First of all thanks for your link, I'll look into it.
I do NOT have the sense of entitlement that English should be standard or spoken everywhere.
However English is one of the "official" languages of Thalys - English is EVERYWHERE on the forms, posters, webpages and used in announcements on the trains and at stations.
I posted and emailed my refund request to the addresses specifified by Thalys for English communication. Of course I should expect staff work at the departments in question can work and communicate in English.
I do not expect the people of Belgium and or anywhere for that matter to speak or understand English. Thalys is a commercial identity and I am not being unreasonable to receive prompt (which is not a language issue) service.
Originally Posted by
imagineertobe
The official languages of Belgium are French, Dutch, and German, though much of the country speaks some English as well. Despite the sense of entitlement you have that the entire world should rush to speak English to you, an advanced (native?) speaker, the citizens of the EU are much more tolerant of getting slow responses from organizations in their non-native languages. As a traveler in Europe, you should expect the same.
Banking systems are quite varied around the world, and bank-to-bank transfers from the EU to the USA are especially difficult if you don't bank at one of the big institutions who have internationally-compatible accounts and systems (Citi, BofA, and HSBC are perhaps the only ones that do!). Otherwise, your money will have to be passed through an intermediary bank, which usually involves some time and fees.
If you have customer services issues with a company in a foreign country in the future, you are much better off asking up front for a refund to your credit card.
The
European Commission's site on mobility and transport has a PDF of passengers' rights on train services that operate between member states. Note that carriers are supposed to issue refunds within 1 month of complaint receipt.
There's a contact link at the top of the page, with which you can send a complaint to the appropriate transport folks at the EC.
Peace.