Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Has everyone done something illegal?

123 replies

PurpleHandledBasket · 03/02/2022 18:51

Because according to my mum, everyone’s done something a little bit illegal and not been caught.

I really haven’t.

I didn’t try cigarettes until I was at University
I never tried alcohol until I was 18 or drank underage apart from the odd sip
I’ve never shoplifted
I never bunked school
I never used a fake ID to get into a club or get served in a pub or buy lottery tickets or scratchcards underage
I’ve never not paid for my train ticket or my TV license

I have plenty of other life experiences. I’ve been to university, I’ve been abroad lots of times, I’ve been through divorce and domestic abuse and I’ve owned pets. I’ve held down a job as a single parent (and I am still doing). I’ve had mental health issues.

But I’ve never done anything illegal.

My mum was surprised, she insists everyone has done something a bit illegal and you haven’t lived if you haven’t done at least 1 of the above. She says she’s done all of the above at one time or another.

So AIBU to think that not everyone has done something illegal?

OP posts:
Thecurtainsofdestiny · 03/02/2022 20:38

Well where I live in the UK there's an old law that says it is illegal to refuse a stranger use of your toilet if they ask.

Must be loads of archaic laws like that that people have unwittingly broken!

BellatricksStrange · 03/02/2022 20:40

Did you ever wear your mask below your nose? Grin

Susurrar · 03/02/2022 20:40

I’m sure I’ve broken the law more than once.
I remember being on holiday in my early twenties, we were walking past a playground with a huge climbing frame which had a little wooden house right on top. My friend and I decided it would be a great idea to climb up there, hide in the house and have a cigarette.
It was very early morning and no kids around, of course.
Someone still called the police, claiming two suspicious characters were doing drugs and potentially putting children at risk.
I was mortified when the policewoman asked to see our documents, took our details down and wanted to know where we were staying Grin

OhFuckBloodyHell · 03/02/2022 20:47

Ooh, this is fun! There must be something...

How old are you OP? Did you ever tape / burn copies of music? Or photocopy more that copyright law allows?

Have you ever been drunk in a pub? Or bought a drunk person alcohol?

Have you ever written on a banknote?

Slightly more niche - have you ever handled a salmon in 'suspicious circumstances'?!
Do you have a burglar alarm but haven't nominated a keyholder who can switch it off in your absence?
If in London - have you ever shaken a rug before 8am? (not a euphemism!)

Luredbyapomegranate · 03/02/2022 20:48

Well you aren’t literally being unreasonable - but it must be very rare.

Are you making an illegal bucket list right now? Grin

HelloFrostyMorning · 03/02/2022 20:51

I don't have enough time to list the things I have done that are illegal, but they run into double figures...Some deliberately, some not. But they have been mentioned by some posters.

Oswin · 03/02/2022 20:57

Have you ever taken a pint glass from a pub?

debbrianna · 03/02/2022 21:01

@SirChenjins

You have - you drank alcohol under the age of 18 Grin It doesn’t matter if it was just the odd sip, you still (technically) broke the law.
Interestingly, alcohol is legal from the age of 5 in the UK. It's the buying of alcohol which is illegal.
HacerSonarSusPasos · 03/02/2022 21:01

Surely you can't be aware of allll applicable laws (unless you studied law) so how can you be sure you haven't broken some obscure one you didn't know existed?

BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 03/02/2022 21:05

Apparently you can get six penalty points on your licence and a fine for using your phone to pay at a drive through while your engine is running. The laws about using a phone while in charge of a car were put in place before phones could be used to pay for things.

I'm sure I've broken loads of laws, I'll have to think about it. I've definitely once written something on a bank note because I didn't have any other paper to hand, and that's illegal (apparently).

JuergenSchwarzwald · 03/02/2022 21:15

Quite a few of the things people are mentioning here are not criminal acts, like copyright infringement (sometimes it is, mostly it is a civil wrong).

I've given my ticket to another car entering a carpark if there's time left on it. (And accepted one from people doing the same not a a criminal offence, just against the terms of use of the car park

BlissfullyIgnorant · 03/02/2022 21:23

If you've shaken a rug or mat outdoors after 8am you've broken the law.
You should all be locked up! LOL

roarfeckingroarr · 03/02/2022 21:26

I took a load of cocaine, pills etc in my teens / early 20s. Nothing else for many years.

ScottChegg · 03/02/2022 21:26

Never mind Napster, back in the 80's there used to be stern warnings on the sleeves of vinyl records and prerecorded cassettes telling us all that "home taping is killing music, and it's illegal"! It had a picture of a cassette with crossbones underneath it.

I didn't know anyone who didn't swap their music with their friends to tape it at home. We used to borrow it from the library too.

Thatsplentyjack · 03/02/2022 21:27

God yes. I've done nearly everything on your list and probably other things too.

Hamjamwich · 03/02/2022 21:37

Going clubbing underage with my friends driving licence as ID

hangrylady · 03/02/2022 21:39

I've done a lot of minor illegal stuff, I imagine most people have.

mumda · 03/02/2022 21:40

@SirChenjins

You have - you drank alcohol under the age of 18 Grin It doesn’t matter if it was just the odd sip, you still (technically) broke the law.
Children aged over 5 can be given alcohol.
Juancornetto · 03/02/2022 21:40

I'll cough to eating mince pies on Christmas day

Juancornetto · 03/02/2022 21:41

Also done everything on your list

ChateauxNeufDePoop · 03/02/2022 21:42

Ever put milk in before the hot water when making tea?

FireMeetGasoline · 03/02/2022 21:44

I bought alcohol under the age of 18 with fake ID. That's probably 2 offences. I've taken recreational drugs. I'm neither ashamed or proud of these acts. It was just a case of growing and exploring.

I have exceeded the speed limit, not massively, but I have. That's unacceptable, speed limits are there for a reason. I've also probably been over the limit whilst driving when I was much younger, and that would've been driving to work after the night before. I wouldn't have even realised at the time. Definitely not acceptable.

Probably stretching it a bit here, but I've also been drunk in a pub or public area. Surprisingly, both are an offence, even if you are not being a nuisance and can see you receiving a fine Hmm.

So yeah, I've broke a few laws. I'm fortunate that I never hurt anyone else, and I certainly reflect on these things occasionally.

HelloFrostyMorning · 03/02/2022 21:44

@ChateauxNeufDePoop

Ever put milk in before the hot water when making tea?
Grin Only MONSTERS do this!
HelloFrostyMorning · 03/02/2022 21:46

@hangrylady

I've done a lot of minor illegal stuff, I imagine most people have.
Yep.
HelloFrostyMorning · 03/02/2022 21:47

Out of these 45 illegal things, I have done 25 of them.

I will leave you to guess which ones. Wink (And I wonder how many of these things the posters on here have done!)

  1. Downloaded music illegally.

  2. Stolen stationary /stock from work.

  3. Broken the speed limit.

  4. Stolen from a shop.

  5. Drove once when I had had 3 glasses of wine and was definitely over the limit.

  6. Rode the train and not bought a ticket, either deliberately and not deliberately (like when there was no ticket office open and no conductor on the train.)

  7. Recorded stuff off the radio onto cassettes.

  8. Found money and not handed it in anywhere.

  9. Drank alcohol in the pub when I was 16.

  10. Smoked a cigarette when I was 12.

  11. Had sex when I was 15 with a 17 year old boy.

  12. Had sex with a 15 year old boy when I was 17.

  13. Knowingly bought stolen goods.

  14. Taken glasses and beer mats and ashtrays from pubs.

  15. Stolen from the Church collection plate.

  16. Bunked off school.

  17. Taken A class drugs.

  18. Lied in court under oath.

  19. Trespassed on private property.

  20. Driven without removing all the ice from my windscreen.

  21. Fly-tipped rubbish in a country lane.

  22. Smoked pot/taken other recreational drugs.

  23. Sent anonymous hate mail to someone (proper physical letters.)

  24. Dropped litter.

  25. Broken Covid laws/rules.

  26. Punched someone in the face.

  27. Driven through a red light.

  28. Brought porn on DVD through customs from Holland.

  29. Entered someone's house without them knowing.

  30. Stolen daffodils from the grass banks in Springtime.

  31. Pissed on a war memorial.

  32. Cycled on the pavement.

  33. Lied to the police.

  34. Sent insulting, nasty anonymous messages to people online.

  35. Had sex for money.

  36. Worked when signing on for dole money.

  37. Set fire to something in public, left it to burn, and then ran off.

  38. Stolen money from someone's purse.

  39. Stolen an item from someone's house.

  40. Bought an exotic pet knowing it was illegal in this country.

  41. Drove with no insurance (or not MOT or no driving licence/whilst banned.)

  42. Stolen a car.

  43. Used my phone whilst driving.

  44. Used a taxi and ran off without paying.

  45. Had a shit in a park behind a bush.