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????

you’re just likely to piss off other people just going about their business in their allocated seats
You can just point to the non-mover and explain to the pissed-off people (and everyone else) exactly why you're in their way. Public shame can be a great motivator.

I have sat on someone's lap who would not move out of my reserved seat. There were no free seats, I was tired and suffered from PMT. Funny enough he moved rather sharpish after that. People laughed and he slinked off to another department. Zero fucks given these days.

@WiddlinDiddlin hero

He then said he would escort me to first class!
Rude man then decided I could have the seat and he could go to first class instead. Train manager just said no and asked me follow him.
I waved at smiled at the horrible man! Hehehehe.

Wonderful! Why can’t more guards/managers do this?

Once, before my anxiety developed fully (couldn’t do this now!) I decided that my collection of Sabaton/Bloodbound/Twilight Force/Blind Guardian heavy metal songs would sound great out my speaker. Right next to the twat who took my seat and refused to move. Took about three tracks before everyone staring got him (and his seated backpack...arghhh) to shift. I had said to the people nearby I’ll turn it off once I sit down.

Maybe these days something more obnoxious like baby shark on repeat would do it?

someone else on another thread on here has done something similar and she got ripped into, but posters on here are saying call the cfs out on it

With the train situation, it seems odd that you can get a penalty fare for (for example) being in the first class carriage without the correct ticket, but not for nabbing a reserved seat that someone paid extra for.

where, paintinmyhairAgain?

I don't understand what people would realistically expect a train guard to do if someone outright refused to remove from a booked seat? start man handling them? that would look great when everyone starts filming it then goes onto social media, damaging the company reputation and the guard loosing his job and facing assault charges. Or maybe call the police? who would not do anything because it's not technically a crime but would delay the train enough to make hundreds of people late and miss connecting trains and make all the other trains late behind it. 9 times out of 10 it is just a misunderstanding, for the other time if people feel that strongly about it maybe there should be a forcible law to tackle it?

53rd 'to have hijacked dpd van,' about half way in. i'm going to get deleted aren't i ?

it's good people stand up to these cfs,the entitled wankers, i've sat on tables etc oh, and the odd bag when politeness doesn't resolve the issue

I have IBS and can practically fart on demand. Believe me, I would have no hesitation at letting a few go, as I’m standing with my ass in their direction. Mind you, I’d probably end up with the whole carriage to myself. 😁

It's a nightmare, I'm disabled and book seats and they're frequently already occupied, I don't mind that too much as GWR are chaotic, as long as people get up when asked. I too have had a cf on GWR who refused to let me (heavily pregnant, on crutches) sit in my booked special assistance seat, or the one next to it, which he was 'saving for a (non-disabled) friend'. I publicly shamed him.

However, GWR could do a lot to help if they only said which end the train was coming in. The platform is full of people running in the opposite direction when the train arrives the wrong way round, again. People can't get to their carriage before the train moves again, so all fight in the middle. That said, GWR could also do a lot by providing the full length train, seating reservations that were promised, the correct number of carriages etc...

I think that DPD thread is a rather different scenario

ari the poster refering to the fact that she sat on a train table in front of the person who took her seat, how is that a different scenerio

At a football match I would have just stood directly infront of them until they moved.

GWR is a big pile of shite. They overbook their trains with people with no reservations.

I've noticed this but people have always moved as soon as I say "these are our seats" apologising with some excuse "sorry got confused over carriages/blocks/whatever. On the two occasions people refused to move on the train I gave the steward two options, move them or sit us in first class and to radio his boss for advice, they moved on threat of being removed from the train. It's pretty much always full and people have a habit of no showing for reserved seats but mostly it's fine

On Virgin West Coast there is no charge for reserving a seat. You have to do it as part of the process of buying an Advance ticket. Doesn't make it any less obnoxious to refuse to get out of a seat somebody else has reserved, though.

People who sit in someone reserved seats really annoy me. I don't care what the reason, it is not your seat. Thankfully, I have never had someone refuse to move.

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.

Me too, but I still insist they move, doesn’t worry me at all sitting next to someone who hates me, especially if it means they won’t try and engage me in conversation

I would have sat on them

@swipetounlock How can GWR or any other train company over book a train with people with no reservations? I assume you are referring to people who hold peak or off peak tickets who are allowed to get onto what ever train their ticket permits? (which is most of them) if everyone decides to try and get onto the same train I'm not sure how they could restrict it further? doing away with peak/off peak tickets and having everyone buy a ticket for a certain seat on a certain train everyday? As a season ticket holder I could not imagine anythink worse! every think would just grind to a halt

This is where marrying a man who can fart on cue is a godsend.
Point his arse in the face of these twats and trump them out.

I found someone in my seat once on a train to Birmingham, when I approached her she apologized but told me that her seat was rear facing and that made her really really travel sick. She begged me to swap seats with her and offered me cash AND chocolate to swap. That I did not mind. If anyone refused to give me my seat I would sit on them. 100%. And take loads of embarrassing selfies using all the Snapchat filters I could #seatthiefwanker