A FED-UP Brit has come up with a crafty way of deterring cold callers by charging them £10 a minute to make their pitches.
James Jeagar put up a sign at his house in Great Cornard, Suffolk, outlining an “agreement” that anyone approaching his doorstep will automatically agree to, should they choose to knock on his door.
He claims it has acted as a useful deterrent for anybody trying to chance their luck with him so far, after being left exasperated with a stream of doorstep callers.
The sign has sparked debate online though, particularly about whether cold calling should be against the law.
The black-and-white sign bears the bold capitalised heading: “Attention door knockers.”
It hilariously reads: “This household charges £10 per minute (minimum charge five minutes) to listen to sales pitches, charity workers and religious messages.
“The minimum charge is five minutes and is payable by cash in advance.
“By knocking on the door you signal your agreement to the terms outlined above.”
The snap of the sign was shared to social media yesterday with the caption: “Do you think cold calling should be illegal? This chap says his sign on the front door is working.”
It has since received over 690 likes and more than 120 comments from Brits sharing their own opinions.
One said: “I can see at a glance with the Ring doorbell notification who is at the door and just let them stand there like a plum, even if they can see me through the front window.”
A second commented: “Not answering the door works for me – that combined with cameras and a large gate.”
A third wrote: “I’m not sure about illegal but it does wind me up no end.
“What gives companies the right to disturb the peace of my own home to guilt trip me into buying something?
“We walk down the street, we see adverts. We’re bombarded with adverts wherever we go, in fact. We even get adverts on our own TVs and entertainment devices.
“Is it too much to ask that my privacy is respected in my own home?”
Another said: “I find closing the door in their face a few seconds after they start speaking works well.
“I stopped being polite about it after the first few who didn’t appreciate I was working from home and not sat about with nothing to do, happy to listen to their spiel.”
Another added: “Can we all agree, whatever the legality of this is, and however annoying cold callers are, the person living in this house is most likely a massive git?”
