Just Been Called a Fucking Bitch by a Nottingham Knocker

We used to have these until we set up a no cold calling zone. We don’t get them anymore. We also don’t get other people offering things at the door.

I'm from Nottingham and they don't ever knock round here. They aren't ex cons and the lads don't last very long who do the knocking. Its usually an old school boss that employs young lads desperate for work making out they will make £. The boss wins everytime as he takes in all the takings and the lads don't get paid because they didn't make a full week.

We do this too, and the local Facebook groups light up when they're in the area. We haven't had them around for ages, it's an effective tactic by householders.

Spend £4 on a little plaque for your door. ‘No cold callers thank you’.
I have put one up at every house and don’t have this issue.

It’s all a scam, anyway!https://www.oprepeat.co.uk/nottingham-knockers/

We use our street WhatsApp to alert each other when they’re around. Very useful!

That's really horrible. I'd be terrified! Do you have a door camera? I'd consider reporting it to 101 as harassment/intimidation/potential burglars.
Maybe send a note to neighbours to warn them. Though by the sounds of it they never answer their doors, sensibly!
We used to get these fellas coming round with crappy cleaning products. My mum usually bought the cheapest thing to get rid of them, I guess if you don't you get a load of abuse!

My friend had similar. His sign said he was deaf. Friend is an interpreter so started signing.

He ran off.

Where I am we regularly have people knocking on the door and asking if I want to buy a mattress.

Regarding this in other countries. No, in Switzerland, it’s illegal to hoover after 10pm and you can call the police if people make noise. Or any noise on a Sunday at all. IT IS A DAY OF REST, THE SWISS WILL HAVE YOU KNOW. So I imagine something as antisocial as Nottingham knockers would go down like a lead balloon. Well, that, and they don’t let anyone IN the country unless they can support themselves. And just like Monaco, for the SUPER big crimes, I think they deport to France, because I don’t think the Swiss have a maximum security prison? (I could be wrong). So absolutely no one could sell door to door, target the vulnerable, and claim they were doing it as prison rehabilitation.

And it just wouldn’t work - the housing here isn’t set up the same way it is in several parts of the UK. In city centers here, it’s a lot of apartment buildings, all with door codes, and houses are all spaced out in the suburbs, and in the countryside, it’s wide open and chalets. There’s no large areas of matching planned housing like you have, with two up, two downs, and attacheds. Plus, I mean, a couple in my building had the police called on them for having sex too loudly at 1am. And the police came out and told them to shut the fuck (ha) up. And then I realized I was getting old because I was glad they’d stop making noise. Welcome to Switzerland. Everything’s too expensive, it’s illegal to have a sense of humor, but it’s beautiful, and the trains always run on time.

Doesn’t surprise me. I actually had genuine charity fundraiser on the street call me a bitch when I asked him to leave me alone. I was 16.

I don’t answer the door now unless I am expecting a delivery. I also now refuse to take in some neighbours’ parcels unless i know them well, after I had one continue to bang on my door and have a go at me because I was shouting down from the bathroom with the window open that I couldn’t come to do the door with my son in the bath.

My elderly parents have been duped by scammers like this before, and the ones who hand you a card saying they are deaf/mute, or are asylum seekers etc. My dad has even had scammers phone him up and say we're from so and so company, offer him a 'good deal' on something and he gives his credit card details over the phone 🫣 I don't know why they are so gullible but me and my siblings are always drumming it into them to stop. One of my neighbours let someone from a charity into their house to make them a cup of tea, obviously not from any charity as half an hour after they had left my neighbour realised the £50 she had on her mantle piece for her shopping had disappeared.

Yes me too. On the rare occasions I've opened my door when I'm not expecting anyone it's been someone trying to sell me stuff (fish, internet services etc or someone trying to tell me about their political party when it's about voting time). 🌹

Why not file a police report? I think you could for mischief at least.
If not, braining him is the next best choice.

But they'd be making it illegal for themselves to canvas for elections, so I can't see any politician going for this one.

I'd not heard the term Nottingham Knocker before, either.

I agree with this.

It’s been a problem for several decades now and no government has ever done anything about it. It’d be a vote winner and pretty easy to implement - publicity, and it’s done.

If the government actually wanted to do something that would get people interested and voting for them again they could make it illegal for unknown callers (who aren’t officials or delivery drivers) to call at any residential property!

This! I never get drawn into conversation with unsolicited callers. If it's not someone I know or a delivery person handing me a parcel,I hear them out then just say 'No thank you' and close the door. Same way I deal with cold callers on the phone.

Probably because its what they call them in nottingham

That’s likely a setting you can change. Our Ring doorbell starts recording when it detects motion, like someone approaching the door.

Never heard the term 'Nottingham Knocker' before.

I have a Ring doorbell. It only starts recording once someone presses the button. So they don’t press the button, they bang on the letterbox.

I would ignore the door but sometimes it’s some poor delivery driver who just doesn’t press the button for an unknown reason.

The ones that I have had knock before claim to be ex convicts trying to make a few quid.

They aren't- they buy the cheapest crap from the pound shop and sell it on for 10x the price. Total scam!

If I can help it, I don’t answer the door to them. I’ve had some really frightening experiences with them. It’s not okay to feel or be threatened on your own doorstep and the whole practice should be made illegal. Who is waiting for someone to come round with dusters nowadays?

I have three snakes , I can see from one of my windows ,if it looks like a scam , I grab the biggest one nearly 5ft fully grown , chilled as anything but it works a treat as they go white and soon shift .

I've luckily never had one of these - lots of charity collectors at the door though.

I think it's weird they say they've just been released from prison, as I wouldn't want someone who was potentially violent or a thief near me or my family. Rehabilitation needs to be a bit more structured than selling door to door.