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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to be frustrated by the sheer volume of bogus legal advice on Mumsnet?

142 replies

Ladyoftheloch · 30/01/2019 11:03

I am ceaselessly amazed by the amount of absolute tripe people spout about the law on AIBU, from people who clearly do not know what they are talking about and have no justification for the ‘advice’ they give.

People state as factual certainties every vague, half-formed belief they hold as though they’re practicing lawyers working in the field every day. I truly think some posters believe that because their opinion seems sensible to them, it must be the true legal position.

It’s wildly irresponsible, and people do it without giving any thought to the potential harm they could be doing by giving someone bogus advice.

There is a reason lawyers have to have degrees and professional qualifications. There is a reason they have to do a minimum amount of CPD every year. There is a reason they have to carry hefty insurance in case of mistakes.

So please, stop this nonsense. Stop starting sentences with the word ‘Legally...’ if you aren’t actually a lawyer practicing in the relevant field. Stop telling people what they are doing is legal or illegal. Stop insisting that everyone is entitled to half an hour of free legal advice as though it’s a human right. Stop confidently making proclamations about property disputes, wills, divorce, court procedures or whatever else based on your woolly sense of what you think is right. You have no idea of the harm and confusion you might be causing.

OP posts:
Ladyoftheloch · 30/01/2019 11:50

See also medical advice ....

Yep. Absolutely guaranteed that someone will say they’re worried about a stabbing chest pain and one poster will say ‘A&E. Now.’ And another will say ‘if it still hurts in a week make an appointment with your GP.’

OP posts:
BarbaraofSevillle · 30/01/2019 11:55

DG

And the person being called out will often say something like 'what's in the link, I don't click random links' because it's like they expect the person challenging them to give a full explanation in their own words instead of posting a link to official information that's been checked and officially published, so will be accurate.

And it's not just legal and medical advice, all sorts of money, travel stuff. Someone will post a really vague question 'I'm going on holiday to Greece soon and I can't be arsed doing my own research or making any effort at all what do I need to know' and people will post all sorts of crap about luggage allowances, passports etc that may or may not be true or apply to the airline that the OP is using'.

Like passports needing 6 months left is a good one, loads of people seem to believe that and post it, even though it's not the case for travel within the EU, and many other countries (obviously may change post Brexit).

Why on earth would you ask a question like that when you could just look at the websites for the airline or tour operator you are using? They all have slightly different allowances, the passport rules vary, etc etc.

Skittlesandbeer · 30/01/2019 11:56

But don’t forget that Mumsnet has loads of international members. It’s entirely possible that on some threads conflicting legal information is all correct, in different jurisdictions.

I’ve seen this occasionally. Big arguments, people not reading the full thread, weighing in with what is legal/illegal where they live, or what the best legal remedy is where they work. All it takes is one teeny drip feed on page 3 ‘Oh, we’re expats’ and chaos can ensue.

Once I had a fence dispute I needed advice on. Not legal advice (I explained I wasn’t in the UK in the original post) but do you think I could stem the tidal wave of UK legal advice and arguing? Nope, I just gave up after 16 pages.

Chouetted · 30/01/2019 11:57

This happens in real life too. I can explain to someone that after spending an afternoon researching planning rules, I'm fairly certain that such and such a development would need planning permission, and they can discount it within seconds because common sense tells them otherwise (and is apparently more reliable than the actual legal requirements).

It leaves me speechless. I just don't understand it.

HumptyDoo · 30/01/2019 12:00

Really curious how to do it so I don't have to pay taxes.

Me too! Grin

flowery · 30/01/2019 12:01

YANBU. Drives me loopy. Although why people post asking for legal advice in AIBU is utterly beyond me anyway - all they get is a load of people who don't know what they are talking about spouting rubbish, intermixed with maybe a couple of people talking sense but being drowned out.

But apparently 'traffic' from randoms is better than, you know, one or two people who might know what they are talking about in the appropriate topic area.

Chouetted · 30/01/2019 12:02

Oh! And last month I had a medical professional tell me something that was completely wrong, at a very basic level. I explained that it was wrong, nicely, and they told me not to tell them how to do their job.

I had a degree in the subject in question, she didn't.... but she was still right, apparently.

ethelfleda · 30/01/2019 12:04

That said, it's possibly a fair counterpoint that anyone who relies on legal advice from the internet pretty much deserves what they get

I was going to make this point Grin

Craft1905 · 30/01/2019 12:06

I am ceaselessly amazed by the amount of absolute tripe people spout about the law on AIBU, from people who clearly do not know what they are talking about and have no justification for the ‘advice’ they give.

I couldn't agree more. These people are idiots. It's actually illegal to give legal advice if you are unqualified to do so, punishable by 4 years in prison, a fine based on your income, and 6 points on your driving licence.

MonteStory · 30/01/2019 12:07

I’m always shocked by how detailed people think our laws are. Schools in particular seem to follow very intricate rules because ‘legally they cant’
Keep kids in at playtime
Group children
Refuse ridiculous requests from parents
Make children go outside
Make children do PE

As other posters have said it’s basically ‘I do/don’t like this so it must be legal/illegsl’

I overheard two mums talking in a shop about their little boys’ football team and how the new coach had created an a team and a b team and the ‘elite’ team we’re getting to play more. They insisted the coach could ‘get done for that’ 🤨

Santaclarita · 30/01/2019 12:07

Yeah the latest thread with this as a problem is probably now going to land the op of it in financial difficulty. All because her sister can't read.

As I said on it, someone's name was contraceptionismyfriend and many people on the thread should live their lives with that as their motto.

ethelfleda · 30/01/2019 12:08

Like passports needing 6 months left is a good one

I hate this one. It like the belief that you’re automatically insured to drive another car if you’re insurance policy is fully comp.. nope - check your small print!

ethelfleda · 30/01/2019 12:08

Your not you’re

ethelfleda · 30/01/2019 12:10

I couldn't agree more. These people are idiots. It's actually illegal to give legal advice if you are unqualified to do so, punishable by 4 years in prison, a fine based on your income, and 6 points on your driving licence

Grin
Userplusnumbers · 30/01/2019 12:11

I work in law in Europe and have had some dealings with EU directives. I have just seen a post on another thread about an EU rule banning pizza cutters in restaurants. This isn't a TAAT, but do people really believe that?

No you didn't, you saw a thread where the OP pointed out that someone (Tim Martin, wetherspoons owner) who was so pro Brexit because of stupid regulations, had allowed his own restaurants to ban pizza cutters on the basis of health and safety - it was a comparison.

Daquino · 30/01/2019 12:11

@OftenHangry I though law professionals are not allowed to give legal advice on forums like this? Just to actual clients? Is that not the case?

No, there's no absolute rule against it. But it's often (in my view usually), a bad idea.

PennyMordauntsLadyBrain · 30/01/2019 12:16

The ongoing Will thread on Aibu at the moment is a good example of this.

Poor OP has carried out the will’s instructions as a trustee and is now being told that she has no morals, deserves to loose her relationship with her sister and is obliged to put herself under financial pressure to correct her “greed”.

Farcical.

BarbaraofSevillle · 30/01/2019 12:18

I'd also question whether it would 'count' as legal advice. The words and advice may all be correct, but without it being signed off by a named person, wouldn't stand up in court as actual 'legal advice'?

That's my guess by the way, but I could give advice on the matters that I'm professionally qualified in (companies that work with a particular hazardous agent are required to consult someone with my qualifications before carrying out the work) but the person I was advising wouldn't be able to use the advice to demonstrate that they had met their legal requirement to consult, because they don't have my name and qualifications attached to the advice.

Ladyoftheloch · 30/01/2019 12:18

@Santaclarita that thread is a mess. So many people telling OP she legally can’t share money, that it would be theft to try and do so, that she might be legally required to split it etc etc etc. And yet not one of the people giving this advice has seen the will! And none of them are private client lawyers! But they still feel able to berate the OP and other posters for not accepting what they happen to believe is the legal position in that specific situation. It’s nutso.

OP posts:
ambereeree · 30/01/2019 12:19

The best is when people start arguing over advice. My favourite is when they start with: lawyer here.

FrancisCrawford · 30/01/2019 12:25

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

DGRossetti · 30/01/2019 12:27

Reading this thread reminded me of one of the best legal (non UK) exchanges I've seen on the internet - back in the days of USENET and dial up ...

www.johnberryhill.com/decatur.html

Iamtheworst · 30/01/2019 12:35

A poster argued so strongly against me and what I knew from work (not legal and not advise, more a why does X happen) that I actually wondered if I was wrong. Years of training and everyday practice, supervised almost daily but they were so certain I began to wonder.
Now I stay well away from anything in my (very niche, easyily Googled) field.

ginandtonicformeplease · 30/01/2019 12:37

It annoys with even more when people from AIBU stumble across a Legal thread and pile in there, when the poster wants legal, not emotional, advice.

Ladyoftheloch · 30/01/2019 12:37

@DGRossetti that’s brilliant Grin

OP posts: