OP, Would you care to share the embarrassing comments, since you mentioned it ?

Question for the wider audience - if I was to try a seat before departure and it wouldnt work, and BA offered a downgrade or no alternative seat, what would be the consequences of refusing to fly (assuming it suited my schedule to wait for a later flight in the same class of travel) ? Is BA obliged to reschedule me, or is it seen as a voluntary offload and my problem to sort out an alternative flight?