MoneyMagpie Editor and financial expert Vicky Parry warns about little-known laws that could land you with big fines
We’ve probably all heard of ancient laws like it being illegal to put a stamp of the monarch on upside-down, but did you know there are some which still can be prosecuted and carry fines?
While you won’t get in trouble for a reversed stamp (the myth of which comes from a law as an ‘intention to depose the monarch’), make sure you save money by avoiding breaking these little-known laws.
It’s illegal to be drunk in a pub
The Licensing Act 1872 states that it is illegal to be drunk in a pub – and for someone to continue serving you alcohol when you are intoxicated. You could face up to £200 penalty charges for being drunk.
While it is unlikely you will be fined for being drunk in a pub, the antisocial behaviour that comes with it can land you with a big fine. A common misadventure is public urination, which can either end in a Fixed Penalty Notice up to £400 (or even up to £2,500 if you’re charged under a littering law) or even a charge of indecent exposure which can land a short prison sentence.
Not recycling correctly
You can be fined for lots of things when it comes to household waste. Getting rid of bulky items somewhere other than the local tip, known as flytipping, can come with a hefty Fixed Penalty Notice of £1,000 but up to £50,000 for serious repeat offenders.
You can also get Fixed Penalty Notices up to £80 from your local council if your bin causes a nuisance, such as blocks the pavement for wheelchair users and prams, or attracts vermin, such as using only bin bags and not a bin.
While there is no nationwide law regarding incorrect recycling, local authorities either have or are introducing fines for people who put non-recyclables in the recycling. Fines can be up to £400 for repeat offenders.
This could change with the introduction of the Simpler Recycling Legislation from 31st March 2026, but it helps to have a kitchen bin like the EKO Himalaya or Cube which include separate sections for non-recycling and recycling waste to avoid contaminating your recycling. The new legislation is set to make it clearer what you can – and can’t – recycle, as it will be the same everywhere across England. It also includes weekly collections for household and recycling waste, to prevent clutter and rotting food taking up our homes.
Lingering at a funeral
You can be fined for staying too long after a funeral. Technically, this is not a specific law but is an ordinance that can be imposed by a local authority.
And it really is upheld sometimes, too. In 2015, a man was fined £160 for staying twenty minutes longer after a funeral – the reason provided for the fine being the gravediggers were placed on overtime by his delay.
In 2022, a family was fined £200 when a mourner took 14 seconds too long to leave, as they used walking sticks. Again, the reason provided was that delays would have a knock-on effect to other funerals for the rest of the day.
Beeping your car horn
Your car horn is there as a safety tool, such as to let others know you are there on tight, bendy single track country roads. So, it’s illegal to use it either as a greeting or to show your annoyance when someone cuts you off (or any other bad road behaviour).
But did you know it is also illegal to use your horn on a restricted road between 11.30pm and 7am? That means any road with streetlights and a speed limit of 30mph.
Using your horn for anything other than safety purposes could net you a £50 charge – but if you contest it and go to court, that rises to up to £1,000.
Not carrying a dog waste bag
We all know you can be fined for not picking up your dog’s waste on a walk. This isn’t just to keep streets clean and tidy; it reduces biohazards such as the risk of toxocariasis. The initial fine is a Fixed Penalty Notice of £100, but this rises to £1,000 if you take it to challenge in court.
But did you know that – in theory – you can be fined up to £100 for simply not carrying a waste bag while with your dog? Even if you had one and used it on the same walk, leaving you without one, you could still be landed a £100 fine.
Parking with a Blue Badge… sometimes
Blue Badges are for people with disabilities to park closer to their destination. They can be the driver or somebody can drive for them, but the disabled person must be in the car or being picked up by the driver.
One rule of Blue Badges is that you can, technically, park on double yellow lines for up to three hours. However, you can only do this if you are not in a no-loading zone, and only for on-street lines (off-street car parks don’t count). You also may not be able to if parking in central London. Misuse of the badge can result in a fine up to £1,000, so if you’re not sure of the parking rules in the area you’re visiting, make sure you check ahead of time.
Killing a swan isn’t treason – but still a crime
The common myth is that the monarch owns all of the swans in the UK. They actually only own the swans in particular parts of the River Thames near Windsor. So, if you kill a swan you can’t be had up for treason.
However, it is still illegal to kill a swan under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. You can also get in trouble for maiming or taking one. There’s no fixed figure on the fine you face: it’s unlimited – and it could come with up to six months in prison.
Common law marriage doesn’t exist
This one is less about a fine, and more about what you could inadvertently lose when you or your partner dies. There is a strong belief that when you have lived together for a long period of time (often cited as seven years), you are common law husband and wife.
But this doesn’t exist in law, and gives your partner no legal protections to either act on your behalf if you become incapacitated or inherit your estate as a spouse (and therefore receive the tax benefits like the transference of Inheritance Tax allowances ). Some of this is easy to overcome with a written will – but the tax allowances remain only permitted if you get married or have a civil partnership.
If you have transferred money in an attempt to avoid paying more tax, this could be considered fraud and land you with huge fines and potential jail time. Transferring assets into a non-married partner’s name also relinquishes your right over them – so if you split up, it can be considered a non-returnable gift, so think carefully before you act!
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