As of Monday 26th March Ulsterbus raised their prices yet again. However, I figured from experience that this information would not yet be apparent on Translink’s website. I was surprised to find that indeed they have already updated their site with the new ticket consessions – however they are still advertising the student return ticket at the old prices.

Seeing an opportunity I decided that I would only pay £4, no matter how far I had to fight it!

The bus driver was the first obstacle. I handed him the £4 and said “Student return to Belfast, please.” He punched it in – £4.10 came up. Undaunted I told him that the translink website was advertising the student return at £4. He replied “Well, this machine says £4.10.” A slight argument ensued and his finishing move was to tell me that either I pay £4.10 or I stay in Ballyclare. The offer to take it up with an inspector at the depot was presented.

On arriving at the depot I tell the driver that I will only be a minute. I approached the office and stated my case. The inspector responds that maybe the website just hasn’t been update yet and asks when I checked it. Calmly, I inform him that it was only about 20 minutes ago; that the ticket prices had been updated on the website, and finally that the student return was still being advertised at £4. He spent that next 10 minutes on the phone to customer services.

I was next told that since the Ballyclare depot has no internet access my claim cannot be backed up, a rather lame counterpoint I thought and the inspector made no false inpression that he was in any way impressed by my quest for a 10p refund on my ticket.

This is the situation at the moment: If I can produce a printout of their website showing this falsely presented information then Ulsterbus will gladly write me a cheque for 10 pence.

I just want to say at this point that I’m not doing this for the money, but more for the reason that Ulsterbus will gladly defend their right to present inaccurate information and expect the consumers to put up with it.