MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. Would you give up a £50 train seat for a pregnant woman?

Tiger_greeneyes

mr-tom wrote: »

Yes well they have their own private police force who seem to do exactly what the companies tell them to...

I use a monthly season ticket, and you can't renew them more than a day in advance, and it generally expires whilst I'm on holiday or at the weekend etc.

My start station has no staff, and they won't let their train staff issue monthly tickets for some reason, so I have to do it at the destination station when this happens.

(There is now an online option, but for about a year that didn't work).

And about half the time, I get threatened with police action for travelling without a ticket that they won't actually sell me until I reach my destination...

I was in that situation, too. I don't recall getting caught without a ticket but it's an absolutely ridiculous set up. I don't see why they shouldn't issue monthly tickets in advance, it's not as if the dates aren't printed on it

mr-tom_2

Tiger_greeneyes wrote: »

I was in that situation, too. I don't recall getting caught without a ticket but it's an absolutely ridiculous set up. I don't see why they shouldn't issue monthly tickets in advance, it's not as if the dates aren't printed on it

Quite.

I plan my season tickets by using weeklies too, so that if I'm away for a while, my ticket has already expired as I don't see why I should pay for transport for that period, but that does make the first day of travel a bit stressy now and then...

Tiger_greeneyes

mr-tom wrote: »

Quite.

I plan my season tickets by using weeklies too, so that if I'm away for a while, my ticket has already expired as I don't see why I should pay for transport for that period, but that does make the first day of travel a bit stressy now and then...

I used to plan my season ticket too. The odd weekly or monthly ticket can save a few pounds if you have a bit of time off.

I have to say that I didn't bother feeling stressed, it wasn't my fault I couldn't buy a ticket because the station was unmanned. I had to buy a ticket from a conductor once or twice but that was no biggie. It's a silly, outmoded system tbh.

Head-Out-Of-Sand

I would. I'd be gutted at paying for a £50 seat I wasn't sitting in, but how much worse would I feel if the pregnant woman collapsed while I was sat in my comfy seat? I would be annoyed but at the end of the day it's the right thing to do, and I would feel very uncomfortable doing anything else.

I do, however, remember my on my last holiday to Gran Canaria with BF, which we saved like hell for all year, and decided we'd pay the £10 each or whatever to book seats and make sure we were sat together (I am neurotic and if the person sat next to me chewed with their mouth open at any point during the flight I'd be likely to cause some kind of mid-air incident).

When we got on the plane the couple behind us had also booked seats. This old lady and her husband got on and couldn't get a seat together (hadn't wanted to part with the extra tenner, obviously) and asked the woman behind us if her and her husband would mind giving up their seats "because she had a disability" and wanted to sit nearer to the toilets. I would point out that the seats she was swapping from were only two rows in front. And with the legroom on Easyjet, that's not far...

The woman behind me was a bit disgruntled as she had also paid the extra to book seats, but the older woman kept loudly saying "DISABILITY" so she seemed to be embarrassed about saying no. The woman then proceeded to kick my seat all the way through the flight and told anyone who would listen to her about her disability. (I have a disability myself, but don't feel the need to announce it to anyone who'll listen!)

BF asked me when we landed whether I'd have given up our seats... (he knew the answer, I think he was bored and just wanted to set me off on one for his own amusement...) and my feelings were that why should that woman who paid the extra tenner to sit next to her hubby on what is possibly their one holiday away together all year have to sacrifice that and sit by a stranger for the first 4 hours of their holiday, because that other woman felt her disability entitled her to sit two rows nearer to the toilets (but didn't feel it was her responsiblity to make the arrangements to ensure this!)?

If she was aware that she would have problems, why did she not stump up the extra money and book in advance?? In this case, it's not like she hopped on a last minute train, it's a flight to the Canaries! And I would have thought that if she'd contacted the carrier in advance and genuinely needed to be near the toilets due to disability, they would have accommodated her?

I just felt she was being incredibly presumptuous, considering she had every opportunity to avoid the situation in the first place. To me, it seemed that she simply didn't want to have to sit separately from her hubby and was using her disability to manipulate people, making them feel to ashamed to tell her she was a hardfaced old chancer and to stuff off!

She also rocked up late for the flight home, then tried to push in at the front of the queue...:rolleyes:

Bogof_Babe

If her disability was bad enough to need special arrangements, she should presumably have been getting DLA, which is meant to cover such things as paying extra for suitable seats. If she wasn't on DLA then she can't have been that bad!

Head-Out-Of-Sand

Even if she doesn't get it, if she could afford £100+ for the flight, she could afford the extra few quid for the seat booking! We did!!!

hundredk

Head-Out-Of-Sand wrote: »

I would. I'd be gutted at paying for a £50 seat I wasn't sitting in, but how much worse would I feel if the pregnant woman collapsed while I was sat in my comfy seat? I would be annoyed but at the end of the day it's the right thing to do, and I would feel very uncomfortable doing anything else.

I do, however, remember my on my last holiday to Gran Canaria with BF, which we saved like hell for all year, and decided we'd pay the £10 each or whatever to book seats and make sure we were sat together (I am neurotic and if the person sat next to me chewed with their mouth open at any point during the flight I'd be likely to cause some kind of mid-air incident).

When we got on the plane the couple behind us had also booked seats. This old lady and her husband got on and couldn't get a seat together (hadn't wanted to part with the extra tenner, obviously) and asked the woman behind us if her and her husband would mind giving up their seats "because she had a disability" and wanted to sit nearer to the toilets. I would point out that the seats she was swapping from were only two rows in front. And with the legroom on Easyjet, that's not far...

The woman behind me was a bit disgruntled as she had also paid the extra to book seats, but the older woman kept loudly saying "DISABILITY" so she seemed to be embarrassed about saying no. The woman then proceeded to kick my seat all the way through the flight and told anyone who would listen to her about her disability. (I have a disability myself, but don't feel the need to announce it to anyone who'll listen!)

BF asked me when we landed whether I'd have given up our seats... (he knew the answer, I think he was bored and just wanted to set me off on one for his own amusement...) and my feelings were that why should that woman who paid the extra tenner to sit next to her hubby on what is possibly their one holiday away together all year have to sacrifice that and sit by a stranger for the first 4 hours of their holiday, because that other woman felt her disability entitled her to sit two rows nearer to the toilets (but didn't feel it was her responsiblity to make the arrangements to ensure this!)?

If she was aware that she would have problems, why did she not stump up the extra money and book in advance?? In this case, it's not like she hopped on a last minute train, it's a flight to the Canaries! And I would have thought that if she'd contacted the carrier in advance and genuinely needed to be near the toilets due to disability, they would have accommodated her?

I just felt she was being incredibly presumptuous, considering she had every opportunity to avoid the situation in the first place. To me, it seemed that she simply didn't want to have to sit separately from her hubby and was using her disability to manipulate people, making them feel to ashamed to tell her she was a hardfaced old chancer and to stuff off!

She also rocked up late for the flight home, then tried to push in at the front of the queue...:rolleyes:

Yep, same principle - you pay for a service for a reason. If I'd have paid, no way would I give the seat to someone who hadn't - they had the choice. I'm not sure you are supposed to swap your allocated seats anyway - I've seen people asking if they can spread out into empty seats, only to be refused by cabin crew because they have to take off/land with people in allocated seats.

Actually I never pay for seats together on the basis that I'll most likely get them toether anyway which has proved true for last 20 years. If I get to check in and they do not have seats together I'd just view it as unlucky that time and after all I had the choice and chose not to pay.

see this thread.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1552451&highlight=

Head-Out-Of-Sand

He he, well seat booking is the way forward for me, I was proved right when I went away with my family last summer - the flight was chocka and members of my family were fannying about buying magazines when the flight was being called (much to my annoyance!)

I ended up sat next to this woman who was chewing gum really aggressively with her mouth open and had a panic attack (had to pretend I was afraid of flying to prevent huuuge embarrassment)...I appreciate to normal ppl this would not be that much of a problem, but I have something called misophonia, which means that certain sounds make me incredibly uncomfortable (it's kind of like a phobia of certain sounds - I get a panic-attack kind of response if I'm exposed to them, highly embarrassing but as yet I've not found a way of controlling it)

My sounds are chewing/eating, sniffing and weirdly, drinks being poured. If we've booked seats (I try to book the ones we're there's only 2 seats next to each other too) then it means I'm more likely to be able to arrange my seating so I can block it out with my MP3 player!

But the point being here... I KNOW I'm in need of seat booking, due to being a freak, so I pay to book!! He he. Don't judge me!

Emzycal

Head-Out-Of-Sand wrote: »

I just felt she was being incredibly presumptuous

Which is the main point in this whole debate.
The fact that people presume that they are automatically entitled to something someone else has paid for/arrived early to get excetera,simply because ;

[] They decided they couldn't be bothered with a condom and are now up the duff.

[] They have a disability which is more visible perhaps than someone elses,who may feel embarrassed and give up the seat rather than bring attention to their own disability.

The list goes on.

At the end of the day,the child in her stomach is not my responsibility - it's hers,and the fathers. And,if between the two of them,they couldn't be bothered to stump up the price of the reserved seat - why should I give up mine?

I have severe back pain which is aggravated by standing for long periods of time.
When I travel,a lot of the time I have my pet rats in a travel-case-thing with me.
My rats are as important to me as the baby in her belly is to her (moreso,probably,considering she can't even be arsed to stump up for a ticket!)

So,according to some of the posters here - I must stand,and end up in crippling pain for the next 2 days,possibly collapse (as I have done before on public transport when the pain started getting too much) and risk my rats being smacked and thrown around,all because some woman couldn't do the decent thing and BUY HER OWN TICKET?

If that's the case,I may as well go trawling the internet for pregnant woman and offer to just BUY them their tickets in advance?
Heck,anyone around here pregnant?I'll buy your cot,your pram and pay for their first car! Since,let's face it - why should you have to take responsibility for yourself and your kid?

SwimmerPete

No - I wouldn't give up my seat. I have a heart condition and although I may appear perfectly healthy I do qualify for, and hold a disabled person's railcard. She is pregnant out of choice, I had no choice in my situation.