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The original was posted on /r/bestofredditorupdates by /u/LucyAriaRose on 2024-09-29 04:01:15+00:00.

I am NOT the Original Poster. That is u/Brilliant-Caramel124. They posted in r/LegalAdviceUK

Thanks to u/BakingGiraffeBakes and another user for recommending this!

And because several people asked- here’s a fun animal fact to cover up spoilers on mobile! Pygmy hippos have a thin layer of skin that can easily burn, so they secrete a pink fluid that acts like a natural sunscreen! (I won’t always do fun facts, but I’ll sprinkle them in sometimes. Thanks to those of you who asked!)

Do NOT comment on Original Posts. Latest update is 7 days old.

Mood Spoiler: ridiculous but with a happy ending

Original Post: September 13, 2024

Hello, there, I am in England, and am just making sure I have everything right. Its a sort of complex story so I will do my best to summarise it.

So, about 17 years ago, I wrote a short story which I posted on livejournal. I have the original handwritten manuscript, notes and so on. Two years ago a young child found my story and presented it in a school contest. It won. Then the prize was given to another child due to the story being stolen so the first child was disqualified. Now, the parents are claming I ruined the childs whole future by not stepping in to this whole thing that I was not even aware of and want me to publically admit the child somehow wrote the story and I stole it, 8 years before his birth. They are threatening a lawsuit among other things and their solicitor is… unhelpful and will not listen to the ends of any sentences. I am reasonably confident but is there anything I should be looking out for?

OOP’s Comment:

Commenter: honestly id be ignoring this as it is beyond ridiculous

for the jokes, what are they actually asking for?

OOP: So far, me admitting the boy wrote it, any profit from the story going back to 2007, (yes, really, so they KNOW when it was written) admin fees, and a payemnt to cover them hiring that guy. There are no profits.

Other Top Comment on the Post:

aldursys: Just to add to what others have written, this is a clear breach of the Solicitor’s principles.

Assuming the solicitor is real, and the whole thing isn’t faked, I would forward a copy of the letter to the Solicitor’s Regulation Authority and ask them to investigate whether the individual is in breach of the Code of Conduct.

Update Post: September 22, 2024 (9 days later)

This is an update to  In which I was threatened with legal consequences for a child winning a contest with my (very) old story, which in my opinion was a very poor choice of winner anyway. Very old, nonsensical rambling story about a boy who turns into a Griffin. I don’t remember why I wrote it.

First off, You were ALL right, Mr legal advisor was in fact the fathers brother pretending to be a solicitor. Second, the child has a history of copying things from the internet and the parents think something becomes free and public domain once its online. The whole thing collapsed very fast with a single phone call from citizens advice explaining exactly what will happen should this actually go to court. They told me the poor uncle was, and I quote, “blubbering like a child caught near a broken wndow holding a slingshot.” Thank you all for the reasuring words. As a result of this, I have decided to get back into writing. I admit, I do miss it.

OOP’s Comments:

Commenter: Isn’t pretending to be a Solicitor some kind of crime?

OOP: That’s most likely what upset the uncle. possibly.

Commenter: The entitlement of some people is truly amazing, though unfortunately, happening more and more these days.

The parents are trolls and they’re producing goblins when in fact we could do with some more griffins.

I’m glad you were able to root them out and can get back to some semblance of normalcy now.

OOP: I am very tempted to write a story where a family gets in so much legal trouble that they get sent to a fantasy universe and find themselves as slimes or something. Would be a big hit with a certain percentage of the internet. But, I think I’ll wait a while before I do that.