Warwickshire parents start to get money back after Green Bus Company scraps school services.
FRUSTRATED parents are still waiting for their money back, after a school bus company left them in the lurch.
Hundreds of parents and children were sent into a spin after The Green Bus Company axed crucial services a week before the start of term.
A letter to parents on Saturday 26th August promised a full refund but more than four weeks later, many are still out of pocket.
Tracey Black, who lives in Hatton Park and has a 13-year-old daughter at Stratford Grammar, is still owed £110.
She was on holiday with her family in Devon when she received an e-mail from Green Bus telling them they were stopping the school service immediately.
She spent first days of her holiday on her phone, trying to find other transport.
She has still had no refund and been told it could be another four or five weeks before her money is returned as refunds are being processed, based on bus services.
Sarah Smart is another parent who’s been frustrated by the long wait and lack of response, she eventually was paid yesterday (Wednesday). She added: “I’m not sure what has taken so long.”
Claverdon-based mum Jane Whitehurst, whose 16-year-old son was left with no way of getting to school, had not yet set up her direct debit so is not owed but says although some parents are starting to be refunded, others are still waiting.
Jo Goulding, a single mum of two boys who works for the NHS and lives in Claverdon, still hasn’t had a refund from Green Bus but received an e-mail from them last week.
In the letter, chief executive of The Green Bus Company Ian Mack explained: When I last wrote to you I was hoping that all refunds would be made by 10th September 2023. “Although we have reimbursed a number of our customers, we have many refund requests still to process. It is a slow and manual task which is taking much longer than we had hoped. We will continue releasing funds on a route-by-route basis.”
Ms Goulding pointed out it does not give an actual date when her money will be refunded.
Contacted last week, Mr Mack told the Herald: “The refund process is well under way.
“We won’t be communicating with our customers through the medium of the Stratford Herald, I’m afraid, but we updated all our customers on updated timescales by e-mail yesterday.”
Ian Mack, chief executive of The Green Bus Company told the Herald: “The refund process is well under way.
“We won't be communicating with our customers through the medium of the Stratford Herald, I'm afraid, but we updated all our customers on updated timescales by e-mail yesterday.”