Sir, – Liam Doran is understandably irritated at the numbers of people calling to houses asking for money (June 19th). Cold-calling is my own pet hate. We badly need a cultural shift in Ireland. A doorbell should not be regarded as an open invitation to the public to interrupt the home life of a complete stranger. In the meantime, I’ve got good news for Mr Doran. If he’ll attach, very near his doorbell, a laminated sign displaying the words “No Cold-Callers”, he’ll filter out about 80 per cent of these time-wasters. The other 20 per cent he can simply ignore by not answering the door in the first place.
It’s polite for personal visitors to text or phone in advance with an estimated time of arrival so it shouldn’t present any problems. – Yours, etc,
RONAN SCANLAN,
Leopardstown, Dublin 18.