Intercape disappoints big time

I am a regular passenger on the Intercape since I am a student at NWU from Jeffreys Bay. I can only travel with the mainliner, because the sleepliners do not commute between Potch and PE. This was my eleventh bus ride.

I arrived in Uitenhage on Saturday at 16:30, waiting for the bus, my friend keeping a seat open for me. It was supposed to be there at 17:20...

At 18:00 there was still no bus and I asked her where they are now and whether the bus is running late again. She said they left PE on time and did not stop yet. At 18:15 she let me know that they had their first stop, Grahamstown. The bus never went through Uitenhage, leaving me behind.

Luckily there was a sleepliner, with great drivers who helped me get a seat to vanderbijl, which is 76km from potch and I had to organise a lift, costing me even more money. But it took a hour before things turned out like that...

We phoned the Intercape call center, only to hear that I will not be getting to my paid for destination! This is where the problems began...

Firstly they said that the bus did stop there before 5 and that I missed it, which was not true since we would have seen it and when asking my friend, she told me they never passed there and even that mainliner's driver said he went straight to Grahamstown.

Then my mom asked the call centre for a refund, which they refused. We had to pay more that R500 AGAIN, just so that I can be in class today. After a long wait, the lady at the call center said that my friend is on the wrong bus and that they are the correct ones.

They did not even try to call me and ask where I am, but I guess they did not know about me since they decided to skip a town. The call center called today, confirming that the bus did in fact *not* stopped at my bus stop and said they will deduct 25% of my next bus ticket, but refuses to refund the original one.

I can not see how this is right. Poor customer service, no remorse for the inconvenience and totally ripping us off. I hope there can be something done about this, totally disappointed in Intercape.

Thanks.