Would you support a ban on cold calling at the door?

[AntiqueVases]

Hello

Inspired by a panicked post on my local fb page tonight asking if the Guides actually are charity collecting round doors tonight or it's a scam.

Personally I definitely think it should be illegal to ring someone's doorbell to ask them for money. Too much scope for elderly/vulnerable to feel pressured or fall for a scam.

It's bad enough being harassed in supermarkets etc but people should be safe in their own homes.

Setting up a No Cold Calling Zone appears to be a right faff. And surely people who don't live in one of these Zones are equally deserving of being unmolested in their own homes?

Would you support a nationwide ban on any or all of the following cold-calling at the door? (I'm talking about ringing the doorbell as opposed to leafleting, the latter of which is still irritating but not quite so intrusive or pressurising)

Politicians
Charity
Religion
Sales - eg Hello Fresh and folk offering to clean gutters/wash driveways

I'd personally include "TV licence inspectors" as salespeople and ban them to fuck from ringing people's doorbells but don't want to derail my own thread right at the start!

Thanks!

While I don’t like unwanted callers, I’m very uneasy about blanket bans in general. While “banning” something is the Mumsnet answer to everything, along with “log it with 101” or “raise it with the teacher”, lots of things were very officially banned in 2020, including visiting one’s own family, or going out for more than an hour a day (which was never a rule, but millions believed it was). Curtain-twitchers took it on themselves to police their streets, and to name and shame those who did not take part in the Two Minute Hate banging pots and pans.

Blanket bans on “cold callers” would give the curtain-twitching folk all the more reason to spy on their neighbours. Family visiting their grandparents could be mistaken for “cold callers”.

Yes i would support a ban. And also a ban on cold calling on the phone.

@Viviennemary I agree, I don't like cold calling on the phone either. But that feels much less intrusive and is easier to avoid - I just don't answer unknown numbers unless expecting a call from GP or something. It's quite hard to ban that also as a lot of the calls originate from abroad.

I'd actually like to ban Royal Mail delivering junk mail - it's a nuisance and environmentally unfriendly - but I suspect i will be shot down for that as they need it to survive financially! I file Royal Mail alongside the BBC as "no longer fit for purpose".