A fed-up pensioner has sued Arriva after he and his wife were left stranded at a freezing cold bus stop.

David Poole, 83, and his wife Gwynneth, 82, who has dementia and mobility issues, were waiting to catch the No 6 service in March when the vehicle “sailed straight past” them and another passenger.

Now, angry with how the firm responded to his complaint, he has had a County Court Judgment (CCJ) issued against the firm for the cost of his taxi ride - and is even considering getting the bailiffs involved for non-payment.

Mr Poole, a retired computer manager for Kent and Maidstone councils, had been waiting at the H3 stop at Chequers Bus Station in Maidstone to return home to East Peckham after dropping his car off for a service.

He said: “My wife has dementia and is unsteady on her feet, so we were sitting on the bench by the stop, H3, with one other lady who wanted the bus.

“It came and was even on time, but it didn’t stop. It just sailed straight past us.”

Mr Poole immediately phoned Arriva’s customer service department to complain. KentOnline has seen a transcript of the conversation he had with the call handler, who apologised and said the matter would be investigated with the driver.

When he explained his wife had mobility problems and it was an hour’s wait for the next bus, he was told: “If you need to get another mode of transport, I can put in a request for a refund for you.”

He replied: “That would mean a taxi wouldn’t it?” and was told: “If you just reply back to my email with a picture of the taxi receipt, I can get that looked into for you.”

Mr and Mrs Poole took an Express cab back to their home in Orchard Road, East Peckham, costing £34.

But when he attempted to contact Arriva for a refund he didn’t get very far.

He was reportedly told the service didn’t stop where he had been waiting, even though it is on the scheduled route, and a review of CCTV on the bus had not shown anyone waiting at the stop.

Mr Poole said: “Following their 'investigation' they first of all tried to tell me the No 6 doesn't even stop at the Chequers.

"Then they suggested we weren't even there. Anything except to admit it was their fault.

“It’s not really surprising that the forward-facing camera on the bus did not pick us up on the seat, but we were there.”

He said he’d previously caught the bus there with no issue and was unable to flag it down as he had to stay seated with his wife due to her health issues.

When four months later, in July, the company still failed to provide a refund Mr Poole took his claim to the County Court.

In September he won a CCJ against the bus company for £84, to cover the taxi fare, court costs and interest.

The ruling was made by default as Arriva did not reply to the claim form - although there is scope to contest it.

It’s now a month later and, as the bus company has still not paid up, Mr Poole says he is now contemplating calling in bailiffs.

He explained: “If they had just apologised, and said the driver had been given instruction, I probably would have dropped the whole thing.

"But it made me wonder how many other passengers are treated like this and left stranded?

"If you just walk away and accept the poor service, that's all we will ever get."

A spokesperson for Arriva said: “We’re aware of this matter and it is currently being reviewed by our legal department.”