You have probably seen multiple big YouTubers promoting a company called 'Established Titles' this year. In case you haven't, they offer 'Lordship' and 'Ladyship' Title packs, with 'dedicated land in Scotland' and a tree planted for every order. Their Title Packs are 'based on a historic Scottish land ownership custom, where landowners have been long referred to as "Lairds", the Scottish term for "Lord", with the female equivalent being "Lady".'
Content:
> Established Titles' Nature Pledge;
> How much does it cost to plant a Tree?;
> How much money did Established Titles make?;
> Scott Shafer's Video on Established Titles;
> Who owns Established Titles?;
> Is Established Titles' Business Legal?;
> Is Established Titles a Scam?;
Established Titles' Nature Pledge
Image by eko pramono from Pixabay
As stated on their website:
'Established Titles pledge it's commitment to the preservation and protection of woodland ares in Scotland. As part of our concerted efforts, Established Titles has pledged to keep the entire woodland free from any other uses except for the peaceful enjoyment of the land, thereby protecting the biodiversity of the flora and fauna of the area. We have further pledged to protect the land from being disturbed by construction, sporting, driving or other similar activities.
Established Titles donates to One Tree Planted and Trees for the future to help with our tree planting efforts.'
How much does it cost to plant a tree?
(click on the image to head over to the source)
Trees for the Future: $0,25 on average
One Tree Planted: $1
How much money did they make?
As we have only information on the amount of trees planted by Trees for the Future (trees.org):
Let's say Established Titles stayed true to their pledge, and for each order they donated $0,25 to trees.org, then they would have spent a little over $510,000 to plant 2,065,630 trees (2,065,630 divided by $0,25 per tree) and packed $102,661,811 for themselves from a total of $103,178,218 in gross sales.
And that's only in the case of the sales for a digital certificate for $49,95 and if they only 'planted' one tree per order. The total amount they made could be way higher or way lower than $103M.
If you want a physical print of your certificate, then you'd have to pay $30 more, and the size of land you 'buy' is the 1 sq. ft. option. Theres two more options for size of land: 5 sq. ft. for an additional $160, and 10 sq. ft. for an additional $300. We'll let you do the math on this one.
If all these people decided to directly donate to trees.org instead, they would have planted 25,794,554 trees.
As a result of the recently posted video on YouTube by Scott Shafer, people have gone on to Trustpilot to express their anger as they bombard the company (Established Titles) with 1 star reviews.
Watch Scott's Video on Established Titles:
In the video, Scott goes on to mention some big YouTubers' sponsorships with Established Titles, how the whole company is a scam and it's shady owners.
However not only Scott has done a video on them, check out a shorter video by Vailskibum:
Who owns Established Titles?
Image of Katerina Yip from Established Titles
Established Titles was created by a Hong Kong based Lady called Katerina Yip, after visiting the Scottish countryside and 'falling in love' with it. She is also a Co-Owner and President at 'fail ventures' and a Board member of 'Galton Voysey' and 'Trifecta Retail Ventures'. Watch Scott's Video, where he digs deeper into these companies and their shady business.
Is Established Titles' Business Legal?
The short answer is yes, the long answer is 'it's complicated'.
The thing is, people don't read the small print. Or, they don't read at all. In response to a recent 1 star rating on their Trustpilot, Established Titles wrote:
'We would like to clarify that we did not state that it would grant you peerage but instead the title is a novelty title which is based on historic Scottish customs where landowners were referred to Laird/Lady/Lord (can be found on our homepage)'
Our title packs are meant to offer a fun and light hearted experience for friends and family where they can have a few laughs. Each title pack purchase helps to support wider conservation efforts in Scotland by preserving the land that has been purchased. The plot itself is a sourvenir plot (as stated on the website), once purchased a unique plot number is assigned and that plot would be forever preserved in your name or the person you purchased it for and would not be resold again to any other customer.'
In Scotland, and indeed in every civilised country, anyone can take any title they like, including 'Laird', 'Lord' or 'Lady'. There’s no need in Scots common law for a deed poll, statutory declaration or the like.
However, you cannot render yourself a peer simply by changing your title to Lord and you won’t acquire a right, say, to sit in the House of Lords. You will not become noble. The descriptive title of “Laird” is simply a traditional title applied to Scottish landowners and to clan chiefs. The views of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms are very clear:
“The term ‘laird’ has generally been applied to the owner of an estate, sometimes by the owner himself or, more commonly, by those living and working on the estate.”
On the matter, back in 2012, The Court of the Lord Lyon commented:
'Ownership of a souvenir plot of land does not bring with it the right to any description such as ‘laird’, ‘lord’ or ‘lady’. ‘Laird’ is not a title but a description applied by those living on and around the estate, many of whom will derive their living from it, to the principal landowner of a long-named area of land. It will, therefore, be seen that it is not a description which is appropriate for the owner of a normal residential property.
It cannot properly be used to describe a person who owns a small part of a larger piece of land. The term ‘laird’ is not one recognisable by attachment to a personal name and thus there is no official recognition of ‘XY, Laird of Z’.
The words ‘lord’ and ‘lady’ apply to those on whom a peerage has been confirmed and do not relate to the ownership of land.
Ownership of a souvenir plot of land is not sufficient to bring a person otherwise ineligible within the jurisdiction of the Lord Lyon for seeking a coat of arms.'
What is a souvenir plot?
Report, the Land Registration etc. (Scotland) Bill (the ‘Bill’), amends the 1979 Act by inserting into it:
In subsection (1)(b), “souvenir plot” means a plot of land which:
'Is of inconsiderable size and of no practical utility, and is neither a registered plot, nor a plot the ownership of which has, at any time, separately been constituted or transferred by a document recorded in the Register of Sasines.'
Is Established Titles a Scam?
Established Titles is more so deceptive than a straight up scam. They give off the impression that what customers are buying is ownership over a land in Scotland, that they are being bestowed (given/assigned) a title 'Laird', 'Lord' or 'Lady', and that for each purchase, Established Titles will plant at least one tree. When in reality, all you get is a worthless piece of paper that is intended 'to offer a fun and light hearted experience for friends and family where they can have a few laughs'. You don't even get that. What you actually get for $49,95 is a digital 'certificate' that is NOT legally recognized by any organization, which you have to print yourself and some 'special' lot number of the land you/they 'own'.
On their website, they state:
'This is a purchase for a personal dedication for a souvenir plot of land. You may choose to title yourself with the title of Lord, Laird or Lady.
And here is the tricky thing: 'You may choose to title yourself'. You may choose to do so, as you have the freedom and ability, even if you do not purchase anything from them. You can still legally have the title 'Lord' before your name, but that does not mean that you will acquire a right, say, to sit in the House of Lords. You will not become noble. Your title won't be legally recognized by any official. As we already mentioned.
While they say that the customer is buying a souvenir plot of land, they do not clarify that the customer is not being granted peerage.
'Kind of like an NFT, except it exists in real life.', as SomeOrdinaryGamers said.
It's pretty much the next Earth 3.0. You pay $49,95 for the 'lot', and what u get in return is a digital file certificate (that is NOT legally recognized by any organization) and a promise that they will plant a tree. Except, the only difference being, that Established Titles actually owns the land they 'sell', and in Earth 2.0 nobody owns a thing.
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