This pseudo legalese claptrap crops up every so often and this one is a corker.
A fed-up resident has built a massive fence outside the front of their house and posted a legal notice warning cold callers they face a £25,000 minimum fine.
Eyeroll…
Okay, I have a small sign saying no cold callers. But it’s just that, a small sign stating ‘no cold callers’ and no more. Sometimes people ignore it and knock anyway, like the guy a few weeks back who was trying to sell me a driveway. He got short shrift and I closed the door. That was it.
While he was on my property, he was not trespassing because normal access to the front door is not trespass. And I certainly have no power to fine someone. As for the amount, this is so childishly absurd, it’s laughable, yet the cretin really thinks it’s a thing.
The legal notice warns of dire consequences to anyone who steps into the small front porch and knocks on the door. Entry is ‘by invitation only’, the sign begins, and ‘trespass and damages fees apply’. It goes on: “Implied rights to access permissions removed.”
Firstly, it’s not a legal notice, because it has no basis in law. But, okay, yes, you can remove the implied right of access, however in reality it’s meaningless. Should someone ignore it and knock anyway, it would be a civil matter and good luck with getting anywhere with that. Suing someone for knocking on your door will rightly be deemed a waste of the court’s time. As for trying to force someone to cough up twenty five grand, well, that’s pure fantasy; ain’t gonna happen.
The sign continues: “To all persons corporations councils and agents thereof. Vehicles manned or remotely operated” before outlining the ‘fee schedule’ should anyone trespass. Minimum penalty £25,000 or 1,500 Troy ounces of British silver coins. Per person or per vehicle per offence including vehicles either manned or remotely operated.” At present 1500 Troy ounces of silver is the equivalent to £27,360.
This is boilerplate freemen on the land bollocks. These people think they understand the law, while demonstrating arrant ignorance of it. Anyone can walk up to that door and knock on it with no penalty in law whatsoever, because no law has been broken. Even if it is deemed trespass, see above about suing, because it is a civil matter and the plaintiff will have to go through the legal system for redress and that costs. For all their contempt of the proper legal process, they would have to use it to try to get that penalty from the perpetrator and that will never happen. Have you noticed that these cretins always demand ridiculous sums? The normal equivalent would be privately run car parks where the penalty is around a hundred quid. This is a reasonable amount. Twenty five grand is just stupid. And who the flying fuck uses troy ounces of silver? This moron thinks he sounds clever, whereas he isn’t. Really, he isn’t. He is just a pompous jerk.
The resident then quotes the case law that backs up their right to charge trespass penalties – all of which appear to be from New South Wales in Australia, Bristol Live reports.
So, it has no relevance in the ‘minster, then. What a tosser.
The notice ends with: “This means you are bound and agree to this contract by entering uninvited, whether you think so or not – applies to you whether you think so or not. ID to be surrendered for inspection.”
It is not a contract and has no force. As for producing ID, someone like a TV licencing goon or other official such as meter readers, police and so on are perfectly willing to provide ID anyway.
The whole thing is arse dribble.
If he’s so free, why doesn’t he try not paying his council/income taxes, and see where that gets him.
I have argued with a couple of these morons in the past, but it’s a fools errand. Even IF what they are saying is true (it isn’t), they seem to fail to realise that the Government of the day would either blatantly ignore that fact or simply change the law
Childish Muppets.
Not pay council tax the same way the poll tax agitators didn’t pay theirs?
I have a bell, it doesn’t work. People who know me know this and knock, cold callers, on getting no answer just go away. I don’t get disturbed neither do my dogs. Has worked well for over 30 years started when I got annoyed that my baby got disturbed when finally sleeping during the day.
Cold callers are often just doing a lousy job trying to make a living but they can be a nucience.
We haven’t had any of the sob-story cold-callers flogging rubbish this year – well one, but he scarpered as soon as he saw the dog’s teeth!
The old ploy of whining about just being released from prison is a standard one, so that used to get ignored, but one year I had to resort to the traditional F**k Off as he really was getting on my nerves, and kept coming back!
We have a “no hawkers, no circulars” type of sign and I actually saw two ladies clutching bibles walk up to the door, read the sticker and walk away. Result!
We also have one which is six inches long, arrow-shaped, points to the bell push and reads “Ring my bell”. I’ve lost count of those who ignore it and knock . . .
He displays such a shocking lack of knowledge of law, are we sure he isn’t a KC..?
Should just relabel the bell as “Press to release the hounds”.
Then see how many ring.
I used to enjoy dealing with freeman of the land idiots. As I was handcuffing them they would say “I don’t consent to this and I don’t recognise your authority”. They used to get annoyed when I either laughed or shrugged my shoulders.
They either weren’t proper criminals or proper “freemen”.
Some of their points have a grain of truth to them or are morally right.
Take a look at what the UK state has done to motorcycle licensing over the years which means the police going after anyone riding normally without a license are closer to what the public would consider criminal than the rider.
There’s a guy on YT called Vobes who seems to have developed quite a following and has embraced the freeman of the land nonsense. Another YTer who is a barrister has tried to correct the misinformation on the former channel and in the comments under a Vobes’ vlog people are saying that the barrister is a shill of ‘The Corporation’. I don’t know why the barrister bothers: the stupid will ignore him and believe Vobes and the not-so-stupid don’t need him to tell them that it’s all dangerous nonsense.