Bus firm apologises for refusing to take Scottish £10 note

Anne Glen complained to transport firm Arriva after her parents Ann and Alex Robertson were left upset by the actions of a driver on a bus going to Selby via Sherburn-in-Elmet.

Mrs and Mrs Robertson, who are 80 and live in Glasgow, were in Yorkshire for Christmas Eve when they fell foul of the driver’s decision which Arriva described as a “misunderstanding”.

Criminal lawyer Mrs Glen, who works for Grahame Stowe Bateson, said the driver’s response on seeing the Scottish note was “I don’t take that.”

Mr Robertson did not want to cause a scene and so got off the bus, along with his wife, who has dementia.

Mrs Glen said: “I have insisted that they are given a written apology. They (Arriva) have said sorry and have offered travel vouchers.”

“My dad was extremely upset but felt that he couldn’t remonstrate with the driver. There was a queue of people and he didn’t want to make a scene.”

Nigel Featham, regional managing director for Arriva Yorkshire, said: “We were very sorry to hear about this misunderstanding and we can confirm that we do accept Scottish bank notes on our services. The passengers’ daughter, Mrs Glen, contacted our customer services department yesterday; we will be looking into exactly what happened and we will speak to the driver to make sure they are fully aware of our company policy.”