Unreasonable Behaviour Policy

Purpose and scope

This is not limited to customers. It applies equally to individuals, officials, councils, government departments, companies, professionals, campaigners, contributors, correspondents, website users and any other party.

The purpose of this policy is to protect legitimate communication and freedom of expression while preventing conduct that is abusive, obstructive, repetitive, misleading, threatening, disruptive or disproportionately demanding.

Expected standards

Everyone is expected to communicate honestly, lawfully and with reasonable courtesy. Disagreement, criticism, challenge, complaints and the submission of evidence are permitted. Strongly expressed views will not automatically be treated as unreasonable merely because they are uncomfortable, critical or disputed.

Those making decisions or assertions are expected to identify what they have decided, provide intelligible reasons, distinguish evidence from opinion, correct material errors and identify any law, policy or procedure upon which they rely.

Unreasonable behaviour

Behaviour may be treated as unreasonable when it includes one or more of the following:

• violence, threats, intimidation, harassment or conduct creating a genuine safety concern;
• abusive, offensive, discriminatory, degrading or deliberately humiliating language;
• knowingly false statements, impersonation, falsified documents or material misrepresentation;
• deliberately misquoting, altering or removing context from communications or evidence;
• refusing to identify the substance or basis of an allegation while demanding action against another person;
• repeatedly avoiding a clearly stated question while issuing generic, automated or irrelevant responses;
• misrouting, suppressing, closing or relabelling a complaint or safeguarding concern without explaining the decision and available review route;
• relying on an earlier decision as an answer to materially new events without addressing the new evidence or explaining its relevance;
• making demands concerning privately owned websites, recordings, transcripts, files or electronic services without identifying a lawful basis;
• attempting to prevent the private submission, preservation or lawful publication of evidence without identifying the specific material and legal basis relied upon;
• repeated contact that adds no material information and has already received a clear, evidenced and relevant answer;
• sending excessive volumes of substantially duplicated or automated material intended to overwhelm, disrupt or silence;
• using multiple identities, accounts, departments or representatives to evade an existing moderation or communication decision;
• placing disproportionate demands on time or resources while refusing reasonable steps that would clarify or resolve the matter;
• attempting to use a behaviour warning, restriction or threat as a substitute for answering a legitimate complaint, safeguarding concern or evidential question;
• interfering with the operation, security or availability of a website, account, device, network or communication service;
• publishing personal or confidential information unlawfully or encouraging others to target, threaten or harass a person.

This list is not exhaustive. Context, seriousness, frequency, intent, impact, available evidence and any relevant accessibility or communication needs will be considered.

Communications

Telephone and spoken communication

If unreasonable behaviour occurs during a call or conversation, the person may be told what conduct must stop. The conversation may be ended if the conduct continues. Future telephone contact may be limited where necessary.

Email, letters and electronic messages

Messages may be grouped and answered together. Duplicate or substantially repetitive correspondence may be read and retained without an individual response. A response may be limited to genuinely new and relevant matters.

Comments, submissions and social media

Material may be moderated, hidden, rejected or removed where it breaches this policy, applicable law or the rules of the relevant platform. A person may be blocked where this is necessary to prevent continued abuse, disruption, impersonation, spam or harassment.

Warnings

Where appropriate, a warning will identify:

• the conduct considered unreasonable;
• the relevant communication or example;
• the behaviour expected in future;
• the likely consequence if the conduct continues; and
• any immediate restriction already imposed.

A prior warning may be unnecessary where conduct involves a credible threat, unlawful material, serious harassment, deliberate security interference or an immediate risk to any person or service.

Restrictions and moderation

Where reasonable and proportionate, one or more of the following measures may be used:

• limiting communication to a specified email address or written format;
• setting reasonable intervals for reviewing or responding to correspondence;
• requiring related points to be combined into one clear communication;
• declining to respond again to an issue already answered unless significant new evidence is supplied;
• filtering, archiving or blocking specified email addresses, telephone numbers, accounts or technical sources;
• moderating, closing or disabling comments and submissions;
• removing content that breaches this policy or applicable law;
• temporarily or permanently restricting access to interactive services;
• requiring communication through an identified representative;
• preserving relevant communications and technical records as evidence.

Restrictions will be directed at the conduct and channel concerned where practicable. They do not prevent legitimate new evidence, safeguarding information, legal notices or clearly distinct matters from being considered on their merits.

Issued UCB directory

Person	Organisation / role	UCB status	Date	Reference	Evidence
Victor Elliot	See PDF record	UCB document on file	11 September 2026		Open PDF notice 2026-09-11-Formal_Contact_Restriction_Victor_Elliot_2026-09-11 UCB.pdf
Automatically listed from the UCB directory. Open the PDF for the exact notice, recipient, status, reasons and reference.
No verified portrait on file Polly Walsh	See PDF record	UCB document on file	9 September 2026		Open PDF notice 2026-09-09-Formal_Contact_Restriction_Polly_Walsh_2026-09-09 UCB.pdf
Automatically listed from the UCB directory. Open the PDF for the exact notice, recipient, status, reasons and reference.
Kathy Marriott	See PDF record	UCB document on file	27 August 2026		Open PDF notice 2026-08-27-Formal_Contact_Restriction_Kathy_Marriott_2026-08-27 UCB.pdf
Automatically listed from the UCB directory. Open the PDF for the exact notice, recipient, status, reasons and reference.

Portraits: the page does not scrape or guess profile photographs. A portrait appears only when a matching local image is placed in /UCB/images/. Public professional profile links may be shown where the identity has been independently matched.

Serious conduct

Credible threats, suspected offences, unlawful access, malicious interference, fraud, impersonation or serious harassment may be preserved and reported to the relevant platform, hosting provider, regulator, law-enforcement body, court or other competent authority.

Nothing in this policy limits any right to protect a person, preserve evidence, obtain legal advice or pursue an available legal remedy.

Review and legitimate matters

A person affected by a restriction may provide a concise written request for review, explaining why the restriction is said to be mistaken or disproportionate and supplying any relevant evidence.

New and materially different matters will be assessed on their own facts. Previous unreasonable behaviour will not automatically determine an unrelated future communication, although relevant history may be considered when assessing risk, repetition or attempts to evade a restriction.

Evidence and publication

Communications and supporting material may be retained for evidential, administrative, safeguarding, security, journalistic, legal or public-interest purposes, subject to applicable law.

Where material is published, reasonable efforts may be made to distinguish established facts, documentary evidence, allegations, opinions and matters still requiring verification. Personal information may be withheld or redacted where appropriate.

About this policy

Policy owner: Martin Newbold
Effective date: 27 August 2026
Review: This policy may be reviewed or updated when necessary.

Websites covered:

• https://www.martinnewbold.co.uk
• https://www.thestealingofemily.co.uk
• https://www.stealingofemily.world

If this policy is displayed on another website or service operated by Martin Newbold, it applies to that website or service unless expressly stated otherwise.