People who don't sit in their own booked seats

[Badbadbunny]

Is it just me or is there an epidemic of this at the moment. Yesterday, went to a football match with family, booked seats a few weeks ago to get a decent view, easy access to toilets etc and for us to sit together. When we arrived, two pairs of people were sat in the middle of our booked seats and wouldn't move, we asked the stewards for help, but they couldn't get these people to move either, so we just ended up sat in someone elses' seats who weren't happy with us, but we just referred them back to the steward who wouldn't help us. Last weekend, at the cinema, we booked seats online beforehand, again reserved seats, but when we got in, again, someone else sat in our seats so we had to sit somewhere else. Midweek, went on a 3 hour train journey to London, booked our seats on the Virgin website weeks ago, again, when we got on, someone else sat in them, again, wouldn't move as the train was full, again, the guard wouldn't move them on, so we ended up split up on odd seats elsewhere. Since when have people become so inconsiderate and rude that they don't sit in their own seats, and won't move when the person with the valid ticket asks them to????

I'm disabled and pregnant and had booked a seat on a train traveling for 6 hours, it was full and the person wouldn't move from my seat. Company didn't do anything and I fainted as I got out at my destination, had been semi standing/sitting on the floor for hours as no-one would make a seat for me. Will never take public transport again as always anxious that it'll happen again

I’m guilty of this, went a panto on Sat & with my granddaughter only being 1 she didn’t need a seat but I moved to a seat next to her, a family had booked those seats but I did get up & move & apologised too, they were ok with it because the theatre was pretty empty & sat a few rows in front

So if your DGD didn’t need a seat why did you sit her in one?

Oh! This happened to me a long time ago! Crowded cross country train, people standing & a woman in my seat wouldn't move 'because there were no empty seats'.
I said ok then and stood in the aisle right next to her with my back to her and my big fat backside in her face. She asked me to move along the carriage and I told her that there were no empty seats and that I was happy where I was.
Quite a few sniggers from people around me...

Wow I honestly cannot believe people wouldn't move when challenged!! Thats outrageous! Honestly not sure I would have done more than what you did but quite like cuppycakey idea of demanding a refund etc and making a scene.
This only happened to me once- deliberately booked the end of a row as I was pregnant and wanted to be able to get out and in easily. It was a cricket match and a group of lads were in my seats but when I told them they were in my seat and they just said "so?". DH and I sat elsewhere in the end.

Also not sure I understand why venue staff can't do anything.......if they were being disorderly/ racist/ drunk/ otherwise they would be thrown out- they can do something in that instance and am sure taking someone elses seats would breach the 'condition of entry' on most tickets- but maybe I'm wrong!

Also not sure I understand why venue staff can't do anything.......if they were being disorderly/ racist/ drunk/ otherwise they would be thrown out

Yes, but the ushers wouldn't do it themselves, they'd call security or police as they're actually crimes. I'm not sure the security/police would be too happy to be called in to move someone in the wrong seat which isn't a crime.

I posted upthread but this happened to me again yesterday.

I was with my DF and two other relatives travelling on a cross country train to visit family for christmas. We had booked four seats around a table. When we got on pretty much the entire carriage was empty apart from the two tables, one of which was ours. My dad did the usual thing of stopping, looking at his tickets and announcing ‘this is them’ in front of the occupants then said “sorry, we’ve booked these seats”. One of the women started to explain that someone was sitting in their seats, but seeing as there plenty of seats around and we wanted the table my dad was having none of it and insisted they moved. Quite abruptly I might add - I was as it looked a little petty given the carriage was pretty much empty.

The people in their seats refused to move though as they wanted the table too and unfortunately there wasn’t a guard to be seen. It made me quite cross for them but was glad they moved out of our seats as the train filled up pretty quickly.

@Kazzyhoward in the US it actually is a crime that can be invoked if the company wants to do so. It's called theft of services. Another poster mentioned it a couple of pages back. I'm sure the UK has a similar law but it's just that companies or police aren't applying it unless it becomes egregious like stealing a first class seat on a plane to Japan or something. And then it would possibly be linked to another count like trespassing.

At the theatre once a couple were in our seats when we arrived. We asked them to move. They refused. We showed them our tickets. They still refused. We got an usher and they eventually got their tickets out. They were indeed in the right seats...on the wrong day. Their tickets were for the day before. I felt a bit sorry for them, but I think the theatre was actually quite good about sorting it out

I had this once - but the couple were in the right seats on the right day...but the wrong theatre

Sorry to resurrect this. A fight actually broke out over reserved seats on the train I was on with my DS6 yesterday!
I had to cover his ears due to the screaming and extreme language.
The rightful owner had been a dick about it, though. Rather than calmly pointing out this young, single woman was in his seat, he aggressively told her to move. She claimed she had seen to reservation sign, I have no idea if there was one, but there was certainly one over mine. But it could have been resolved quickly and calmly if he hadn't been such an arse over it, and his wife was just as much of a bitch

We always sit in the same seats at the cinema, if we can, and book a premium price for them. A couple of times we've found people in them and we just stood there waiting until they got up - they soon start to feel embarrassed with the whole audience annoyed with them as well!

purple - did the squatting woman refuse to move?

You deserve more help from the staff. I hated it as a child when bullying adults would throw me out of my reserved train seat. Because I was scared of the adults doing it. It’s not fair to expect a child to either try and be stroppier than them, act madder than them or sit on them. The staff need to be the stroppy adult and exert authority. Because while not everyone is a child, and I assume OP is not, it’s still not in every ones personality to do that, and it would spoil anyone’s day - and why should it - you’ve paid for a train journey, match or film not a show down.