not disabled enough to watch a film !?!

angelvoice222

WARNING RANT BELOW!!!
i am sooo flipping annoyed! i went to the cinema with my boyfriend earlyer to watch alic in wonderland in 3d... queued for a good 20 mins, showed my CEA disabled cinema card and was told there are only 12 seats left and they are reserved for disabled users!!! i told the guy at the counter,but i AM disabled he then informed me they were all for wheel chair users and their carers! i am fumming, i have only once seen a person in a wheelchair use my local cinema!and i highly doubt a group of 12 are going to come along together! it seems im not disabled enough to sit in a disabled seat! i cant belive it, i feel discriminated against i really do! never thought i would see the day where im not disabled enough!
rant over!
p.s any suggestions about what i can do about this?

Kittikins

I'd complain to the head office of the cinema chain, if you have a disabled card, surely you're disabled?!?! Grrr......sorry you didn't get to see your film, this really doesn't sound right.

angelvoice222

i actually ended up crying when we left, it was bad enough standing around with loads of teens staring at me and sniggering!

krisskross

Why couldn't you sit in an ordinary seat? Are the disabled ones special?

angelvoice222

because there wer no others available apparently

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

The disabled seats usually have more legroom, don't have a million steps to climb up in the dark to get to and are generally far safer for anyone with limited mobility to use.

Disabilities could include being unable to fold one's legs up to an acute angle for 90 minutes, not being able to guess where the steps are in the dark, needing to visit the loo without climbing over a row of 15 people wanting to watch the film in order to do so, and so on...

I'm not in a wheelchair (thankfully), but I am in an immobilising cast boot and use a crutch. If I were at the cinema, I would need - not just want - but need - a suitable seat. Without access to these seats, which are a reasonable adjustment as required by law, it would be back to the old days of 'You can't bring her in here, she's a fire hazard'.

Usually, to get a 'disabled' card for anything, you've had to apply and provide proof of disability, so it's not as if the cards are cut out from the back of a cornflake packet, they are used by firms to provide proof that they are indeed conforming to the requirements of the DDA.

They aren't allowed to make judgements upon the level of disability a person has. It's the law. So the OP can feel confident that notifying Head Office of the situation is in fact ensuring that the cinema doesn't fall foul of the DDA again at a later date.

diable

There has to be some leeway seeing a heavily advertised film on its first few days out without pre booking may cause issues. I can't see why you should discriminated about this, angry yes and I would understand that.

Write a letter to the cinemas head office and see what they have to say.

cit_k

Complain...

angelvoice222

does anyone know the heads office address... i can only find the customer services adress on the website

diable

What cinema chain as the CEA card allows access to various chains and double check the T&C before writing a letter of complaint.

angelvoice222

vue cinema... used the card there loads of times, card still in date hun! in a nutshell they think if ur not in a wheelchair your not disbaled