Unreliable Service and Ticket Misrepresentation

I am expressing my deep dissatisfaction with the service I received from Intercape. Frankly, I would not even give a single star for this experience, as it has been nothing short of frustrating and misleading. On Sunday, I booked a ticket from Cape Town to Idutywa for departure on Friday, 27th February. At the station, I was informed that the bus would not go directly to Idutywa but would instead drop me off at Butterworth. I accepted this arrangement. I then enquired about my return trip scheduled for 2nd March from Idutywa to Cape Town. The consultant assisting me assured me after confirming with your customer line that buses would indeed be available from March. Based on this confirmation, I paid for the return ticket. However, on Monday I received a phone call stating that the bus from Idutywa would no longer be available and that I would have to catch it from Butterworth instead. I went back to the station to clarify, only to be told that it was not Intercape’s fault and that I would have to arrange my own transport to Butterworth. Alternatively, I was offered a voucher refund within seven working days. That time I am going to a funeral of my aunt, imagine having to wait for 7 days with your last money. This is unacceptable. I paid for a service based on your staff’s confirmation, only to be told later that I must bear the cost and inconvenience of traveling to Butterworth myself. When I escalated the matter to your call center, I was assisted by Taryn, who stated that Intercape cannot put drivers in danger and that I, as the client, must “see what I can do.” This dismissive attitude shows a complete disregard for customer care. I do not have the means to travel from Idutywa to Butterworth, and it is unreasonable for Intercape to expect customers to absorb additional costs due to your operational shortcomings. Selling tickets under false assurances and then shifting responsibility onto passengers is ********* and unprofessional.