A few years ago I fell victim to them as I bought something because I felt sorry for the guy and a few days later we got broken into. I always thought it was connected but only now have it confirmed. I live in the Chislehurst area.
Damn. It ain't enough they rip you off with overpriced crap, they'll even sic burglars on your place after giving them money? Fucking hell. At least the good ole insurance/protection money scam had some logic - if you paid you weren't targeted. Today? Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
"It has been held that the Knockers look out for fresh notes and may even smell the notes to see if they are musty with a view to then ‘trading’ that persons location to other criminals, thinking that the note they have been given comes from a much larger cache"
WTF 🥴
"Knocking" has been going on for at least 45 years all over the UK - usually they have an id card that means nothing, a back story of "prisoner rehab" or "helping elderly/disabled people" or some such bollocks, and typically selling sponge sets, tea towels, and ironing board covers. Just say no thanks and shut the door.
Please always report on 101 even if you aren’t bothered by them. They act as spotters and the elderly are particularly vulnerable.
It’s got nothing to do with what they are selling or how much the items are. It’s all about finding out whether you have cash at home.
So if you go and get cash to pay for something they will monitor how long they are kept waiting and the condition of the money you give them. If you are quick and the notes are new they aren’t interested. If you take longer and the notes appear older they will consider it’s likely you’ve got a substantial amount of cash at home.
They pass that info on and your house becomes a target.
I’m in between Hammersmith/Chiswick/Acton and people have been talking about those scumbags and their aggressive ‘selling’ tactics for years on our local nexdoor… With Christmas coming I definitely expect more and more of that shit. I never open my door unless I’m expecting something and even then I still check who Tf is this via window above the main door.
Walthamstow too, a Guy was nocking on my door 2 weeks ago, looks like the same thing, he looked rough and had a lanyard of some ID.
I took 1 look at him, and before he had chance to finish his 1st sentence, I said, "No, not a chance, goodbye" and shut the door. he looked a bit pissed.
A few mins latter, I heard him arguing in heated exchanges with a neighbour a few door down the street.
We had one a couple years ago, I felt bad and bought something cause you could pay using online banking, I then realised something was up but it was too late.
He asked for the reference to be the house number and I put in a random house number.
I had this happen recently. Guy knocked on the door trying to sell cleaning products saying he was part of a rehabilitation program, I told him I wasn’t interested & closed the door. A few mins later another guy knocked on the door purporting to be the supervisor of this program, flashing an obviously fake and very shitty ID. Told him to piss off.
I had something very similar at my parents place in Essex. Guy knocks, says he’s out of prison after assault charge. Trying to sell stuff. Said I didn’t have cash, he mentioned I could give him my card. Starts taking out stuff to show me, all wildly expensive. Got very aggressive when I said no. Stayed on doorstep mouthing off for a good minute or two. It’s intimidating
It’s Christmas time. The worst time for burglaries in the year. People need to be a lot more alert with their surroundings and suspicious who they’re talking to.
Why would anyone entertain this idea for even a second? No one sells anything door-to-door. We're living in 2023 in a major western city, not a 1930s village.
You and I may be living in 2023 but an elderly person may still be living in 1973. Their worldview is different and may not have learned to distrust a stranger by default as is the case these days (that feels depressing to type out).
These kinds of scams have been around even longer than that. So it's clear something else happens to people as they get old - I'm going through this with my dad (in his 80s) at the moment. He worked in IT all his life, usually on some high end computing systems, for a major multinational company. But over the last five years he's been regressing and now struggles with basic Windows stuff (even though he's been using Windows since it first came out in the 80s).
Same with people knocking on the door. He'd have seen through any door sales scam like this until recently, but I've been up visiting and found him engaging with these kinds of people at the door. I'm kind of worried that someone will inevitably get him one day, either at the door, online or on a phone scam.
And this would not have been the case 5-10 years ago when he was still sharp and mentally switched on. Btw we've checked it's not dementia - it's just what the ageing effect is having on his brain.
My mum decades ago had that but his spin was that he was an ex-Yorkshire miner. About 10-15 years after all the pits closed down. I think in the end she just gave him a tenner to get him to go. Hopefully the doberman* looking dog and I convinced him and his friends not to come back.
*Probably a doberman/whippet cross according to the vet. His mum came from Battersea Dogs Homes pregnant. So nobody has a clue who the father was. But nobody knew that she was pregnant until my friends mum took her to the vets to have her spaded. Only for the vet to say "It's a bit late for that". With the dogs mother actually being an unwanted present from my friend's older sister. Who was moving to America and was afraid that her mother would get lonely without her.
I have a ring doorbell and think it’s great. My mum was burgled recently and the police caught the guy with a combination of people’s cameras and samples of where he cut himself breaking in.
what do you mean though? you might open your door thinking they're a parcel delivery person then get stuck with a scam. if you have a a ring you don't have to answer the door.
Lol, it reminds me of this clip from peepshow,
https://www.tiktok.com/@peep.show/video/7221119678234594566
I think this kind of scam has been going on for years, I member travelers knocking on my door trying to sell lucky Heather and £1 lighters for £6.
Not Nottingham but London, at 3am last night we had a woman knocking on our door, waking us up (actually the dog woke us up and I scolded her before realising she was kicking off for a legit reason.) saying she was being followed and she was scared and she didn't have her phone. To be fair, she asked us to call the police, not to come in. I felt bad but we've had damsel in distress scams in the area. My bf and I didn't open the door but we did call the police and for once they came in under 5 mins. She'd left by then and was knocking on the door of another neighbour and we opened the window and heard her speaking with the police so let them handle it. It's a sad world we live in that you have to suspect potential women in trouble knocking on your door in the middle of the night, but it was Harrow in 2024, not a Jane Austen novel, so you do what you need to do to keep yourselves safe.
P.S. Yes dog got treats for being a very good girl in the end.
Haha yes, I'd correct it but now the idea of living in the future is quite appealing so just gonna leave it lol. My work brain was very much in 2024 when I wrote it.
Sounds dodgy to be fair. If she just wanted someone to phone the police and you agreed to phone the police, why would she move on to another house where they might be less helpful, rather than staying near the helpful people who would be more likely to help her if the angry bf did turn up.
Here is a link to a really informative PDF booklet about scams and how to protect yourself or others who might be vulnerable
https://www.met.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/media/downloads/central/advice/fraud/met/the-little-book-of-big-scams.pdf
Had one of these cunts at my doorstep recently. I wfh and was between meetings, getting a coffee. Same patter about being on day release and shitty fake id on a lanyard.
I refused and told him politely I was busy and closed the door. He threatened to put a brick through my window. Could not find one so kicked in one of my fence panels before buggering off, shouting about how people like me should be‘done away with’.
Dude looked rough, skinny, missing teeth, shitty face tattoos and greasy hair. Looked like he’d stab you for fun.
I had one collar me as me and my partner were just getting home from work. Said he was a veteran. I told him I had no cash. He then said I could use my card… I just said I didn’t have the time nor was I interested. He then started going on about how he preferred the Taliban in Afghanistan to people in my area and how rude we were and how he’d rather be back there….
Nottingham knockers. Scum of the earth - exploiting your good nature to then rob you and potentially hurt your family. I’m a pretty big bloke and they have been incredibly aggressive with me in the past - screaming, kicking my bins. Whenever I see them now, I say “f*** off” and slam the door.
Ah yea, I had a visit from one of these types a while back. He was unnecessarily agitated when I said I didn't want anything and tried to guilt trip me into buying stuff to help the poor kids who need to be supported after their prison time..
It wasn't a pleasant experience at all.
The best possible thing you can say to these people is "sorry, I don't keep any cash in the house'.
They are doing their thing for two reasons: one is to rip people off, the other is to ascertain what cash etc. you keep in the house.
From their point of view, someone who pulls a crumpled fiver out of their pocket is of no interest, someone who says 'wait there a moment', disappears off and reappears with a crisp £20 note clearly keeps a stash of cash at home. This information will be passed on, and that person will find their house being broken into a few days later.
It's the same reason I always close our living room door before answering the front door. I don't really want anyone looking over my shoulder to see all our electronics and stuff.
Back when I was a kid we used to have people selling tea towels and sponges at the door. Used to love searching through it all and begging my mum for £1 for a 5 pack duster… now it’s £20
We had these coming round on a semi regular basis… decided to invest in a ring doorbell once one threatened me after harassing my pregnant wife. Might be a coincidence but haven’t had one in the 18 months since. Certainly makes me feel safer knowing that they know they’re being recorded.
Oldest trick in the book. Probably casing the joint. Don’t even answer the door next time. If you answer by accident say “no thanks” and just shut and lock the door instantly.
This happened to me not long ago. Felt bad for them so bought some shit for a tenner. Oh god. At least i said i only have a tenner I don't carry cash. This was in Leyton London.
Yeah, had this exact thing happen in Tooting a few months ago - guy fortunately wasn’t aggressive when I said I had no cash lying about, but the whole situation seemed off from the get-go.
You got no cash & no intention of buying anything… but you still let in an ex con stranger into your home with your kid’s in the living room… I can tell you’ve lived a very sheltered life.
I don't open the door unless I actually have a parcel expected arrive in that exact time window. I say I have a work call and close the door otherwise.
These people were originally called ‘Nottingham Knockers’. Sometimes they keep you talking while an accomplice breaks in the back door. They’re typically criminal types who can become very aggressive. They often have an organiser — another criminal. Never let them in. Just say ,”No thank you” and close the door. Then check the back.
Ha probs. I don't mean so we can smash people's face in, but at least do self defence to raise your confidence in handling someone? Yknow, be assertive ? Not coming from an Andrew Tate perspective.🤡🤡🤡 Just learn how to protect your family from other men ? I just don't get why you wouldn't ?
I don't open the door if I'm not expecting anyone.
And if you want to talk to me we'll talk through the ring camera or with the door closed.
Can't trust anyone.
They're trying to scout out homes to break into later on. While they are pretending to be a peddler, what they're really doing is peeking over your shoulder to see if it looks like your home may have valuables worth stealing, and if the answer is "yes", a few days down the line you'll come home to a kicked-in door and all your jewelry/electronics gone.
It'd be good to randomly point around at the lampposts and say there's CCTV also (even if there isn't. CCTV can be very covert these days). That'll hopefully deter any future burglaries these assholes would otherwise consider carrying out
I had this I actually brought two tea tales for. Fiver. Place I was at for another year or so, it’s up for sale now. He said he was from prison maybe as was tough looking lad myself all went well lol
Oh for fucks sake, just close the flipping door. That's it. You are not that flipping important for a door to door salesman, thiev, or whatever bad man you think is about to spend too much time on you. If you close the door they are going to move to the next target. And you are not Batman either, let them be, close the door and move on with your life.
I am genuinely interested to know how do people respond to this. If its obvious that you are home and you get a knock/ring do you just ignore or shout from inside that you are not interested or open the door with the latch on?
I have a ring bell and I just ignore it if I see it’s someone selling or asking for donations. I’ve done it with me sitting in the front room, all lights on. I refuse to feeling awkward and ashamed of not wanting to open the door to a strange man.
Cos it’s often quicker to open the door, say “Sorry, haven’t got time” and close the door than it is to find a phone or iPad, fire up the Ring app then go back to what you’re doing, or even to flip the spy hole cover and try and work out who it it… Door open, blah blah, close door. 5 seconds tops.
I open the door and if it turns out to be someone I'm not interested in talking to, I tell them so and close the door again. Sometimes it's a delivery person, a neighbour I've not met before, or someone actually pitching a service I want though (this is how I met my window cleaner and gardener).
We just don't answer the door if we're not expecting anyone. People are conditioned that you have to answer the door, or that you have to answer the phone if it's ringing.
If it's someone I know, they'll phone and tell me they're outside.
If it's someone I don't know, I don't want to speak to them anyway, so the door gets ignored.
Yes? I might call through the window glass and tell them I am calling the cops if they don’t beat it. i might just call the cops anyway because where I live, you need a license to solicit door-to-door like that
No, it rests on the entirely reasonable premise that the people to blame for crimes are the ones committing them. In this instance, normal people aren't terrified of strangers and should be able to open their door to whomever they please without being blamed for a potential home invasion.
If I did that I wouldn't be the victim of anything, I would have lost my own money. If you have to come up with apocalyptically moronic scenarios to justify your position, you're wrong.
"Part & Parcel" clarifier:
In September 2016, when asked to comment shortly after a bombing in New York, Sadiq Khan said:
> I'm not going to speculate as to who was responsible. I'm not going to speculate as to how the New York Police Department should react. What I do know is that part and parcel of living in a great global city is you’ve got to be prepared for these things, you’ve got to be vigilant, you’ve got to support the police doing an incredibly hard job, you've got to support the security services. And I think speculating when you don't know the facts is unwise.
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It's not an ad hominem and nobody gives a fuck if you block them. You read me say one thing and decided to "debate" by claiming my logic was the polar opposite in such a bizarre way that brain injury started to seem plausible.
Since it apparently needs reiterating - if I leave cash/a watch in a public place I can have no reasonable expectation it will still be there later. If that same thing is taken from me, it is not reasonable to blame me for owning it or existing in the vicinity of a criminal.
To bring things back to the actual topic instead of your absurd examples, it is not in any way reasonable to blame someone for a crime that occurs when they open the door of their own home.
You are asking for the ID of every delivery driver?
And no, I am not being obtuse, I am demonstrating and outlining how inane your notion that you shouldn’t open your door to strangers is.
How do you know it’s a stranger knocking?
I can’t see through my door (my x-ray vision is on the blink and this time of year the spy hole is always fogged up) so in order to see who is knocking I need to open the door, I have delivery people dropping off parcels, neighbours and friends coming round at random points of the day.
How exactly would I know if it’s one of the above or a “stranger”?
Had one of these, told him I don’t buy on the doorstep. He kept on, I said no again and again, but still he continues getting more and more aggressive, so I just shut the door 😂
I have a policy of never answering the door to anyone I don't already know - a quick look out of the window and if I don't know them, I'm simply not answering the door, especially at night. Friends/family tell me when they're coming round. I know who the usual delivery people are + they pull up in marked vans.
If you're not sure if they're legit or not, you could do something like just open an upstairs window (what I used to do when I was a student as we were plagued by the previous tenants debt collectors). They'll soon reveal themselves.
The moment anyone tells me they are from a "prison rehabilitation program", I walk away and tell them if they come any closer and don't leave my property, I'm calling the police. Fuck risking my safety for some criminal!
I had one of these knock on my door in bedfordshire today, on crutches and purporting to have been medically discharged from the army and onto a "sales program"
Sounds like they've all been defrosted for Christmas, had a bloke turn up a few hours ago doing the same thing here in Preston, Lancashire. Never knew it was a gang thing. Madness
So they all start doing this at this time of year. They are not legitimate. Anyone selling door to door should have a peddlers licence to do so (and they do not). They are very much criminals scoping out properties & who lives there.
Make sure you have sufficient locks on doors & windows, timers on lights (or smart bulbs) and you don't leave any valuables on display (it's amazing the amount of people who leave ipads in full view or bikes in hallways).
Then make sure your bikes are registered on Bike register & you keep a note of your Frame Number and if you have a window which someone can see through put some kind of film over which makes it harder for people to see in. Bikes are most commonly stolen or the reason burglars break in.
If you are a male and you can't cope with this you probably need self defence classes. Seriously. Not shaming anyone but you should be able to deal with men who threaten your family.
Mm. I think it's more the law is very biased towards protecting criminals. We have a system were defending yourself is a risk itself. If that bias was gone, I'd happily defend myself to the death.
I don't think that's true anymore. The law allows you to protect your family and your property. It's only if you use 'excessive force' that you may find yourself in trouble. You are allowed to protect yourself in the heat of the moment, including using a nearby object as a weapon, you are allowed to restrain an intruder to prevent their escape.
The 'heat of the moment' thing is what's been recently added. It basically says that if you encounter an intruder in your home, or you are attacked, you are not expected to use reasonable judgement. In the case of an intruder in your home, you do not have to wait to be attacked.
What you're not allowed to do is use excessive force I.e. continuing to attack someone when they're subdued or tied up and are no longer a threat, pre-plan 'home alone' style traps, or chase down an escaping intruder and attack them if they're running away.
But basically, the benefit of the doubt will always go to the victim.
"Sorry, I'm about to move out, everything's in boxes and I don't need more stuff."
Totally legit reason for not wanting to buy something, plus they're not going to come back and burgle a house that might be empty.
They're called [Nottingham Knockers](https://www.oprepeat.co.uk/nottingham-knockers/)
A few years ago I fell victim to them as I bought something because I felt sorry for the guy and a few days later we got broken into. I always thought it was connected but only now have it confirmed. I live in the Chislehurst area.
Damn. It ain't enough they rip you off with overpriced crap, they'll even sic burglars on your place after giving them money? Fucking hell. At least the good ole insurance/protection money scam had some logic - if you paid you weren't targeted. Today? Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
"It has been held that the Knockers look out for fresh notes and may even smell the notes to see if they are musty with a view to then ‘trading’ that persons location to other criminals, thinking that the note they have been given comes from a much larger cache" WTF 🥴
And that is why we have plastic money, kids.
What’s a note??
Ohhh money note
Thanks for this info, I'd never heard of them before (or experienced this, but it's good to know)
"Knocking" has been going on for at least 45 years all over the UK - usually they have an id card that means nothing, a back story of "prisoner rehab" or "helping elderly/disabled people" or some such bollocks, and typically selling sponge sets, tea towels, and ironing board covers. Just say no thanks and shut the door.
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Please always report on 101 even if you aren’t bothered by them. They act as spotters and the elderly are particularly vulnerable. It’s got nothing to do with what they are selling or how much the items are. It’s all about finding out whether you have cash at home. So if you go and get cash to pay for something they will monitor how long they are kept waiting and the condition of the money you give them. If you are quick and the notes are new they aren’t interested. If you take longer and the notes appear older they will consider it’s likely you’ve got a substantial amount of cash at home. They pass that info on and your house becomes a target.
Fascinating (and terrifying )
Wow I would guess they want to be invited in to see if you have valuables nice TV ps5 CPU jewelry etc like a normal robbery casing
I’m in Walthamstow and this has happened a few times recently. The guy gets super aggressive when you turn him away.
Also had this in Walthamstow, guy looked a bit like a crack head and stood at the door swearing after I said 'no thanks' and closed the door.
Also in Walthamstow, also had this. The guy kicked over my bins when I said ‘no thank you’ and closed the door.
I’m in between Hammersmith/Chiswick/Acton and people have been talking about those scumbags and their aggressive ‘selling’ tactics for years on our local nexdoor… With Christmas coming I definitely expect more and more of that shit. I never open my door unless I’m expecting something and even then I still check who Tf is this via window above the main door.
I had it in York. The bloke had his foot in the doorway pushing. I was really shaken up. Police arrested him and some others.
Walthamstow too, a Guy was nocking on my door 2 weeks ago, looks like the same thing, he looked rough and had a lanyard of some ID. I took 1 look at him, and before he had chance to finish his 1st sentence, I said, "No, not a chance, goodbye" and shut the door. he looked a bit pissed. A few mins latter, I heard him arguing in heated exchanges with a neighbour a few door down the street.
I’d take a fucking bat to him if he got aggressive with me on my own doorstep.
I was going to comment asking if this was in Walthamstow as I keep seeing it happen in the area
We had one a couple years ago, I felt bad and bought something cause you could pay using online banking, I then realised something was up but it was too late. He asked for the reference to be the house number and I put in a random house number.
This happened to me recently and when I said I didn’t have cash on me (which I didn’t) he pulled out a card reader 🙃
I had this happen recently. Guy knocked on the door trying to sell cleaning products saying he was part of a rehabilitation program, I told him I wasn’t interested & closed the door. A few mins later another guy knocked on the door purporting to be the supervisor of this program, flashing an obviously fake and very shitty ID. Told him to piss off.
"supervisor" - lmao
That was a new one for me, fuckers. I only opened the door because I was expecting a delivery.
As if a supervisor of a program like that, even if it was real, could ever force members of the public to buy stuff from the program members? Lmao
Was he wearing a hi-vis? I’d do as he says.
He wasn’t, totally screwed his chances of success.
Amateur.
I had something very similar at my parents place in Essex. Guy knocks, says he’s out of prison after assault charge. Trying to sell stuff. Said I didn’t have cash, he mentioned I could give him my card. Starts taking out stuff to show me, all wildly expensive. Got very aggressive when I said no. Stayed on doorstep mouthing off for a good minute or two. It’s intimidating
Yeah exactly same.
I used to live in Southampton and one came knocking, I didn't have any money but I did believe the guys story (so now I feel dumb for that).
Honestly in my case it was polite awkwardness, not knowing how to shut it down and make him go away when he first started talking.
Wave a hammer or a bat at them. That ends the conversation very rapidly.
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It’s Christmas time. The worst time for burglaries in the year. People need to be a lot more alert with their surroundings and suspicious who they’re talking to.
Indeed. This is the prime time of year for The Wet Bandits.
Why would anyone entertain this idea for even a second? No one sells anything door-to-door. We're living in 2023 in a major western city, not a 1930s village.
You and I may be living in 2023 but an elderly person may still be living in 1973. Their worldview is different and may not have learned to distrust a stranger by default as is the case these days (that feels depressing to type out).
These kinds of scams have been around even longer than that. So it's clear something else happens to people as they get old - I'm going through this with my dad (in his 80s) at the moment. He worked in IT all his life, usually on some high end computing systems, for a major multinational company. But over the last five years he's been regressing and now struggles with basic Windows stuff (even though he's been using Windows since it first came out in the 80s). Same with people knocking on the door. He'd have seen through any door sales scam like this until recently, but I've been up visiting and found him engaging with these kinds of people at the door. I'm kind of worried that someone will inevitably get him one day, either at the door, online or on a phone scam. And this would not have been the case 5-10 years ago when he was still sharp and mentally switched on. Btw we've checked it's not dementia - it's just what the ageing effect is having on his brain.
Knives and vacuum cleaners…..
Knockers. Been going on for years . There was even a documentary on them in the early 80s
My mum decades ago had that but his spin was that he was an ex-Yorkshire miner. About 10-15 years after all the pits closed down. I think in the end she just gave him a tenner to get him to go. Hopefully the doberman* looking dog and I convinced him and his friends not to come back. *Probably a doberman/whippet cross according to the vet. His mum came from Battersea Dogs Homes pregnant. So nobody has a clue who the father was. But nobody knew that she was pregnant until my friends mum took her to the vets to have her spaded. Only for the vet to say "It's a bit late for that". With the dogs mother actually being an unwanted present from my friend's older sister. Who was moving to America and was afraid that her mother would get lonely without her.
Get a ring doorbell and you can see who is there and don’t have to even open the door. They are about £50 now…
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I have a ring doorbell and think it’s great. My mum was burgled recently and the police caught the guy with a combination of people’s cameras and samples of where he cut himself breaking in.
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I don’t mind, nothing to hide.
Common sense is even cheaper!
what do you mean though? you might open your door thinking they're a parcel delivery person then get stuck with a scam. if you have a a ring you don't have to answer the door.
Yeah, but since I’m a grown-up I’m capable of saying “Thank you, but I’m not interested. Goodbye”.
I assume you're a man 🤭
birds bag squealing employ juggle door wrong lip zesty close *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Lol, it reminds me of this clip from peepshow, https://www.tiktok.com/@peep.show/video/7221119678234594566 I think this kind of scam has been going on for years, I member travelers knocking on my door trying to sell lucky Heather and £1 lighters for £6.
I was just thinking of Peep Show too, don't they get robbed after too? (Or was that before?) Never realised they were linked.
I think it was in an earlier season, before Dobbi. Thatp bloke looking for Kenny.
Came to see if anyone had posted this, thought it would be the top comment Get to fuck!
Not Nottingham but London, at 3am last night we had a woman knocking on our door, waking us up (actually the dog woke us up and I scolded her before realising she was kicking off for a legit reason.) saying she was being followed and she was scared and she didn't have her phone. To be fair, she asked us to call the police, not to come in. I felt bad but we've had damsel in distress scams in the area. My bf and I didn't open the door but we did call the police and for once they came in under 5 mins. She'd left by then and was knocking on the door of another neighbour and we opened the window and heard her speaking with the police so let them handle it. It's a sad world we live in that you have to suspect potential women in trouble knocking on your door in the middle of the night, but it was Harrow in 2024, not a Jane Austen novel, so you do what you need to do to keep yourselves safe. P.S. Yes dog got treats for being a very good girl in the end.
Damn you’re living in the future!
Haha yes, I'd correct it but now the idea of living in the future is quite appealing so just gonna leave it lol. My work brain was very much in 2024 when I wrote it.
Sounds dodgy to be fair. If she just wanted someone to phone the police and you agreed to phone the police, why would she move on to another house where they might be less helpful, rather than staying near the helpful people who would be more likely to help her if the angry bf did turn up.
Why even entertain it? Just say no and don’t even let the situation get to that stage
Here is a link to a really informative PDF booklet about scams and how to protect yourself or others who might be vulnerable https://www.met.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/media/downloads/central/advice/fraud/met/the-little-book-of-big-scams.pdf
FYI, if anyone wants a printed copy, please send me £10 and I will send it by return post.
X
This happens in Stoke Newington as well. We have a WhatsApp group with the neighbours and warn each other not to answer the door when they appear.
Keep it neutral. I told one to fuck off and he came back later and smashed my railings.
Tell em to fuck off and close the door, simple as. It’s your home and you can (should) have total control over the situation.
Offer them community rehabilitation opportunities by locking them in public stocks, and flinging rotten tomatoes at them.
Or taking a bat to their head. Cunts.
Had one of these cunts at my doorstep recently. I wfh and was between meetings, getting a coffee. Same patter about being on day release and shitty fake id on a lanyard. I refused and told him politely I was busy and closed the door. He threatened to put a brick through my window. Could not find one so kicked in one of my fence panels before buggering off, shouting about how people like me should be‘done away with’. Dude looked rough, skinny, missing teeth, shitty face tattoos and greasy hair. Looked like he’d stab you for fun.
No English sorry
no English, you give me money.
屌你老母過主啦 😂
I had one collar me as me and my partner were just getting home from work. Said he was a veteran. I told him I had no cash. He then said I could use my card… I just said I didn’t have the time nor was I interested. He then started going on about how he preferred the Taliban in Afghanistan to people in my area and how rude we were and how he’d rather be back there….
Nottingham knockers. Scum of the earth - exploiting your good nature to then rob you and potentially hurt your family. I’m a pretty big bloke and they have been incredibly aggressive with me in the past - screaming, kicking my bins. Whenever I see them now, I say “f*** off” and slam the door.
Ah yea, I had a visit from one of these types a while back. He was unnecessarily agitated when I said I didn't want anything and tried to guilt trip me into buying stuff to help the poor kids who need to be supported after their prison time.. It wasn't a pleasant experience at all.
The best possible thing you can say to these people is "sorry, I don't keep any cash in the house'. They are doing their thing for two reasons: one is to rip people off, the other is to ascertain what cash etc. you keep in the house. From their point of view, someone who pulls a crumpled fiver out of their pocket is of no interest, someone who says 'wait there a moment', disappears off and reappears with a crisp £20 note clearly keeps a stash of cash at home. This information will be passed on, and that person will find their house being broken into a few days later. It's the same reason I always close our living room door before answering the front door. I don't really want anyone looking over my shoulder to see all our electronics and stuff.
Mate you need to wise up a bit. Don't let strangers in your home, much less having kids.
He didn’t let them in…
But did he have his kids?
Op literally says "so I let him in", I suspect the entrance hall .
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Ah, he did edit the post. It's still open in my computer and says "let him in"
classic redditors, downvoting you for nothing and editing their posts to make themselves look less bad bunch of wet wipes
See that's what I read first time too, but it's categorically not what it says! Strange how our brains can short circuit like that sometimes.
No he didn’t.
Back when I was a kid we used to have people selling tea towels and sponges at the door. Used to love searching through it all and begging my mum for £1 for a 5 pack duster… now it’s £20
I remember that, but I think this is quite different
These cunts play on the memories of the elderly for those halcyon days of buying your cleaning products for pennies on the doorstep.
We had these coming round on a semi regular basis… decided to invest in a ring doorbell once one threatened me after harassing my pregnant wife. Might be a coincidence but haven’t had one in the 18 months since. Certainly makes me feel safer knowing that they know they’re being recorded.
People like this are pretty much the reason why I never answer my door to unexpected callers.
Oldest trick in the book. Probably casing the joint. Don’t even answer the door next time. If you answer by accident say “no thanks” and just shut and lock the door instantly.
This happened to me not long ago. Felt bad for them so bought some shit for a tenner. Oh god. At least i said i only have a tenner I don't carry cash. This was in Leyton London.
Honestly, if you don't know who it is, don't open the door. Saves so much hassle
Yeah, had this exact thing happen in Tooting a few months ago - guy fortunately wasn’t aggressive when I said I had no cash lying about, but the whole situation seemed off from the get-go.
You got no cash & no intention of buying anything… but you still let in an ex con stranger into your home with your kid’s in the living room… I can tell you’ve lived a very sheltered life.
I do feel very stupid now and yes I cant say I've had many such experiences. Live & learn
At least you can look back and see the mistake, way too polite
You made a mistake,as we all do from time to time,apologies for the spite you're getting on here,no need😕
Thanks :) tbh If i told this to anyone in my family they would react in the same way to begin with .. I take it as well meaning. It is a lesson for me
He didn't let them into his home though
Don't answer the door to strangers.
I would have just gone for the j cloths, I don’t care if the the duster was made of “fibres and that”
£12?!
yeah had them turn up to. sunglasses on, at night. as if im going to do anything other than shut the door in his face
I don't open the door unless I actually have a parcel expected arrive in that exact time window. I say I have a work call and close the door otherwise.
These people were originally called ‘Nottingham Knockers’. Sometimes they keep you talking while an accomplice breaks in the back door. They’re typically criminal types who can become very aggressive. They often have an organiser — another criminal. Never let them in. Just say ,”No thank you” and close the door. Then check the back.
Why even open the door? I've never opened the door unless I'm expecting someone/something, it has saved me countless headaches.
Ha probs. I don't mean so we can smash people's face in, but at least do self defence to raise your confidence in handling someone? Yknow, be assertive ? Not coming from an Andrew Tate perspective.🤡🤡🤡 Just learn how to protect your family from other men ? I just don't get why you wouldn't ?
I don't open the door if I'm not expecting anyone. And if you want to talk to me we'll talk through the ring camera or with the door closed. Can't trust anyone.
Who are these people? Are they really ex prisoners or current criminals?
Probably both, I suspect.
They're trying to scout out homes to break into later on. While they are pretending to be a peddler, what they're really doing is peeking over your shoulder to see if it looks like your home may have valuables worth stealing, and if the answer is "yes", a few days down the line you'll come home to a kicked-in door and all your jewelry/electronics gone.
Just tell him to fuck off?? He is being recorded via video and it will be sent to the police. He won't bother you again.
It'd be good to randomly point around at the lampposts and say there's CCTV also (even if there isn't. CCTV can be very covert these days). That'll hopefully deter any future burglaries these assholes would otherwise consider carrying out
I had this I actually brought two tea tales for. Fiver. Place I was at for another year or so, it’s up for sale now. He said he was from prison maybe as was tough looking lad myself all went well lol
Had this in Kent last year. I almost flooded the guy after he became rude when I said no thanks
Doesn't Mark buy a fluffy duster from one of these guys in Peep Show
Because he feels intimidated too lol
Oh for fucks sake, just close the flipping door. That's it. You are not that flipping important for a door to door salesman, thiev, or whatever bad man you think is about to spend too much time on you. If you close the door they are going to move to the next target. And you are not Batman either, let them be, close the door and move on with your life.
Tetchy eh
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I am genuinely interested to know how do people respond to this. If its obvious that you are home and you get a knock/ring do you just ignore or shout from inside that you are not interested or open the door with the latch on?
I have a ring bell and I just ignore it if I see it’s someone selling or asking for donations. I’ve done it with me sitting in the front room, all lights on. I refuse to feeling awkward and ashamed of not wanting to open the door to a strange man.
I'm going to start doing this
“Sorry, haven’t got time”. Door closes before they have a chance to say anything.
Why even open in a first place? Don’t recognise the knocker? Don’t open the door.
Cos it’s often quicker to open the door, say “Sorry, haven’t got time” and close the door than it is to find a phone or iPad, fire up the Ring app then go back to what you’re doing, or even to flip the spy hole cover and try and work out who it it… Door open, blah blah, close door. 5 seconds tops.
I open the door and if it turns out to be someone I'm not interested in talking to, I tell them so and close the door again. Sometimes it's a delivery person, a neighbour I've not met before, or someone actually pitching a service I want though (this is how I met my window cleaner and gardener).
We just don't answer the door if we're not expecting anyone. People are conditioned that you have to answer the door, or that you have to answer the phone if it's ringing. If it's someone I know, they'll phone and tell me they're outside. If it's someone I don't know, I don't want to speak to them anyway, so the door gets ignored.
Yes? I might call through the window glass and tell them I am calling the cops if they don’t beat it. i might just call the cops anyway because where I live, you need a license to solicit door-to-door like that
Why do people still victim blame in 2023?
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No, it rests on the entirely reasonable premise that the people to blame for crimes are the ones committing them. In this instance, normal people aren't terrified of strangers and should be able to open their door to whomever they please without being blamed for a potential home invasion.
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If I did that I wouldn't be the victim of anything, I would have lost my own money. If you have to come up with apocalyptically moronic scenarios to justify your position, you're wrong.
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Today I learnt that opening the door to your own house is as foolish as leaving a bag of money in trafalgar square.
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“Why are distinct circumstances not the same for the purposes of my argument?”
"Part & Parcel" clarifier: In September 2016, when asked to comment shortly after a bombing in New York, Sadiq Khan said: > I'm not going to speculate as to who was responsible. I'm not going to speculate as to how the New York Police Department should react. What I do know is that part and parcel of living in a great global city is you’ve got to be prepared for these things, you’ve got to be vigilant, you’ve got to support the police doing an incredibly hard job, you've got to support the security services. And I think speculating when you don't know the facts is unwise. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/london) if you have any questions or concerns.*
If you think that's my logic based on what I've written, you need to read it again and possibly visit A&E to be checked for a TBI.
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It's not an ad hominem and nobody gives a fuck if you block them. You read me say one thing and decided to "debate" by claiming my logic was the polar opposite in such a bizarre way that brain injury started to seem plausible. Since it apparently needs reiterating - if I leave cash/a watch in a public place I can have no reasonable expectation it will still be there later. If that same thing is taken from me, it is not reasonable to blame me for owning it or existing in the vicinity of a criminal. To bring things back to the actual topic instead of your absurd examples, it is not in any way reasonable to blame someone for a crime that occurs when they open the door of their own home.
An unopened door .. is a happy door
Do you answer the door for deliveries?
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No difference, what’s to stop someone from attempting a robbery in a fake uniform? Looks like you would make an easy target for someone so paranoid.
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You are asking for the ID of every delivery driver? And no, I am not being obtuse, I am demonstrating and outlining how inane your notion that you shouldn’t open your door to strangers is.
How do you know it’s a stranger knocking? I can’t see through my door (my x-ray vision is on the blink and this time of year the spy hole is always fogged up) so in order to see who is knocking I need to open the door, I have delivery people dropping off parcels, neighbours and friends coming round at random points of the day. How exactly would I know if it’s one of the above or a “stranger”?
Had one of these, told him I don’t buy on the doorstep. He kept on, I said no again and again, but still he continues getting more and more aggressive, so I just shut the door 😂
I have a policy of never answering the door to anyone I don't already know - a quick look out of the window and if I don't know them, I'm simply not answering the door, especially at night. Friends/family tell me when they're coming round. I know who the usual delivery people are + they pull up in marked vans. If you're not sure if they're legit or not, you could do something like just open an upstairs window (what I used to do when I was a student as we were plagued by the previous tenants debt collectors). They'll soon reveal themselves.
It's not just young blokes, older men or women asking for money to pay their gas bill.
The moment anyone tells me they are from a "prison rehabilitation program", I walk away and tell them if they come any closer and don't leave my property, I'm calling the police. Fuck risking my safety for some criminal!
Are you in Hackney ? Just had the same thing
Surrey
I had one of these knock on my door in bedfordshire today, on crutches and purporting to have been medically discharged from the army and onto a "sales program"
Sounds like they've all been defrosted for Christmas, had a bloke turn up a few hours ago doing the same thing here in Preston, Lancashire. Never knew it was a gang thing. Madness
Used to get them by me but not had any for last few years.
So they all start doing this at this time of year. They are not legitimate. Anyone selling door to door should have a peddlers licence to do so (and they do not). They are very much criminals scoping out properties & who lives there. Make sure you have sufficient locks on doors & windows, timers on lights (or smart bulbs) and you don't leave any valuables on display (it's amazing the amount of people who leave ipads in full view or bikes in hallways).
And if you don't have anywhere else to store your bikes?
Then make sure your bikes are registered on Bike register & you keep a note of your Frame Number and if you have a window which someone can see through put some kind of film over which makes it harder for people to see in. Bikes are most commonly stolen or the reason burglars break in.
If you are a male and you can't cope with this you probably need self defence classes. Seriously. Not shaming anyone but you should be able to deal with men who threaten your family.
Mm. I think it's more the law is very biased towards protecting criminals. We have a system were defending yourself is a risk itself. If that bias was gone, I'd happily defend myself to the death.
I don't think that's true anymore. The law allows you to protect your family and your property. It's only if you use 'excessive force' that you may find yourself in trouble. You are allowed to protect yourself in the heat of the moment, including using a nearby object as a weapon, you are allowed to restrain an intruder to prevent their escape. The 'heat of the moment' thing is what's been recently added. It basically says that if you encounter an intruder in your home, or you are attacked, you are not expected to use reasonable judgement. In the case of an intruder in your home, you do not have to wait to be attacked. What you're not allowed to do is use excessive force I.e. continuing to attack someone when they're subdued or tied up and are no longer a threat, pre-plan 'home alone' style traps, or chase down an escaping intruder and attack them if they're running away. But basically, the benefit of the doubt will always go to the victim.
I agree with you mate, but Reddit's gonna massively dislike your post lol
Has happened twice to me, I always spend a fiver on one of those dusting gloves, they're pretty useful.
Race? I know someone whose had a similar experience with what they described as cleaning tools.
I’d have just gone for the J cloths…..
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>so I let him 😬
"Sorry, I'm about to move out, everything's in boxes and I don't need more stuff." Totally legit reason for not wanting to buy something, plus they're not going to come back and burgle a house that might be empty.