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AIBU?

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Original poster

People sat in first class with out a ticket

171 replies

sickyicky · 07/12/2025 18:15

This weekend I booked first class train tickets so I was more likely guaranteed a seat. I suffer with chronic illness and new the trains would be packed due to football match and Christmas shopping. Both time trains have been busy and on the way there it was standing only. No one in first class had a ticket eventually someone gentleman gave me a seat once I had to sit down on the floor. I would have asked for a seat from someone who didn’t have a ticket but I was on my own and first class was full of drunken footballers shouting. On the way back train was full but had enough seats for everyone but that meant people sitting in first class. The train carriages haven’t been declassified so I can’t claim the extra back I paid and as train was so busy train guard couldn’t get through to check tickets. On the train out we had to change and an elderly gentleman when telling some footballers that this was a first class carriage did they have a ticket was told to F off. What do you do in these situations. I’m on the train heading back now so if train guard does come and check tickets and these people aren’t ask to move I will nicely ask how I go about getting the 60 pound difference in ticket refund.

OP posts:
Bluedenimdoglover · 10/12/2025 13:16

Don't take it out on the guard. Complain directly to the company, pointing out aggressive behaviour (otherwise guard will get it from the employer). Unfortunately, this is what happens on match days. If no satisfaction from the company, there is a Rail Ombudsman.

Christmascaketime · 10/12/2025 13:20

Just reserve a seat. If someone in it ask them to move. On line I use it says reserved from x station above seat. If they refuse go and tell staff - first class have staff bringing food and drinks or if no one arrives go to buffet carriage and ask them to get you a member of staff.

Booksandwine80 · 10/12/2025 13:22

MorrisZapp · 07/12/2025 21:20

No they can't! It's a fortune to upgrade.

Show quote history

It’s £20 on a weekend on GWR

5128gap · 10/12/2025 13:24

If it were me I'd contact the train company and complain. Ultimately its their responsibility to ensure you got what you paid for, a seat in first class. It's their responsibility to deal with any behaviour from other members of the public on their train that interfered with you getting what you paid for. While I have every sympathy with the train staff and understand their inability to safely police the situation in the moment, the train company has responsibility to its customers, and needs to have procedures in place to manage this type of thing. They failed to and you're entitled to be compensated for their failure.

Seymour5 · 10/12/2025 13:37

OneGreySeal · 07/12/2025 20:56

Then you assume wrong. I take a busy one, peak times and it’s usually very crowded. It’s only ever an issue when they cancel reservations.

If you need to get past people you can use your voice ? ‘Excuse me, I need to get to
my seat, thank you’ people do move out of the way.

I think the issue is people have forgotten how to communicate. If you’ve reserved a seat and not bothered to get to it because you can’t navigate through a crowd then that’s on you.

Op I understand the football fans may have been intimidating but without a seat reservation there’s not much you could have done irrespective of whether they held first class tickets or not.

Show quote history

At nearly 80, using a walking stick, once upon a time I wouldn't have had any worries about train travel. My elderly mum used to visit regularly from Scotland, never had to worry about her seat, and generally found other passengers pretty helpful. The last twice, with a booked first class seat, I've had to ask, then ask again for it. A fight nearly broke out when a family, also with booked seats, asked for them ant the people in them didn't want to move.

What has happened to basic courtesy?

LighthouseLED · 10/12/2025 13:39

Christmascaketime · 10/12/2025 13:20

Just reserve a seat. If someone in it ask them to move. On line I use it says reserved from x station above seat. If they refuse go and tell staff - first class have staff bringing food and drinks or if no one arrives go to buffet carriage and ask them to get you a member of staff.

Not all trains allow you to reserve a seat, and they certainly don’t all have a buffet car or provide food and drink in first class.

GeorgeMichaelsCat · 10/12/2025 13:43

MorrisZapp · 07/12/2025 21:20

No they can't! It's a fortune to upgrade.

Show quote history

Depends on the train line.GWR are a reasonable price to upgrade.

bumptybum · 10/12/2025 13:44

OneGreySeal · 07/12/2025 18:51

Do they really? I travel for work and always reserve and I always have to get people up. Never been told no. Eye roll and a huff perhaps. One time a couple pretended they couldn’t understand me and I just told them loudly and firmly to get up and move. They soon got the idea.

Most trains have the reserve thing at the top.

Only exception being when reservations get cancelled then it’s everyone for themselves.

Op if you had a seat reserved you should have gone to your seat and politely asked them to move.

Show quote history

Oh you sweet summer child

TrixieMixie · 10/12/2025 17:51

This really annoys me. If you paid for a first class seat and couldn’t sit in it you should get a refund. Otherwise you’ve been totally cheated. Rubbish service. The way people just sit in first regardless is out of order as is the frequent failure to enforce even when trains are not crowded. I see you are not getting much sympathy OP but I’m with you.

TrixieMixie · 10/12/2025 17:52

This really annoys me. If you paid for a first class seat and couldn’t sit in it you should get a refund. Otherwise you’ve been totally cheated. Rubbish service. The way people just sit in first regardless is out of order as is the frequent failure to enforce even when trains are not crowded. I see you are not getting much sympathy OP but I’m with you.

TrixieMixie · 10/12/2025 17:52

This really annoys me. If you paid for a first class seat and couldn’t sit in it you should get a refund. Otherwise you’ve been totally cheated. Rubbish service. The way people just sit in first regardless is out of order as is the frequent failure to enforce even when trains are not crowded. I see you are not getting much sympathy OP but I’m with you.

TrixieMixie · 10/12/2025 17:52

This really annoys me. If you paid for a first class seat and couldn’t sit in it you should get a refund. Otherwise you’ve been totally cheated. Rubbish service. The way people just sit in first regardless is out of order as is the frequent failure to enforce even when trains are not crowded. I see you are not getting much sympathy OP but I’m with you.

TrixieMixie · 10/12/2025 17:52

This really annoys me. If you paid for a first class seat and couldn’t sit in it you should get a refund. Otherwise you’ve been totally cheated. Rubbish service. The way people just sit in first regardless is out of order as is the frequent failure to enforce even when trains are not crowded. I see you are not getting much sympathy OP but I’m with you.

TrixieMixie · 10/12/2025 17:52

This really annoys me. If you paid for a first class seat and couldn’t sit in it you should get a refund. Otherwise you’ve been totally cheated. Rubbish service. The way people just sit in first regardless is out of order as is the frequent failure to enforce even when trains are not crowded. I see you are not getting much sympathy OP but I’m with you.

TrixieMixie · 10/12/2025 17:53

This really annoys me. If you paid for a first class seat and couldn’t sit in it you should get a refund. Otherwise you’ve been totally cheated. Rubbish service. The way people just sit in first regardless is out of order as is the frequent failure to enforce even when trains are not crowded. I see you are not getting much sympathy OP but I’m with you.

TinselAndSparkles · 10/12/2025 17:53

The bad behaviour is a separate matter which I’m not defending, that should have been dealt with by the guard or the transport police (who you can text) Regarding the seating, there may have also been no seating in second class. Whilst I see how frustrating it would have been for you to have nowhere to sit, it would have been equally frustrating for a second class passenger who had bought an expensive ticket only to have nowhere to sit unless they moved to first. The train companies need to stop being so greedy and stop overselling their tickets.

jsecure · 10/12/2025 17:53

sickyicky · 07/12/2025 18:15

This weekend I booked first class train tickets so I was more likely guaranteed a seat. I suffer with chronic illness and new the trains would be packed due to football match and Christmas shopping. Both time trains have been busy and on the way there it was standing only. No one in first class had a ticket eventually someone gentleman gave me a seat once I had to sit down on the floor. I would have asked for a seat from someone who didn’t have a ticket but I was on my own and first class was full of drunken footballers shouting. On the way back train was full but had enough seats for everyone but that meant people sitting in first class. The train carriages haven’t been declassified so I can’t claim the extra back I paid and as train was so busy train guard couldn’t get through to check tickets. On the train out we had to change and an elderly gentleman when telling some footballers that this was a first class carriage did they have a ticket was told to F off. What do you do in these situations. I’m on the train heading back now so if train guard does come and check tickets and these people aren’t ask to move I will nicely ask how I go about getting the 60 pound difference in ticket refund.

This is the UK in 2025. Martial law is in force. If you are being attacked or robbed right now, you can call the police and they will come to keep the peace. Other than that, you are on your own.

Deb868 · 10/12/2025 18:00

Wow! so many unsympathetic comments. I think you should get your money back at least. If you paid for first class and it was full of football supporters. It’s not your fault that it’s Christmas or match day,oh how terrible of you not to realise I don’t think so. As if you’re really going to ask someone to get out of a seat even if football supporters are all friendly and happy, my god after what happened on the that train just a couple of weeks ago. A refund is the least you can try for you paid for a service and didn’t receive it through no fault of your own. Good luck and Happy Christmas! 🥰🎄🎅🏻xx

wonderstuff · 10/12/2025 18:03

It’s ridiculous how busy they let the trains get, the line I travel on south western and they can run 10 carriages, but often they only put 3 on, so it’s standing room only, for an hour into London and honestly standard tickets aren’t that cheap. I think if everyone could get some sort of discount if they have to stand the companies would work harder to put more carriages on.

DdraigGoch · 10/12/2025 18:04

The train carriages haven’t been declassified so I can’t claim the extra back I paid and as train was so busy train guard couldn’t get through to check tickets.
@sickyicky it's worth putting in a claim through customer services anyway. You might get something as a goodwill gesture.

Isinglass20 · 10/12/2025 18:09

And I travelled on Sunday Avanti train packed because the trans pennine stopping train cancelled ……and the following Wednesday I went down with this vicious flu virus

WWYD22 · 10/12/2025 18:17

My lad is serving in the forces, he pays a fortune to nip home when he can on trains and has a reserved seat. The amount of times some complete entitled twat has sat in his seat and refuses to move is unreal. Many times he’s been forced to stand for 6 hrs when busy despite having a reserved seat. When he goes back to the forces , I’ve jumped on train a few times and shifted arrogant folk out his pre reserved seat and if they get arsey I tell them either move or be sat on . It works lol
cant stand arrogant folk who take the piss.
I won’t change seats in a plane either whatever the sob story . Everyone has the opportunity to book seats , so their lack of organisation is not my emergency

GlobalTravellerbutespeciallyBognor · 10/12/2025 18:19

Email Customer Service the minute you get home for a FULL refund.

Fwiw, I have also experienced football enthusiasts. They were reasonably good natured but one of ‘mine’ had a tattoo which he was avidly showing the carriage. Put it this way, it was not on his arm.

Kelsey3 · 10/12/2025 18:23

Sorry but just because the train wasn’t declassified doesn’t mean you can’t complain & ask for a refund for the extra you paid for first class. Set out your case politely in an email/letter, explain you paid for first class travel but it wasn’t worthwhile, tell them that the train was overcrowded with many more people in that part of the train who may/may not have had a first class ticket, the guard didn’t check tickets (if they wanted to they could have but because the train was full they probably went for an easy life & didn’t bother as they’d get hassled), you could not get a seat & had to sit on the floor & that it is not acceptable. At the end inform them, again politely, that if they do not take your request seriously you will complain to the rail ombudsmen. If people do not complain the train companies that treat you like this will continue to do so. They are fully aware when there are football matches etc that mean extra passengers at certain times but they can’t be bothered to put extra trains/carriages on or enforce ticket rules.

TheAdjutant · 10/12/2025 18:28

If 1st Class seating was "not available", you are entitled to a Refund of the Price Difference - Claim it!

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