REGARDING the letter headed 'Nightmare journeys' in last week's Review, I concur! On many occasions I have also been left standing on the side of the road with the smell of a over-heated diesel engine in the air due to Stagecoach's inability to provide a satisfactory service.

I actually emailed to them in June: "With the greatest disappointment I am yet again finding myself writing to yourselves to complain about bus services in the Forest of Dean and Gloucester.

"My name is Jamie Frost – I wrote to yourselves on Sunday March 20, regarding the behaviour displayed by a member of your driving staff. I was hoping that was the only complaint I would ever have to make. Maybe I was wrong, as the issues I experienced on both June 8 and 9 have prompted me to write to yourselves again.

"I have recently acquired a job in Cheltenham and as a result now need to travel in both Forest of Dean and Gloucester 'zones'. This prompted me to purchase a Megarider Gold ticket on Tuesday June 14 – expiring yesterday. These are great value at just £19 for seven days unlimited travel anywhere in England and South Wales, when, of course, the bus you happen to travel on doesn't break down.

"On Saturday June 18 I was travelling to Cinderford on the service 30, leaving Gloucester at 5.40pm. We left without any problems, on time travelling out of Gloucester. That was until we approached Highnam roundabout, after which the bus sounded a high-pitched alarm from the driver's cab. The driver responsibly pulled into the nearest layby and used his mobile phone to call, I assume, the bus depot back in Gloucester. Midway through the call the alarm stopped and the driver was told to carry on until it sounded again, which he did.

"Unfortunately, the alarm sounded again approaching The Severn Bore public house in Minsterworth. The bus stopped again and the driver again called the depot in Gloucester. He was told not to drive the bus any further and that a replacement bus would be sent out shortly – within the next 10 minutes. In actual fact we were waiting on the next bus to leave Gloucester for Cinderford, the 31 at 6.40pm. Meaning that when the bus did finally arrive, the passengers from the broken down double-decker had to join another already full double-decker – not the most pleasant journey I've had with Stagecoach – plus the fact, I was late by just over an hour!

"I understand that the current fleet of buses operating the 30/31 service were transferred from the 94 Cheltenham service when Stagecoach obtained the new 'Gold' buses. These older buses were built for city routes – flat roads, start-stop. Not steep hills for long periods of time, as experienced in the Forest. It was also mentioned in a local newspaper article that the buses operated fine on the 94 service – so why were they replaced. Is the Forest not worthy of new vehicles?

On Sunday June 19 the bus I was travelling on also experienced a mechanical problem. This time it was prior to the vehicle leaving Gloucester. I boarded the bus at 3.28pm. It was departing at 3.30pm. 3.30pm passed and the bus still had not left the station. We did not leave Gloucester until 3.45pm due to problems with the reverse gear. This is yet another mechanical problem that I suspect was caused by either negligence of mechanical maintenance or the fact these buses are operating routes they just were not built for.

"I'm writing to also ask for a full refund of my Megarider Gold ticket as I believe Stagecoach has failed to provide a service I had paid for in advance. I am more than willing to provide proof that I had bought the ticket by posting said ticket to yourselves. If Stagecoach is unwilling to provide a full refund for the said ticket, I would be grateful if you were to provide a Megarider Gold ticket for the same period of 7 days to which I believe I am entitled.

"Thank-you for taking the time to satisfy this complaint.I look forward to hearing from you."

Needless to say, I never received a refund – instead an email from David Lee-Kong, operations manager in Wye and Dean, that almost implied that I was lying!

Attached to it was Stagecoach's "Conditions of Carriage", thrown back into my inbox two weeks later.

I wasn't eligible for a refund because Stagecoach "cannot guarantee the operation of any particular journey or a customer's carriage on that journey as outlined in our 'Conditions of Carriage." Fair enough but these breakdowns were on consecutive days!

It's quite clear that the Forest of Dean is an area that Stagecoach has definitely forgotten about.

– Jamie Frost, Cinderford.