If you book a bus through Omio in Spain, apparently QR codes mean nothing
UPDATE: Resolved within half a day, faster than expected!
For anyone dealing with a similar issue, here's what actually worked:
Omio's chatbot is useless, but they DO have human customer service, they just don't make it easy to find. I emailed press@omio.com and info@omio.com, and by noon the next day I had a real human response from help@omio.com confirming a refund. So if you're stuck in chatbot hell, try those addresses.
I also separately emailed DAMAS to file a formal complaint about the driver's conduct. They responded and confirmed they had cancelled the ticket in their system.
Full timeline:
- ~dropped off the bus: sent emails to Omio and DAMAS
- Next day noon: Omio human agent replied
- ~2pm: refund confirmed
- Shortly after: DAMAS replied acknowledging the complaint
So it worked out! Still think it shouldn't require this much effort for a €15 ticket, but hopefully this helps someone else 😅
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Just got off a DAMAS bus from Ronda to Seville. Booked my ticket on Omio, showed up with my QR code like a normal human being in 2026, and the driver just looked at me and said "no."
That's it. Just "no." No explanation, no pointing at anything, no attempt to help. I don't speak Spanish, she didn't speak English, and she clearly had zero interest in figuring it out together.
I asked other staff nearby, they confirmed it was the right bus. Still no help from the driver. Bus was about to leave so I just... bought another ticket in cash. €15 gone. Paid twice for the same seat.
Omio's support is just an AI chatbot that told me to contact the bus company. The bus company will probably tell me to contact Omio. You know how this goes.
Anyway, if you're taking DAMAS buses in Spain, maybe just buy the ticket on the bus. Learn from my €15 mistake and the driver is rude as f.
I’m still frustrated while typing this, cause it’s hard for me not to think it‘s because my ethnicity and couldn’t understand Spanish so got this kind of treatment.