After pulling your heavy case onto the train, squeezing it into the luggage rack and shuffling down the carriage, the last thing you need is someone sitting in your reserved seat. You might double-check your ticket, confirming that another passenger has taken your spot, which clearly reads 'reserved' on the overhead sign. Next comes the awkward interaction: 'Sorry, that's my seat,' you mumble, as if you're doing something wrong by asking them to move. Or perhaps you take a firmer approach and state, 'You're in my seat.' Either way, it is a hassle to have to do.
What Are Seat Snatchers?
These types of passengers, known as 'seat snatchers', frustrate many travellers across the country. They are guilty of sitting in reserved spots on a train, causing annoyance to those who have booked a seat. Many train passengers have expressed their frustration at this travel trend on social media. Some have even felt too uncomfortable to ask seat snatchers to move.
Social Media Complaints
Many have taken to social media to complain about this obnoxious trend. One person revealed that they once had a woman refuse to move her bag from the seat. 'I once asked a woman politely to move her handbag; she just ignored me, but clearly heard me,' they shared on Reddit. 'So I was a bit more assertive: "Move your bag from the seat." Still the same. So I gave her 30 seconds, picked it up and put it in the overhead on the opposite side.' They added: 'Spent the rest of the journey sweating with the adrenaline.'
Another passenger explained that they did not necessarily have a problem with seat snatchers, as long as they moved. 'If someone is in my reserved seat and they move when I show up, then I have no issue with it,' they wrote. 'Refusing to move, now we have a problem.'
On TikTok, @ktmc89 fumed: 'We buy RESERVED seats on a train, get to your seat, and someone's sat in it telling you it's a free-for-all so not moving, and no one does anything about it. My seat says RESERVED on it and it's on my train ticket.'
Anxiety and Avoidance
Some train travellers have felt too uncomfortable to ask seat snatchers to move. One passenger, who goes by @two_godiva_girls, posted: 'Absolutely hate reserved seating on trains. Someone was sitting in our reserved seats, and we were too polite to ask them to move, so now we are sat in someone else's seats worried they will come and ask us to move!'
Another traveller, @hopesthrifts, ended up standing for a two-hour train journey because of a seat snatcher. 'Currently standing on my two-hour train because someone sat in my seat and I'm afraid of confrontation,' she shared.
Expert Insights
Lee Thompson, co-founder of solo group travel company Flash Pack, frequently travels by train and tells the Daily Mail that seat snatchers are common on particular types of rail routes. 'Seat snatchers are usually the short-distance crowd. London to Milton Keynes, that sort of route,' he explains. 'They're taking a chance, hoping no one with a reservation actually turns up. Long-distance travellers tend to reserve properly because they know what's at stake.'
Lee admits he has experienced 'plenty of confrontations' with seat snatchers and thinks the worst are 'the headphones-on, eyes-down brigade and the fake sleepers'. He adds: 'Legs stretched out, slouched across one and a half seats, bag on the seat next to them, apparently fast asleep without a care in the world. You're not just claiming one seat; you're trying for two. You know exactly what you're doing. Pretending not to notice the reserved sign isn't subtle; it's just rude.'
The experienced traveller is not afraid to call people out and has even asked to see booking confirmation proof when seat snatchers have tried to claim the spot is theirs. However, he does make allowances for passengers travelling with children. 'The only exception I'd defend is parents with young children. If I've got my daughter with me on a 45-minute journey, I'll always try to negotiate to keep the seat with her on my knee. Nine times out of ten people are decent about it, and I'd do the same in return. With kids on shorter journeys, there's always room for flexibility. But anything over an hour, you need to reserve and take it seriously. Standing for two hours is genuinely awful. There's no need for it.'
Rail Company Policies
Some train companies have policies that help tackle seat snatchers who refuse to move. Under LNER's 'Seat Guarantee Scheme,' passengers can claim compensation if the seat they've booked is not available and staff cannot find another. It reads: 'If there's no seat available on an LNER service, and our team can't find you an alternative, you can claim compensation through our Seat Guarantee Scheme.' Passengers with a one-way ticket receive 100 per cent of the ticket value back, while return ticket holders get 50 per cent. For those who selected first class but can only find a seat in standard, the difference between the two will be refunded.
Great Western Railway also shared advice for handling seat snatchers and told Metro: 'We recommend any customer who encounters the situation described to contact a member of staff who would then be able to speak to the other customer and ask them to move.' The company also noted that they cannot force the seat snatcher to move, so it is possible that the passenger may end up standing.
As for National Rail, it recommends: 'For any queries or issues regarding a seat reservation, you should find the onboard train manager and they will be able to help you.'
