A pensioner who successfully sued a bus company after one of their fleet drove straight past him and his wife has finally received his compensation.

Last year, Arriva were told to pay David Poole £84 after one of its buses “sailed” past the elderly couple as they waited for the No 6 bus to take them from Maidstone to East Peckham.

The 83-year-old sued the company for not keeping their word after the pair were left at The Chequers Bus Station, and a County Court judgement six months ago ordered the bus company to fork out compensation.

However, the settlement payment was delayed and it required several emails and phones calls from Mr Poole, who was left in the cold with his wife Gwenyth, 82, who has dementia and mobility issues, last March.

The bus had arrived but “sailed straight past” them and another passenger without stopping.

An indignant Mr Poole was straight on to the company’s customer service department to complain and when he explained his wife had health 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 he 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 then took an Express cab back to their home in Orchard Road, East Peckham, costing £34.

But when he subsequently contacted Arriva for the refund, the company refused.

He said: “They came up with all sorts of stories and excuses to avoid paying. At one stage, they even told me my wife and I had not been there.

“I was so angry, I took them to the County Court.”

Fortunately, Mr Poole was able to obtain a transcript from Arriva of his telephone conversation with their staff member, which had been recorded, and proved his case.

Arriva was ordered to pay him the £34 plus £50 to cover his court costs. But still the company didn’t pay up.

Mr Poole said: “They clearly felt that if they just ignored me I would let it drop. I emailed everyone I could find an email address for at Arriva.

“Most never replied. But eventually, someone contacted me and asked for my bank details.”

“Finally I noticed this week on my bank statement that they had transferred the money to me on March 11. It was 17 days short of the anniversary of the event.

“I didn’t receive any notification and still haven’t had any letter of apology, but at least I have the money back.

“Had I not been retired with the time to irritate them sufficiently, this would probably not have been the outcome.

“My advice to anyone who finds themselves in conflict with Arriva - or any big company - is don’t give up. Keep going until you get justice.”

An Arriva spokesman said: "We can confirm that the payment was made to this customer, resolving this matter.

“While we do not agree with all aspects of how this case has been presented, we decided it was most expedient to bring it to a conclusion.

“Our focus remains on delivering a reliable service for our passengers.”