It has nothing to do with the bus company. The card is a Scottish government card.

In which case, the 'policy' is authorising theft of children's cards. And is a safeguarding issue in more than one way as already stated. Someone needs to get this 'policy' overturned once and for all, for the safety of the minors involved.

(Funnily enough, no-one snatches a less-than-perfect railcard, credit card, Oyster card, library card or similar off us adults. Why are children fair game so often?)

easylikeasundaymorn · 28/03/2024 23:28

what is the issue with it being damaged anyway? surely the worst possible outcome if it is THAT damaged (which the dd's card clearly wasn't if it had scanned fine several times that day) is that it just won't work and the child won't be able to use the bus....which by taking it off her he has ensured a 'maybe' is a 'definite.' I can't see why there would be any reason to take it off her, rather than just warning her she needed to get a new one.

I would ask the bus company for a copy of that policy, and ask if it went through equality impact assessment?

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