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Couple Refuse To Give Up Reserved Train Seats For Woman And Kids

Ciara Sheppard

Published 
| Last updated 

Couple Refuse To Give Up Reserved Train Seats For Woman And Kids

Featured Image Credit: Pexels

A woman has sparked debate after an older couple refused to give up the train seats she had reserved for she and her three children.

Amanda Mancino-Williams, 37, had been travelling with her three kids on Tuesday (22nd October), having pre-booked tickets to ensure they got seats for their long journey.

However when the family boarded the CrossCountry service train - catching the service from Cheltenham to Nottingham just after 10am - with their bags, they found an elderly couple sitting in two of the seats, despite them having reserved tickets above them.

"Don't be these people": mum-of-three Wirch shared a photo of the elderly couple who had allegedly refused to get out of their seats on Twitter. (Credit: Wirch Mancino-Williams)
"Don't be these people": mum-of-three Wirch shared a photo of the elderly couple who had allegedly refused to get out of their seats on Twitter. (Credit: Wirch Mancino-Williams)
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When the mum-of-three told the couple they had the seats reserved and asked them to move, the couple apparently told her that the family's ticket's "didn't matter", and refused to move, leaving Amanda standing.

Tweeting about the debacle, the disgruntled passenger wrote: "If a mum with 3 kids and bags has 4 reserved seats for a long train journey, and you're sitting in their seats on a full carriage, don't tell them that their tickets don't matter in a posh voice and then say you're not moving and refuse to make eye contact. Don't be these people."

The mum then followed up the tweet with a photo of her three children squeezed on to the two seats opposite them.


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Posting updates underneath her original tweet, Amanda said a kind man offered he his seat and she had spoken to the "calm, lovely, and apologetic" train conductor who upgraded the family to first class.

"I would always give up a seat, reserved or not, for someone who needed it more. But for her to tell me that my tickets meant nothing and then refuse to acknowledge me? Do people just expect you to slink away?," continued the mum.

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"I'm already being told off for posting a picture over an 'everyday occurrence'. But isn't that the point? It only continues to be an everyday occurrence as long as people don't get called out for their pathetic behaviour. I'm sick of protecting assholes."



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Amanda's tweet has since gone viral, receiving over 5,000 like and lots of support, with people lamenting the couple's "entitled" and "nasty" attitude.

"Money can buy everything except class," tweeted one person.

"If it's a reserved seat and it's not yours, be prepared to get the hell out of it when the person who actually paid for it shows up!," penned another.

Other commenters shared what they felt they would have done in that situation, while others recalled their own similar experiences of being seat snubbed.

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The family were on a CrossCountry train, with services running from Cardiff to Nottingham. (Credit: PA)
The family were on a CrossCountry train, with services running from Cardiff to Nottingham. (Credit: PA)

"Oh man i'd sit in the aisle with my kids and bags, give my kids all the candy I could find and make their train ride one they'll never forget [sic]," said one person.

"Give your kids popcorn and a tall open glass of water. Maybe several powdered doughnuts too if possible," echoed another.

"Absolutely no f*cking shame at all. I'm glad you did this. I would have been more direct with them and never stopped talking to them until they moved, total eye contact 100% of the time," said another.

"I've had this. 1 seat reserved on an 8 hour journey. I was refused my seat by a snooty woman because her train was 'cancelled you know & they were told to just sit wherever'. I have bad knees & had to stand up for most of those 8 hours. It was agony, [sic]" aired someone else.

However, there were some who were less sure about the angry stance, and some who said the mum should not have posted photos of the couple without their permission.

"The level of venom in this thread against the elderly is shocking," said one Twitter user. "I agree they should not have taken your reserved seats, but you shouldn't publish their photos without permission and invite abuse."

(Credit: PA)
(Credit: PA)

"I'd have been peed off with this too but don't agree with posting photos of people without their permission for this sort of relatively trivial thing. It won't act as a deterrent, believe me. Also, pretty sure the two ladies behind didn't know they'd end up all over Twitter," said another.

"They were rude, but don't look particularly happy. Perhaps they are traveling for a funeral or something," guessed a third.

"I'm a softy and I'll happily give up my seat for someone elderly on a bus/train etc but if I've reserved a seat then it's mine," said another.

A spokesperson for CrossCountry told The Sun the family had been "let down by others who ignore the labels".

Topics: Children, Real, Life, Real Life

Ciara Sheppard
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