Arriva Trains threatens to sue passenger who mocked rail firm’s poor service with parody Facebook account with 4,000 likes
Rail bosses warn Steve Fletcher he could face legal action over the cheeky account called 'Arriva Trains Fails - Wales'
A FED-up commuter has been threatened by a rail giant for setting up a parody Facebook account to mock its late-running trains.
Arriva Trains Wales warned Steve Fletcher he could face legal action over the cheeky account called 'Arriva Trains Fails - Wales'.
However, Arriva bosses have been left red-faced after a simple Google search for their company returns Mr Fletcher's logo rather than their own.
And now he says they have threatened him with legal action if he doesn't remove it - in an ongoing saga he has dubbed '#Logogate'.
The Cardiff man posted: "So, the #Logogate latest: I’ve politely told ATW that I won’t be removing the below image as I don’t feel it infringes their trademark for Arriva Trains Wales. Why? Turns out they haven’t got one.
"I’m struggling to find the right word to describe the depths of ineptitude being encountered here.”
Fletcher is a member of Arriva's Passenger Panel, a "consumer forum that represents the demographic of customers that use our network".
The panel's profile page describes Fletcher as a "regular commuter on the Cardiff Valley network" who "currently runs a website with more than 3500 active train-using members.
"He has been proactive and enthusiastic when providing us with information to improve our service".
Barry Lloyd, head of customer experience at Arriva Trains Wales, said: "Mr Fletcher remains a valued member of our Passenger Panel and we will continue to work closely with him and Google to resolve the matter.
"With regard to the logo on the site it is important that we maintain consistent branding on platforms such as Google to avoid confusion for our customers and protect the Arriva logo which is trademarked."
The company confirmed it has now asked Mr Fletcher to remove the image.