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 just say you can either move or I will sit on you. I would as well, no doubt about it.

On a flight to Germany, a German passenger thought we were in her seats and demanded we show her our tickets. I knew we were right so found it funny but that's the way to do it - take no shit.

Never experienced it, but I saw a row on a train once. The woman whose seat had been nabbed said “fine, I’ll stand right here and you can hold my suitcase then”, dumping it on the guy’s lap. He moved .

The most frustrating thing ever. Happens to DS and I on the train all the time. I usually just say “hi, these are our seats” and they do move but not without some attitude or sarcastic comment!
Book your own seats!

I live how Brit’s abroad don’t realise the cockiness doesn’t work in other countries who take no shit.

Same goes for the Irish - my nephew had just got off a plane from Dublin with the smokers on the bus. I think the awful behaviour is because everyone here and in UK starts shouting about police brutality.

oh God, I've just remembered that sitcom episode - was it One Foot in The Grave? - where Victor Meldrew gets lost on his way to a holiday let abroad, and is pulled over by a policeman. I didn't see the denouement coming... Must google.

In football grounds its normal to not take your booked seat.

In the other situations I would have stood my ground until they moved. I would also take the name of the staff who wouldn't ask them to move and complain.

Since when have people become so inconsiderate and rude that they don't sit in their own seats

Since people stopped standing up to them and they realised they could get away with it.

The only time I had this happen on a train, I said very loudly ‘who thinks this man should move? I’ve booked the seat and I don’t use this walking stick for fun - I’m disabled. Put your hands up if you agree with me. I’ve never seen anyone move from a seat so fast!

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.

Many years ago--almost 25 l think DH and l were taking the DC's to Tenerife from Glasgow. When we got on the plane a couple and their DC's were in our seats and refused to move. We checked our tickets and we were correct. The stewardess came along and checked their tickets and it turned out they were in the correct seats but on the wrong plane. Their flight to Tenerife with a different travel company was leaving 30 minutes later.
They were really not happy gathering their belongings and leaving the plane.
It wouldn't happen now a days...

If companies and venues don't make people move then it's obvious why it is happening - there's no consequences so no incentive for people to keep to the correct seats.

Why do they bother letting you reserve specific seats if no one enforces it?

I would honestly sit on them, no shame

We had that at the cinema and the CFs wouldn't move. We just fine, we'll stand here until you show some manners and stood in front of them. It took 5 minutes. It was unfortunate that DS had had baked beans for lunch

Saw a barney about this at a concert I was at a little while ago. A couple in the row in front of us absolutely refused to move, the people who had those seats booked went and got a member of staff, couple still refused to move, another member of staff turned up, couple STILL refused to move. They only eventually shifted when one of the staff members called security. And then they moved to the seats they actually had booked, which were only a few rows away anyway!

This happened to us at a gig in a local theatre but it turned out we both had tickets to the same seats. It was apparently caused because we'd purchased at the venue at the same time they'd booked through ticket master.

I love a good cf story. I am in AWE of the poster who actually sat on the cf

We had a load of cheeky fuckers, and week people in authority, on a train a few weeks ago.

I’d booked First Class as I knew I’d be travelling at the same time as a lot of local football supporters so wanted to avoid the crush and having beer spilled over me in the standard carriages.

We boarded the train 20 minutes before it was due to leave and the First Class carriage was rammed with drunk supporters, we had to push through to our seats and then found someone sitting in them. They finally moved and I assumed that the carriage would be cleared of them all before the train departed but it wasn’t and we didn’t see the train manager at all. It was a horrible journey, and when we got off I spotted the train manager and two British Transport Police Officers standing in the compartment next to the carriage. They said there was nothing that they could do

I was Tweeting Cross Country throughout the journey, as were other passengers, and they said that despite them trying to contact the manager he wasn’t picking up the phone. I contacted them again afterwards and they confirmed that First Class HADN’T been declassified so it shouldn’t have happened.

I don't understand how people can still enjoy the event/journey if they know they've been twats.

This is a bit childish but I once had to get several trains across the country and had been travelling all day. I was knackered and run down but fortunately I had one train left, and I’d reserved a seat - and thank god because the train was completely full, even the standing areas between carriages were packed in. I was looking forward to having a snooze and a sit down after my long day. I’d be standing on most of the other trains.

But when I got to my seat, the aisle seat of a group of 4 with a table, there was a woman sitting in it and the other 3 seats were taken. I’ll call her A. When I advised A that she seemed to be in my seat, she very defiantly said she knew, but the woman next to her (B) was her friend and had booked and reserved the seat next to it. A had only booked an open ticket, but they wanted to sit together, so she had sat with B - so could I sit somewhere else? Feeling quite weary I said I appreciated that, but she was in the seat I’d paid for and reserved, and there were no other seats on the train. So could I have my seat please.

A immediately kicked off at me, saying I was being unfair and was I really mean enough to split them up. The other two people in the seats tried to help, but A shot them down while B looked like she wanted to die of embarrassment. After some back and forth, and a LOT of fellow passengers joining in to back me up, it became clear A wasn’t going to move. She was practically shouting at the end.

So, this is a bit petty but as I said I was very tired and at the end of my tether! I dumped my bag in the middle of the table, then leant against the table with my bum very much by A’s face. When A spluttered and asked what the hell I was doing, I calmly replied that I was using my seat, and this was the next best thing to sitting in it.

A became absolutely ENRAGED at this, I thought she might actually hit me. B, most likely realising her friend was on the edge, said ‘ok let’s just move’ and after some protests from A just started to get up and asked me to let her through. I did, and she walked away as A sulked behind - and I got my bloody seat!!

Thing is Sparkle, if A had moved you would have been next to B who would have been giving you dirty looks all through the journey.
I've been asked to move by people who want to sit together. I don't think it's fair, but otherwise I'm sitting next to people hating me for rest of the journey.

@Sparklesocks, I loved your story and burst out laughing when I read it.

It's awful when people do this is places like.cinema or football stadium. Just why? The only reason must be that they think they are the most important.

On trains I can understand moving to an "available" seat from your booked one but not to someone else's seat. This is because sometimes the train is the wrong way round so your forward facing booked seat is facing backwards or all the booked seats are bunched up together so it would be mad to actually sit like that. But not not someone else's seat I agree!

Gwenhwyfar I did weigh up that possibility, but it was still better than standing for a 2 hour journey - I could’ve put my music in and had a sleep and ignored the glowering happy to let people sit together normally, but on a sold out service all bets are off!

bevelino I’m glad!! I’m normally a bit more grown up but it was a very long day!

The epidemic has not reached anywhere I go to. Not at the football matches I go to (at home games though I am not a season ticket holder, all those around me often are, so not going to sit in different seats). Last time it happened on a train was Eurostar at St Pancras- the person was going to Paris and I was going to Brussels so they got off pretty smartly(!).

Train companies could do better in allocating seats- Virgin Trains manage forward facing seats if you ask when booking, Greater Anglia and Great Western sometimes do not.