An unlikely row between Poundland and Thameslink hit the headlines this week when Thameslink responded to an online complaint from a disgruntled passenger with: "Very sorry Kevin. Appreciate at the moment the service is less Ferrero Rocher and more Poundland cooking chocolate."

The budget retailer promptly issued a strong worded but quick witted public rebuff threatening legal action while stating that the train operator was "taking the chocolate biscuit" and had "no right to use our name to describe poor service."

The statement went on to point out Thameslink's many failings since the introduction of the new timetable while providing evidence of Poundland's fine customer service record which had not seen any store closures "due to leaves on the roof, the wrong kind of rain, or a shortage of managers."

Needless to say, the train operator promptly apologised and removed the offending tweet but not before the spat had gone viral. The old adage that all publicity is good publicity might not ring true for Thameslink on this one but I expect Poundland will see a spike in sales. The retailer certainly turned a tricky situation to its advantage teaching us that a threat can sometimes provide a great PR opportunity.