Pay up

SIR, - What arrogance First Capital Connect (FCC) have shown in their attitude over the sorry saga (Herts Advertiser, February 28) whereby, due to their failure to direct Kim Shand and her two children to the correct train from St Albans to St Pancras and, instead, to an earlier but slower one, terminating at Hendon and then bussing passengers onwards, the family missed their 10.30am connection at Kings Cross for Aberdeen.

However, FCC are not, of course, the operator of this leg of the journey, it being run by National Express (NE), the new franchise holder.

What is equally as amazing as FCC's attitude to this saga, though, is NE's equally arrogant and uncompromising attitude to the Shands' predicament which was quite clearly not of their making. They had to charge her again and, to add insult to injury, made the family pay more than the original fare and took ages before accepting payment. Why on earth couldn't NE have just accepted the Shands' explanation for missing the planned train and just let them get on the next one, at 11am or 11.30am? It is completely inexplicable.

I think it is morally wrong, under the circumstances, for NE to have forced the Shands to pay again and they should return the money to them. If they flatly refuse to do so, FCC are morally bound to do it themselves. Whatever, the Shands should not be left out of pocket. Neither company comes out of this with any credit whatsoever. In FCC's case, I would have thought they would have avoided more bad publicity like the plague!

If reimbursement hasn't yet been resolved then Kim Shand should write to Richard Bowker, Chief Executive Officer, National Express Group and, if this turns out to be unsatisfactory, then Elaine Holt, managing director of FCC, explaining the total injustice she has been subjected to and the stress it has caused her, especially travelling with children.

CHRISTOPHER ALLEN,

Tithe Barn Close, St Albans.