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Legal matters

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Original poster

It is NOT illegal to...

46 replies

BrianButterfield · 14/08/2013 07:49

So often on threads I see rubbish spouted about what is or isn't illegal. I'm not a lawyer but I do check what the actual law is before I tell people something! So can we have a definitive, accurate list of things that people say are illegal that aren't (or vice versa)?

Legal bods' help appreciated!

I'll start with:

It is NOT illegal to open someone else's mail as long as you are not doing it with malicious intent. So you can open a letter sent to the wrong address to find out who to send it back to.

OP posts:

UnexpectedItemInShaggingArea · 14/08/2013 08:08

If a shop mistakenly displays the wrong price, they are not legally obliged to sell to you at that price.

SuperiorCat · 14/08/2013 08:30

Good one unexpected I hear that spouted lots.

chattychattyboomba · 14/08/2013 08:36

Not illegal to pee in a police officers hat if you are pregnant.

KatyMac · 14/08/2013 08:37

There is not an age at which it is illegal to leave a child on it's own (well it's 18) but if anything goes wrong you 'could' be prosecuted for neglect - depending upon the circumstances

Torrorosso · 14/08/2013 08:37

Take photographs or film children (or adults) in a public place

SuperiorCat · 14/08/2013 08:49

There is no such thing as common law wife / husband. In the eyes of the law you are separate individuals co habiting.

MairyHoles · 14/08/2013 09:24

I recall being told at university that its legal to kill a Scottish person in Yorkshire on a Sunday with a bow and arrow. But they may have closed that legal loophole by now...

I also hear on the boards that you can legally change a child's name by deed poll without the permission of the other parent with PR. Just because the deed poll service allows you to do so (and doesn't check with the other parent) this doesn't make it any more legal!

Collaborate · 14/08/2013 09:32

s84 of the Postal Services Act 2000 says:

84Interfering with the mail: general..

(1)A person commits an offence if, without reasonable excuse, he?.
(a)intentionally delays or opens a postal packet in the course of its transmission by post, or.
(b)intentionally opens a mail-bag..
(2)Subsections (2) to (5) of section 83 apply to subsection (1) above as they apply to subsection (1) of that section..
(3)A person commits an offence if, intending to act to a person?s detriment and without reasonable excuse, he opens a postal packet which he knows or reasonably suspects has been incorrectly delivered to him..
(4)Subsections (2) and (3) of section 83 (so far as they relate to the opening of postal packets) apply to subsection (3) above as they apply to subsection (1) of that section..
(5)A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (3) shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both.

So it appears that it is an offence to open mail addressed to someone else. Being nosey isn't a reasonable excuse when you can just pop it back in the post marked "not known at this address".

Re things wrongly priced - if the shop refuses to sell the item to you at that price they must remove the item from sale for 24 hours.

mrsmalcolmreynolds · 14/08/2013 11:46

Re the post, reading the act cited, isn't there only an offence in certain defined circumstances, i.e. if there's intention to act in someone's detriment and for there to be no reasonable excuse? So opening someone else's post might or might not be an offence, presumably not if you're trying to work out how to get it rerouted to the correct recipient?

Collaborate · 14/08/2013 12:53

Well, what is your definition of acting to someone's detriment? Surely intercepting their post is acting to their detriment? In the context of the recent AIBU thread about this, and in which this situation most commonly occurs, the householder is receiving mail for someone who no longer lives there, and usually they know that person's address, so there's no need to open the letter. Breaching someone's privacy is acting to their detriment. I wouldn't fancy testing this in court.

AmberLeaf · 14/08/2013 12:57

...Be a Prostitute.

2kidsintow · 14/08/2013 13:05

Mairy - along similar lines - it is historically (but not actually) legal to kill a Welshman within the walls of Chester after a certain time.

Didn't realise it applied to other areas too.

flowery · 14/08/2013 15:08

There is no list of questions that are "illegal" to ask at interviews.

AmandaPandtheTantrumofDoom · 14/08/2013 15:11

Damn, Flowery beat me to mine.

It is not illegal to sack someone with following warning, written warning, final warning first. All depends on the circumstances.

AmandaPandtheTantrumofDoom · 14/08/2013 15:12

*without following

flowery · 14/08/2013 15:13

Ooh I've got one. It's not illegal to make someone redundant while they are on maternity leave.

AmandaPandtheTantrumofDoom · 14/08/2013 15:14

...Or while they are pregnant...

Madratlady · 14/08/2013 15:21

Mairy that only applies if you are doing the shooting from York city walls.

quirrelquarrel · 14/08/2013 15:24

If you break something in a shop they should only charge you the base price and not their marked up price. Crazy really. Still means a loss of profits, doesn't it, and what if it were easily fixable......

AgentProvocateur · 14/08/2013 15:37

It's not illegal to sack someone if they have a poor sickness record.

AmandaPandtheTantrumofDoom · 15/08/2013 08:06

Not quite an 'illegal', but today's headline reminded me. There is no such thing as road tax!

SuedeEffectPochette · 15/08/2013 22:39

Trespassers cannot be prosecuted. They can only be sued (because trespass is a tort not a crime). However, "trespassers will be sued" does not sound as good!

Collaborate · 16/08/2013 08:56

Not illegal to use an apostrophe for a plural. It should be, but it isn't.

flowery · 16/08/2013 09:06

Collaborate

Frikadellen · 16/08/2013 20:35

If you only put 1 school choice on your form the LAC do not HAVE to give you the choice you put down.
(AKA it is not illegal to offer you a school who you didn't pick/wouldn't wish)

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