A pregnant woman was outraged after an elderly couple refused to give up their train seats for her and her three children – even though she had booked in advance.
Amanda Mancino-Williams, who was six-months pregnant at the time, described the actions of the couple as “pathetic” after they wouldn’t budge.
Amanda said she had reserved four seats with a table in the middle. However, the couple were sat in two of them, leaving only two seats for herself and three children.
The pair told her the reservation “doesn’t matter” when she asked them to move for her children, the Mirror reports. She claims they then tried to ignore her for the rest of the journey.
Amanda said: “If a mum with three kids and bags has four 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.”
However, it worked out well for Amanda, who claims she ended up being moved to first class.
“A kind man offered me his seat,” she said. “Spoke to the conductor who was calm, lovely, and apologetic, said that instead of engaging with them that he was going to move us to an empty table in first class. I grabbed our bags and turned to the couple and said, with a smile, ‘enjoy your seats!’
“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? 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 a**holes.”
She praised the CrossCountry Trains staff on board the train for the way they handled the situation.
While she originally shared her story in 2019, the debate recently resurfaced as more and more people wondered what the right thing to do was.
One person replied on X: “Oh it drives me mad when that happens. Glad your conductor was sensible and upgraded you.”
A second wrote: “They are what they are, spoilt and privileged with no thought and consideration for the rules or others.”
