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Business Profile

Bus Services

Islandlink Bus Services Ltd.

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

Find BBB Accredited Businesses in Bus Services.

Complaints

Customer Complaints Summary

  • 8 total complaints in the last 3 years.
  • 1 complaint closed in the last 12 months.

If you've experienced an issue

Submit a Complaint

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

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Complaint status

Complaint type

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:07/08/2024

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I purchased a fare going from ******* to ******************, returning from ****************** to ******** last year. The purchase was made by credit card, and taking into account a few adjustments was purchased in segments on Sept 7 (two purchases that day) Oct 3 and Oct 4/23. The combined total that I spent was $100.28.I emailed them on Oct 2/23 to cancel the trip. At that time I was informed that the credits would remain on my account for a long time. This year, on June 23rd/24, I let them know that due to fallout regarding a death in the family, I would not be using the credits and would like a refund. They told me I would have to close my account and then I could have a refund, which I did request to do that same day. (Account number is ********** June 25th, I received this email from them: "Your request has been submitted and will take some time to process. ******"On July 4th, 10th, and 29th, I've asked how long I should expect it to take, and they just keep giving me variations on the theme that they will "send a request."I would just like them to process my refund. Thank you for your input on this.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:25/01/2024

    Type:Service or Repair Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I booked an islandlink bus to ******* and I went very early to the bus stop to wait. I waited for over 2 hours and the bus never showed up. I emailed island link and the customer service said that it came and I mustve missed it and I was sure it didnt because I got there early. I was very distraught because I needed to be in a ******* that night and I ended up having to last minute rent a car and it was very expensive. Islandlink link then left me a message the next morning that the bus driver did in fact not show up and they would refund me and penalize him. They credited my account 86$ and they explained I have no access to these funds unless I request my account to be canceled by email and then I will be refunded. So I requested by email and I received no response. Ive sent 3 more emails since then and still no response. I would like my money back and I am very annoyed with the customer service or this company. I will attach screenshots of our emails.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:05/01/2024

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I purchased a ticket via Island Link's website for a ride to ******** initially looking for a Friday (November 10th) At the time, they did not have that date available, so I shifted some work around and purchased for Thursday. The next day (Wednesday, November 8th), I noticed there was now a trip on the Friday and the shift in date wasn't ideal. I emailed **** at Island Link and was unable to cancel the ticket, as it was 24 hours prior to the trip, and they have no phone number for urgent matters, so I did not hear back until it was too late to cancel. I purchased a new ticket and continued my trip as planned.On my way back, I spoke to either **** or *** at the BC ************** and they confirmed that if I were to cancel my account, the remainder can be refunded as their policy is Credit Only. On December 1st, I made a request to cancel my account. On December 6th, I received an email confirming the refund was being processed. On December 14th, I asked for an update and had been communicating with **** primarily, however, I have not received any response since that date.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:06/12/2023

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I bought a ticket for 65 dollars in June 2023. They said it would be refunded in six to eight weeks. It's been twenty weeks and they just ignore me. I bought another ticket recently and they took the money 100 from my bank but gave no ticket and will not answer me about a refund.I just want my money, I'm on disability and it's Xmas I don't have a lot of spare funds.

    Business Response

    Date: 07/12/2023

    The refund has already been made.


    Phillip *************

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:08/09/2023

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I had booked a fare to Tofino on their bus for June 13, 2023. The highway was closed due to wildfire and I cancelled the bus trip on June 12. Their cancellation policy is to credit the customer's "*Points" account, which was done. Their website indicates that an *Points account can be cancelled in writing (email) and any remaining *Points balance will be refunded. I sent an email request to indicate that I was cancelling my account and to please refund the *Points account balance. They responded within a day that they were sorry to lose my business but said nothing about the refund. I subsequently have sent 3 emails to the address on the website (the same address as the first correspondance) but they have not responded in any fashion. This has been almost three months. The $ amount is not my issue, although I expect a refund, it is their silence and non-responsiveness to my request that is very unprofessional. I have followed their instructions to cancel the account but they are ignoring me. If this is the way they are treating customers who request a refund of funds paid, then they should be noted on the BBB so that others will think before using their service.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:28/08/2023

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Resolved
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    My husband and I had tickets from ******** to ****** on Tuesday, **** 6, 2023. On the day of our trip, we took the Islandlink bus to ******* where we were to transfer. When the ****** bus driver arrived, he told us the highway had been closed due to a forest fire. We asked about our options, but the driver didn't know. A second driver going to ******** said he would charge us cash to return to ******** then left, so we were stuck in *******. The ****** driver said he would try to take us to ****** the next day. Our only assurance was a check **** on a piece of paper the driver had to indicate that we wanted to go the next day. We immediately emailed the company for official confirmation and hours later we were reissued tickets for **** 7.On Wednesday, **** 7, we went to catch the ****** bus but it never showed up. A driver heading to ******** agreed to take us and other passengers who had just come from ******** on their way to ******. None of us had heard anything from the company to indicate that the busses to ****** weren't running.On Thursday, **** 8, the company emailed to say they would offer refunds for cancelled trips, but did not provide a timeline. I requested a refund and the timeline. The company said the refund would be provided within 4-8 weeks, but after more than 11 weeks we still haven't received anything. I have followed up multiple times and the company has said that they have many refunds to process; however, we were on the first bus that was cancelled, so should have received one of the first refunds. We had to make multiple cancellations due to the fire and all other businesses refunded us within 48 hours. We would like a full refund but suspect the company is not actually refunding anyone. We are making this complaint in the hopes that we do get a refund and also to warn others ******* **** ******* *** ** ***** ******** ******** **********

    Business Response

    Date: 29/08/2023

    The customer was promised a full refund at the outset of this very difficult road closure problem, and this refund has been processed.

    Customer Answer

    Date: 30/08/2023


    Better Business Bureau:

    I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

    Sincerely,

    ***************************

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:31/07/2023

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I was going to travel from Nanaimo to Victoria was on July 28th, at 10:45 am, and I was to arrive to Victoria at 12:45pm. On July 23rd, I sent a message to IslandLink through the Public Contact Form, stating that I had not received a ticket even though I had paid for one, and that I just wanted to make sure I would be able to board the bus. The response I received stated that there were no upcoming tickets on my account, and that I hadn't purchased a ticket since February, and that it could be possible the transaction did not complete. I responded by forwarding them proof that my payment for the ticket had gone through, and asking them whether they had received my forward. They responded my saying "* **** ******* ********* **** ******* ** ********** ** ** ******* **** *** ***". I did not hear anything from "management", but I emailed them again later saying that I might need to cancel my ticket, and they sent me in response a link to their policy on cancellation. I learned that normally a person should be able to cancel their ticket online and get a full refund of ******* minus just a two dollar fee, if cancelled before midnight the day of travel. I said that I did want to cancel the ticket, but that since my ticket was not showing up on my account (it's true that it showed no purchases since Feb) I couldn't cancel it the regular way online, but I made it clear that I needed my refund of either money or *******, minus the cancellation fee. Got no response to most emails I sent, but was only told that they had "already responded to the matter". Eventually, they did ask me to send proof of payment and I did. Then July 28th, at around 6:30pm (about 8 hours after the bus left without me on it), I was sent a copy of the ticket I should have gotten originally (now unusable), then I checked and suddenly it showed up online too. I would now like my $37 back onto my credit card, as I didn't even have the option to use the ticket or do cancellation until it was too late.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:31/07/2023

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    On Monday April 10th, 2023, I used the Island Link Bus website to purchase a ticket and reserve a seat from Courtenay-Nanaimo-Victoria for travel on July 22, 2023. My purchase/reservation was submitted but the receipt I received by email (#*******) showed I was billed for 3 identical tickets! ( For the same route, same passenger name and same date). I contacted Island Link Bus several times through the contact box on their website seeking a refund for the 2 additional tickets issued. The agent who replied to my initial communication indicated my only option was to cancel the reservation online and have the tickets be logged as credits. I did so on Saturday July 8th while I continuing to seek out resolution to the additional 2 tickets for which I was billed. However, subsequent messages I have sent to Island Link Bus have received no reply from the company. I agree with the cancellation policy and recognize that ONE of the 3 cancelled tickets should be a credit. My concern however, is that I was billed for 2 additional identical tickets. These 2 tickets should be refunded in full (I should not be subject to the cancellation penalties which currently show on my Bus Link account--see attached document). Thank you* *******

Islandlink Bus Services Ltd. is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.

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