A pensioner has been locked in a battle with Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) to get a refund on a bus ticket for the past eight months.

Norman Hill of Lancaster Road, Hitchin, was forced to buy a £4.80 day ticket in May after there were delays with renewing his senior citizen’s bus pass.

The 74-year-old was told he would be able to apply for a refund on his ticket once he received his bus pass, but has made numerous attempts to get the money back without success.

After a number of conversations between HCC’s consessionary travel team and Mr Hill, the former railway employee was told he would have to wait for a decision on the refund to be made by management.

“This is a simple procedure. Even I can get by without £4.80 but it is the principle of the matter and I suspect many people have or are in the same situation as I am. On their website they had categorically stated that we could apply for a refund, but this has taken since March last year and it is still not resolved.

“I’ve had nothing but excuses from them but I was determined to pursue this small matter which was fast growing into a farce, I’m either told that someone will call me back or that a letter has been put into the post to me, and I have not heard anything.”

Mr Hill has spent on average of half an hour on the phone with HCC each time, making around 15 phone calls to the department and sending two letters first class, but so far to no avail.

During Mr Hill’s last conversation with HCC last Thursday, he was told that the refund had been settled and that someone from the team would call him to discuss the situation further.

“I’ve heard no more on the case of the bus ticket refund,” he said.

“I shall sit quietly by the telephone in case I do get a call, and while I’m waiting I will contemplate the strange ways of government, not only, but especially in this case, local and county, and I shall wonder if there is much or any point in voting, either locally or centrally, ever again.”

A spokesman for HCC said: “We are sorry this has taken so long to resolve. We are working with the gentleman in question to get this sorted as soon as possible.”