Legal Question in Consumer Law in Georgia

You probably win zero. While it is very bar customer service to not pay, your ticket purchase contained this language and you are bound by it: "Greyhound is responsible only for transportation on its own lines in accordance with applicable tariffs and limitations and assumes no responsibility for any acts or omissions of others, including interline partners, except as imposed by law. In no event shall carrier be liable for consequential or incidental damages for loss, damage or delay, including weather delays." Unlike planes,where federal law mandates money for bumping, I don't know of any bus laws that do. Elsewhere on their site they also warn "While Greyhound makes every effort to provide on-time service, it does not guarantee its departure and arrival times, which may be affected by any number of factors including weather, traffic, or mechanical problems. Greyhound is not liable for any inconvenience or expense caused as a result of such a delay." Most Greyhound tickets also contain this language: ""Seating is first-come, first-served. In case of insufficient seating capacity, passengers will be placed on succeeding schedules that have available seats"".

You may possibly also see a case dismissed due to this language on their website if you bought tickets online, which requires you to sue them in Texas. "You agree to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located within Dallas, Texas. You hereby consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the State and Federal courts in Dallas, Texas in all disputes arising out of or relating to these Terms, our sites and site information..You agree that any cause of action arising out of or related to the sites or any site information must be commenced within one (1) year after the cause of action accrues. Otherwise, such cause of action is permanently barred.."

So instead of wasting a filing fee, a better strategy is to forget the customer no service, forget the courts, and google how to directly write the CEO or President. Send that person a paper letter (polite) requesting the $210, explaining politely the facts, and odds are he'll get you a check. It works best if you send that by a visible means that gets more attention than a small envelope (the cheapest is to spend about $5 on priority mail and use the cardboard mailer) or even do FedEx. Some people also have good luck posting the same request on the company Twitter and Facebook pages as a public comment.

If you sue, and possibly win (although a win is unlikely),the most you would win are parts of the $210, plus the costs. You CANNOT be awarded, unless you are a lawyer, for your time in preparing suit.

But again, the letter to CEO, Facebook and Twitter routine is far smarter than suit, and likely works. If you want to boost the odds of success on those, back them up witha Better Business Bureau complaint.

Good luck!