Do any train company systems actually work?

Being a commuter I am able to constantly find things about commuting to moan about - such as people speaking in a ridiculously loud voice on their mobile, rude train staff, clueless management, but the most common 'problem' (read excuse) we are hearing on my train line at the moment is that the entire IT system is down.

This is the excuse used when pre-booked seats are not marked up in the trains, so people that have been working all day and just want to relax on the way home, are confronted by aggressive daytrippers who demand you get out of 'their' seat.

Well, excuuuuuuuse me!

I have had confrontations numerous times about this because quite often these people turn up seconds before the train is due to leave and there are no other seats available. If the seat does not actually say it is booked - I really don't feel I have to move. I would never knowingly sit in a pre-booked seat - but a mind reader I am not.

So what would you do? Move out of a seat that is quite rightfully yours and stand the whole journey? Or tell them to stuff it?

I know what I will continue to do.

So East Midlands Trains, sort your damn computer system out and stop causing unneccessary hassle for your overcharged commuters.