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 once booked a seat during rush hour on the train from Bristol to London. Someone was in my seat, so I insisted he move. He did, but spent the next hour raging over spending c#@$ pounds on a season ticket and having to stand. I ignored him.

What's the point of being able to book a specific seat, if customers and staff ignore it? This is one of my BIG pet hates.

I have every sympathy but I do wonder what "more" the train staff should be doing to enforce this?

As others have said, they can't forcibly drag people from seats or trains. If they did do this then it could lead to a fight on a moving train and people becoming injured and scared.

They could refuse to allow the train to leave from the station until the person but then that would wreak havoc with the timetable and i'm sure would be deeply unpopular.

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

Why? I've been going for 6 years and never experienced it before.

Bianca that would be me!

Since uni ibe travelled a lot on trains. Book in advance to make sure i get a seat. I absolutely will NOT sit anywhere else unless I offer my seat because ive often paid for the seat 3 months in advance. I've made the train managers move people, I've stood over them until they've moved, I've pointed out that I full well know I'm not in the wrong aisle because I can see above them my seat number, not what they're telling me it is.

What I didn't like though was my pregnancy when I got zero offers of seats on the tube when travelling through London. Can't book seats in advance. Was awful.

Last time we went to the cinema some woman came in with her 2 DC and someone was in her seats. He wouldn't move so she went somewhere else. As the cinema filled up she had to move 3 times. At the end there was one more person than seats (v small cinema) and the usher came but was really confused. Turns out CF'er had brought in 2 DC and only paid for 1. He told usher that his DC was under one, so was free. One poor woman had to share a seat with her DC. At the end the CF'er walked out and his DC

#blackteasplease thanks for the chocolate!!

@blackteasplease even

May have told this story before on Mumsnet.

Travelling by train through France to Germany when there was the volcanic ash problem some years ago. Train was chocker with people who couldn’t fly. German couple got on midway and tried to bully me out of my reserved seat. Kept pointing to the luggage rack behind me and indicating I should sit in that so they could sit together. They had a long scream at the ticket collector when he came along with much pointing at me. My French is not good but the gist of his reply was that they take a running jump. Worst of it was I was bursting for the toilet and didn’t dare leave my seat for that or the buffet car. I got off at Strasbourg and gave them a regal sort of wave as I went. Other passengers laughed!

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

Might happen if you are in the away end which is more flexible but if you sat in my or my DS season ticket seatsI would call a steward and get you moved and if

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

Might happen if you are in the away end which is more flexible but if you sat in my or my DS season ticket seats I would call a steward and get you moved

I always book train seats with a table
If someone refuses to move I sit on the table - never fails

I went to the cinema a few weeks ago a young couple ( late teens ) sat in our seats . I didn't say anything they just said oh are they your seats and got up . Anyway we say down but the young couple hovered around for a while they went off and came back with usher . What happened someone had sat in there seats so they sat in ours so realised they couldn't keep sitting in others seats got the usher . The usher told the couple to move for young couple but they were quite unreasonable and argued with usher which I thought was out of order . Anyway they moved eventually for young couple so all was well but no need you are allocated seats so sit where allocated. I always book online so I can choose my seats .

Me and my DD's had this at a Robbie Williams concert last year. A group was sat in our seats, they refused to move and the steward told us just to sit down "anywhere" so we did. Then the rightful occupants of those seats turned up and got shitty and found a different steward (Fair enough). We explained the situation and that we would be happy to move to our designated seats if they could kick out the people in them who had refused to move when we asked. Otherwise we weren't moving. The different steward got quite cross with us and I had to be rather firm in refusing her request to move out of the seats we were in until she had kicked the occupants out of our designated seats. All credit to her, she did get them out eventually and they were not happy at all. We got plenty of death stares.

Next time I might just try sitting on top of them, we are all solidly built so it wouldn't be very comfortable!

I remember last time I went to the cinema - a very rare occurrence, I loathe Other People & the noises they make - we were allocated seats in a random position in a random row (we weren’t asked where we’d like to sit)

The very few other patrons were all seated closely around us.

WTF is that about?

Anyway we moved to the back row, well away from the rest & nobody behind to kick

Cinema, reserved seats is a newish thing
Really?! Been doing it for 30 years around here...

It's not new...

I would go buy a massive coke and I would pour it over their f@cking head if they refused to move.

I don't know what I'd do because I have a very short fuse and I'd be afraid that I'd throw the head altogether. :(

For some reason which I can't remember now I had to come back from my honeymoon on my own, and treated myself to a first class train ticket. Old fashioned train with separate compartments that seated six or eight. When I slid open the door to the compartment a snotty businessman who was reading the FT glared at me over the paper and said "This is a first class carriage!" in a really insulting way. I said "Yes I know, you're sitting in the seat I reserved." He harrumphed and moved across to the other side, banging his newspaper around and making it clear that he didn't like having to share a carriage with riffraff. Then the ticket collector came around and ejected him because it turned out the CF didn't have a first class ticket... 🤣

A couple did this to us in the cinema and even refused to move for the usher.

The usher went away and gave us new tickets for the seats directly behind where the cf seat thief's had planted themselves and gave us a winky smile.

We made sure we waited til the movie started and most seats were taken then started booting the back of their seats, coughing all over them and noisily eating and rummaging the bags as close to their ignorant heads as possible. They only lasted 5 minutes before they got up and stomped off, to a big round of applause!

They were refused a refund at the ticket desk 👏

I remember this happening one time in particular. It was about 5 years ago and it still make me silently rage every time I think about it.

I was interrailing with my friends as we had just finished university. We had an overnight train journey so we booked a cabin thing to ourselves, with two rows of seats opposite one another that you could recline out so it was like having a giant bed. Train was delayed and it was late so we were really looking forward to our pre booked bed cabin. Got on the train, you guessed it, another group of British tourists in our cabin. We asked them, politely at first, to vacate our cabin and they refused as apparently other people were in theirs. This turned out to be some train crew members who spoke no English whatsoever and obviously wouldn’t be giving up the cabin they had commandeered. And obviously because it was their fault that the other group were in our cabin they wouldn’t get them to move either.

Their cabin looked so dark and cosy, just as we had imagined but no, we had to go and sit in the normal train carriage which was jam packed with small seats and to make it worse the lights were on. I can’t sleep sitting up so I didn’t get any kip at all, and then about half an hour before our stop (so in the morning) the crew said we could have their cabin now. Jeez thanks!

My god, some people are such rude, entitled fuckers, aren’t they? Reading these like [shocked]

it still make me silently rage every time I think about it.

Haha I wish I hadn't read your post because now I'm steaming as well! I can imagine that whole scene.

There is a lovely family story of my mum, travelling by train with my dad and a small party of mentally handicapped young adults. 2 people refused to give up their seats so that the party could sit together, making loud disablist comments and assuming that my mum was the mild-mannered late middle aged lady that she appeared to be.

They had not realised that my mum has a Most Feared Teacher In The School side, which she unleashed in no uncertain terms, scolding this couple like a class of 11 year olds. They moved, and my mum re-donned her mild mannered disguise ....

I once went to see pop idol live when I was about 13, my friends rich mum had booked us a table seat (oh the luxury) and a couple of old men were sat in our seats when we got on at Plymouth. I just sat crossed legged in the middle of the table until they moved. It was a slog.

can't your mum is my unknown twin, i'm just the same, dh calls me 'the smiling assassin', as i too, smile politely, speak politely then launch [not swearing- that doesn't work for me], before returning sweet , light and of course, smiling.