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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To expect to be able to sit next to my DH on a night out even though he uses a wheelchair?

33 replies

thelittlebluepills · 29/04/2010 16:53

DH uses a wheelchair so when we wanted to see Peter Kay at theMEN Arena last night I booked two tickets: one for wheelchair and for companion/carer. Only when we got there were we told that as they were fully booked I would have to sit on a different row to DH. This happened to all the wheelchair uses and their companions. I was gutted. It was supposed to be fun night out for DH who has had a crap year. Instead we were split up like naughty children. It totally ruined the night. It's not like they are short of room at the MEN to be able to accommodate people together

OP posts:
mistressploppy · 29/04/2010 16:55

That's outrageous! Surely you should be compensated in some way?

I would be inclined to make a HUGE fuss.

Anyway, surely if tickets are for someone and their carer, this suggests there could well be a real NEED for them to be together????

misdee · 29/04/2010 16:55

surely as a carer/companion you should be seated next to the person who is there with you in case they need you?

StewieGriffinsMom · 29/04/2010 16:55

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addictedisinthesecondtrimester · 29/04/2010 17:03

i'm speechless at that.

what if the person in the wheelchair had more needs than just a wheelchair iykwim (sorry not very pc but cant think of the disability i'm thinking of)

and even in your circumstances, it was a night out for you to enjoy together, not sepratley. thats like going to a restaruant and being seated at diffrent tables. shocking.

complain, complain, complain.

missmoopy · 29/04/2010 17:07

Make a fuss, complain in writing and demand refund.

fernie3 · 29/04/2010 17:07

YANBU they should have ensured you were next to each other especially as you booked the tickets in advance - also how hard would it have been for them to ask someone to move?

2shoes · 29/04/2010 17:08

yanbu
coplain
bloody disgusting.

ChickensNeedOpposableThumb · 29/04/2010 17:10

YANBU. Kick up merry hell.

thelittlebluepills · 29/04/2010 19:01

I did complain at the time and we did get moved to another spot where we could be together but
a) all the other wheelchair users were still in the same predicament and b)it had already ruined the evening for us

DH has MS and can get quite unwell fairly quickly - following the stress of the whole situation he did deteriorate rapidly in the show and so we had to leave early and missed most of the second half. If I had not been sitting next to him I wouldn't have picked up the signs of him going downhill. Am sure other carers will have not only wanted but needed to sit next to their family/friend

OP posts:
sarah293 · 29/04/2010 19:03

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Numberfour · 29/04/2010 19:04

that is APPALLING!! i would call the newspapers, local MP, your support group - the works! what about your local tv station, radio?

so sorry your night turned out that way.

Make a huge bloody fuss and let everyone know.

oh, and YANBU.

skidoodly · 29/04/2010 19:08

"Am sure other carers will have not only wanted but needed to sit next to their family/friend"

Well even if they didn't, it's still unacceptable for them to seat wheelchair users alone and away from their companions.

I don't understand at all why the fact that it was fully booked should make any difference to where you were seated - you had booked just the same as everybody else.

YANBU

Numberfour · 29/04/2010 19:11

and write a letter to Peter Kay, too. Let him know how his paying "customers" are treated.

RubyBuckleberry · 29/04/2010 19:11

yanbu that's ridiculous

zapostrophe · 29/04/2010 19:16

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TheCrackFox · 29/04/2010 19:16

YANBU that is completely awful and, please, kick up a fuss with the venue and the media.

Pepsiginn · 29/04/2010 19:18

Wowzers - what a completley unnessesary thing to happen! All they bleedin had to do was to honor the tickets that you had purchased!
So for what i know - you have a few legal issues that are on your side.

For starters - they are in breach of consumer rights as in to not provide what you originally paid for. This you can raise with the venue.

And secondly - and most importantly - the venue has fundamentally breached the rights of health and safety by splitting up a disability/carer pair. This really needs (as i know you know) to be raised with the venue so that in the future this will not happen to anyone else and will avoid a potentially dangerous situation to the disabled consumer.

What a shame to have such a nice night planned (probably well-ahead and saved up for huh) tarnished.
I do hope that your husband and yourself can spend some more special time together soon.

RunawayWife · 29/04/2010 19:28

That is shocking, I would complain and complain very loudly.

I booked a table for my mums birthday dinner for 10 people one of whom is in a wheelchair (my mum) and the girl on the phone said right 9 people and a wheelchair....um no you simple bint 10 people one of whom is dependent on a wheelchair!!!!!!

I get very very cross at stuff like this

TotalChaos · 29/04/2010 19:29

yanbu.

StealthPolarBear · 29/04/2010 19:31

yanbu if you go for a night out it's generally to spend time with the person you went with

skidoodly · 29/04/2010 19:39

I wouldn't complain because I can never stay bothered long enough, but this is definitely worth complaining about if you have the energy for it.

Good idea about writing to Peter Kay.

"and the girl on the phone said right 9 people and a wheelchair..."

That is almost funny. 9 people and a wheelchair? FFS

strawberrycake · 29/04/2010 19:40

Regardless of needs I'd say it's discriminating against wheelchair users, if able bodied people can sit together why do those in a wheelchair not have that right? I'd bet none of their pre-booked audience who were not wheelchairs users were not moved. I reckon it is a situation covered by the DDA 1995 in section 20 (relates to sale of goods or services:

(1) For the purposes of section 19, a provider of services discriminates against a disabled person if?

(a) for a reason which relates to the disabled person?s disability, he treats him less favourably than he treats or would treat others to whom that reason does not or would not apply; and

(b) he cannot show that the treatment in question is justified

Your DH was treated less favourably than other audience members.

Further:

Goods, facilities and services
19 Discrimination in relation to goods, facilities and services

(1) It is unlawful for a provider of services to discriminate against a disabled person?

(a) in refusing to provide, or deliberately not providing, to the disabled person any service which he provides, or is prepared to provide, to members of the public;

(b) in failing to comply with any duty imposed on him by section 21 in circumstances in which the effect of that failure is to make it impossible or unreasonably difficult for the disabled person to make use of any such service;

(c) in the standard of service which he provides to the disabled person or the manner in which he provides it to him; or

(d) in the terms on which he provides a service to the disabled person.

By separating wheelchair users and carers they make it unreasoanbly difficult for wheelchair users to access the service they provide.

Quote this at them and explain you either want an apology and the situation rectified or to take the matter further.

JodieO · 29/04/2010 19:48

try here

It's really awful and has happened to my parents before, my dad is a wheelchair user and mum is his carer, they're so used to having to complain about things from lack of access in public places, to seating, even parking etc. Nothing is really set up well for anyone that uses a wheelchair.

thelittlebluepills · 29/04/2010 20:45

to be fair the tickets do have two separate seat numbers on them - but then they also have DP122 which I was told was Disabled Platform 122 - the girl at customer services insisted that I would have been informed that we werenot together when I booked. We were not told of this as I would have kicked up a stink or not bought the tickets had I known

Thanks for suggestion of letting Peter Kay know - I will do that also

OP posts:
Numberfour · 29/04/2010 20:58

littleblue, may i suggest a letter rather than a post on fb ?(no offence, JodieO... do not mean to be rude but I doubt that PK actually LOOKS at his supposed page.)