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I booked a return journey from Heathrow to Bristol. The airoplane was delayed so I had to take a later coach (which happened to be next day). I was unable to use my existing ticket, and had to pay for another (without any discount). A bit of a scam which cost me and my partner a further £66.
We arrived in London on the morning of 22 November 2025, at around 8:30 a.m. It was cold, wet, and we were exhausted after the flight. We wanted to get to the city centre as quickly as possible, specifically to Victoria Station. We were travelling with our three-year-old son, who is on the autism spectrum, and he was already overwhelmed.At the National Express stop, we asked the staff member responsible for boarding if we could enter the bus a little earlier because of our son’s condition. The queue was long, and he was becoming increasingly distressed. Instead of any empathy or even a polite explanation, we were met with an unfriendly refusal.As a result, we had to stand in the rain for about 25 minutes while our child screamed the entire time. It was an unnecessarily difficult and disappointing experience.To be honest, from a company of this size, a higher standard of customer service is a basic expectation — especially for families travelling with children who have additional needs. In situations involving ASD, even a small amount of flexibility and simple human understanding is not a special favour but an essential part of professional service. I expect staff to be trained to recognise such situations and to offer reasonable adjustments that cost nothing yet make an enormous difference.
I travelled from Newcastle to Liverpool on Saturday, the 22nd of November, 2025, from 13:30 to 19:45, and my trip was delayed by three and a half hours because the coach from Leeds coach station to Liverpool was faulty twice on the road.
Dear National Express Customer Relations Team,I am writing to formally raise a complaint regarding the unacceptable behaviour and conduct of the driver on the 23:45 service from Leicester St. Margaret’s Station to Gatwick Airport on 21/11/2025.My friend and I were travelling to catch an early flight from Gatwick at 06:20 on 22/11/2025. From the start of the journey, the driver’s behaviour caused unnecessary stress and discomfort.Upon boarding, we located our pre-booked front seats, only to find someone’s backpack placed on them. As no passenger claimed it when asked, we moved it to another free seat. When the driver finally entered the coach, he addressed us in an authoritative and inappropriate tone, lecturing us about moving the backpack as it contained “precious items.”Throughout the journey, the driver continued to behave unprofessionally. He spoke on the phone for an extended period (possibly work-related), told my friend off simply for speaking to me, and insisted we should not place our small hand luggage in the empty front area. He stopped the bus to relocate our bags to the luggage compartment while loudly complaining.The situation escalated further when he pulled into a petrol station on the M1, informing us there would be a planned driver change. When the new driver arrived, the first driver began arguing with him, insisting that the coach could not continue because the temperature was 16°C due to a faulty air conditioning/heating system. Passengers, including ourselves, were wearing coats and were far more concerned about arriving at the airport on time than about the temperature inside the coach.When I politely asked how long we would be delayed and whether we would still reach Gatwick on time, the driver responded dismissively, stating that he did not know and did not care. He then accused us of poor planning for our flight—an entirely inappropriate and unfounded remark. He also reprimanded me for asking fellow passengers if they were cold enough to justify a long delay, while continuing to speak to us in a confrontational manner.We ultimately waited more than 1.5 hours at the petrol station before continuing the journey. This caused significant stress, as we were at real risk of missing our flight, potentially incurring considerable financial costs for alternative travel or replacement tickets.Thankfully, the second driver was professional, reassuring, and efficient. His calm approach and commitment to getting us to the airport on time were greatly appreciated. Unfortunately, due to the stressful circumstances and late hour, we did not manage to take either driver’s name.Given the above, I respectfully request that this incident be fully investigated. The first driver’s behaviour was rude, inappropriate, and unprofessional, and it caused considerable distress to passengers during a time-sensitive journey. For this part of the service, I would give a rating of 1 out of 10.I trust that National Express will take this matter seriously and provide an appropriate response and resolution.
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