To want to put a sign on the door telling them to sod off?

[dogscatsandbabies]

It is not usual for me to be at home during the day. Usually work full time but am now on maternity leave. In the past 3 days I've answered the door to 3 cold callers who have tried to sell me make-up, a Netflicks replacement and sign me up to a charity prize draw.

Is it going to be like this all the time I'm off? At least the huge bump is currently a great excuse to say I have no intention of spending money but seriously- should I put up a sign or just hope a chainsaw salesman comes round next and wield that in their faces?

[gri] @ Mumof

^

I may have told this story before but..returning late one evening from work I found a chugger at my door. Walked up and asked if I could help them, they replied that the home owner was just coming and had called out to them. I put on a mock-panic look and said we'd best call the police. Then squeezed past to get into my house whilst they looked confused then legged it! Why lie?!

We had a charity collector at our door at 9.15pm the other night. It was for Cancer Research, which I do think is a good cause etc, but I do not want to sign up with some random on my doorstep, if I want to set up a monthly direct debit I will do so in my own way. I politely declined his offer of donating £5 a week and said I would discuss our finances together with dh and we will look up on line how to do a monthly thing if that it what we decided to do, but he would not take no for an answer and started to get a bit stroppy. 'Well if £5 a week is too much, what about £3 pr £2.' No, I said, trying to shut my door, I will continue to support my chosen charities in the way I already do'. 'Well, as I said this is the best way to do it, you really should set up a monthly donation, it is the best way' In the end I get a bit stroppy and said I will do things my way now I am shutting my door, goodnight' and shut the door.
I hate saying no to these people but if you signed up to every doorstep charity collector we get, we would have no money left! Each claim our neighbours are signing up to donate, so basically you are being tight fisted and uncaring if you don't.

I once saw a doormat which said:

STOP!
THINK!
Do you REALLY NEED TO KNOCK?

Was about £28 though so I didn't buy it.

I get off lightly round here. A few children ( ) trying to convince me to re-pave my drive and some double glazing men who's sales tactic seems to be to point out faults on my windows and bitch about them.

Wouldn't employ them. Moaning Minnies..!

Charity bags? Some are from a commercial company that gives an amount of money per tonne of what's been donated. The items are then sold by the commercial company at a profit because they obtained them free.

I welcome the bags because it has enabled us to use them in the ktitchen bin for the last 4 years and I haven't had to buy bin liners.

I do give to a chosen charity before anyone grumps at me.

I work at home.
I have a sign on the door that simply says "Callers by appointment only", and that usually works.
I have a camera outside the front door with a small monitor screen on my desk, and if someone rings the bell I can see right away if it's a friend/neighbour/delivery that I need to attend to, otherwise I just ignore them.

I had a double glazing salesman turn up the other day. We rent our house from a HA.

"Hello, are your parents in?"
"Um, no, I don't live with my parents"
"Oh I am sorry, in that case are you the best person to talk to about home improvements"
"Yes but.."
"He then starts dribbling on about our (brand new!!!) double glazing needing improving"
"I'm sorry, we rent our house, all that gets done by our landlord, who has only recently replaced our double glazing"
"Hmmm well why did you tell me you were the homeowner then if you don't actually own the house?"
"Umm I didn't tell you I was the homeowner."

They often wake me when I'm sleeping in the day (night shift worker). Drives me potty!!

I love living in a flat with video entry phone. The lack of cold callers when I work from home is bliss, especially as I can just turn it off when not expecting anyone.

"Hello, are your parents in?"
"Um, no, I don't live with my parents"

Do you look 12?!

^do you look 12?^

Apparently so!! I don't think I do, I'm 26, have frown lines, massive knockers and had a baby in my arms. Bizarre!

We live on a private road, only house but opposite there are quite a few flats.

I guarantee that every single day I get someone knocking or ringing and asking "is this flat X?" - difficult to describe, but it's really obvious it's a single house with a large sign indicating the name. And the flats are very clearly signposted - the one opposite us is number 19 yet people always react with surprise when I point out the huge 19 on the door to number 19, which seems to match the 19 on their letter/form/whatever.

I don't even mind taking in parcels, directing people etc, but it's amazing how many people are downright bloody rude after you've tried to help them. No thank you, walking off muttering, etc.

Sallyingforth I think I might investigate your front door camera - any recommendations?

what a weirdo.

We both work from home and just don't bother answering the door anymore.

If I'm doing the front garden and get caught by one of them, I either tell them we rent so have no say in double glazing etc or I'm the cleaner.

I had a guy knock yesterday at about 2pm, I'd seen him out the window and noticed the tabard and clipboard so I didn't answer the door. Then a couple of hours later I went out briefly, and as I returned home he was there at the door again! I couldn't ignore him (again) when I'd just driven into my driveway so obviously my house, I told him I didn't sign up for anything at the door and didn't want to waste his time.

Thankfully we live on a 'commercial' street, so don't get the huge numbers of cold callers that an obviously residential area would. However, we've still removed the battery from the door bell. If someone knocks and I'm downstairs, I'll hear it, but the sound doesn't reach the upstairs back bedroom, where my lovely shift working lodger may well be trying to sleep.

It's the late evening charity beggars who bother me. I know their charities are important, but I don't want people knocking on my door trying to get me to sign up. Some of the guys (it always seems to be men) are quite intimidating.

Chuggers in the street trying to get you to give your bank details annoy me too.

I work from home 1 day a week and i am amazed that people who work from home every day get any work done. The amount of times i have to answer the bloody door is unreal

Engergy providers
Portrait sellers
Potato seller - got really shitty with me too as i didnt leap at his bargain buy of a massive bag of spuds
Double Glazing
Rag and Bone man
Religious People
People selling "wares" at the door
Avon
Kleeneze - wanting their crap unasked for magazines back
Some random old man asking if I know the address of a lady who used to live in my house 25 years ago. No. I didnt.
Cavity Wall

And that is just some from last month. Does my head in.

ShredMeJillian
It's not a stand-alone camera, it's part of a full CCTV recording system covering the whole house. I can switch the monitor to any of the cameras but normally it's left on the front door.
If you only want to see the front door there are various video phones available - have a look on e.g. Amazon.

I also had this conversation at the door

'can I speak to your mum please'
' no she doesn't live here, this is my house'
'are you sure? you don't look old enough'
'I'm late twenties and pay my own mortgage'

dh comes through to door to see what's going on

'you look like a grown up, can I interest you in .......

dh: ' my wife is also a grown up, I dont think we want whatever you are selling'

close door

I don't get any ColdCallers. I have a small aluminium sign saying No cold callers, salesmen or canvassers. It was a couple of quid from amazon and fairly tasteful.

I work from home and my previous house used to get hammered with cold callers of every description. I generally didn't answer the door as we didn't know anyone locally anyway. When Macmillan came round late one night I did answer the door, to tell the chugger that I already had a monthly donation set up through wages. The same guy came back every night for a week, trying to get me to sign up for a direct debit- apparently he 'had' to. I may have gotten a bit short with him after having the same conversation 5 times.

Now I live in a first floor flat above a shop, on a street which is mainly commercial and no-one bothers me at all. On the other hand I leave my landline phone unplugged unless I need to use it, as despite being TPS registered it will ring hourly with sales calls otherwise.

I lost the plot with 2 JWs today.
We do have a sign etc.

But they hammered on the door, ignoring the doorbell.

I'm one week post spinal op, I've been let home on the basis that as an exHCP I will follow the 'rules' I've been given, one of which is only doing the stairs once a day. So once I'm down that's it.

Anyway as I said they were hammering on the door, with us having family in the army overseas and in the police…and as we know sadly accidents happen. So as it takes me 10 minutes at least,to get out if bed,find my glasses and get down the stairs I assumed the worst when I could still see people at the door.

Do I know God?

(If God knew me she would have warned me, and I wouldn't have left my phone, kindle and ipad upstairs.)

I'm not sure how often I used the word fuck in telling them to fuck off and I'm Irish I like swearing and I'm good at it.

Once I'd stopped for breath, the male witness observed that I was still in my PJs and this was a sign of depression, and with my 'foul' mouth it was clear I needed help. . .

One final Fuck the fuck off and I slammed the door in their face. The buggers knocked again. . .

Now I grew up with JD neighbours so once they started knocking around here I got in touch with the local Kingdom/ meeting hall and asked that we not be called on. We seem to have fallen off the list. . . .

Worst of it is we actually have a Mormon Temple locally too. So I can expect a visit from them in the next few days too. . .
They clearly keep an eye, and if you have one you have the other within days.

Cold call sellers I have a minuscule of patience with, I'm polite, say no thanks and shut the door.

The other thing we do (as well as not bothering to answer the door) is leave the middle door open and if anyone knocks/rings both (big) dogs run into the glass porch to see who it is - funnily enough people only knock the once (unless its the postman or the DPD delivery guy as they know the dogs are just waiting with their tails wagging to be made a fuss of)