Instagram/Jim Edwards
In a letter sent to the coffee shop, posted on Twitter, the landlord's lawyer threatens the tenants with legal action unless they oblige and remove the signs, despite them being there for over a year now.
"We are instructed that you have either erected or allowed your sub-tenant to erect an offensive sign on the exterior of the building without the permission or authority from our client to do so and this constitutes a trespass," reads the letter.
It continues: "If you or your tenant do not immediately remove the sign above the property shop front 'Fuckoffee'... our client will have no option but to remove the sign themselves or issue court proceedings."
They even go as far as threatening to terminate the coffee shop's lease.
No humour please, we're British. pic.twitter.com/P1U9VhAEho
- Fuckoffee (@fuck0ffee) October 21, 2015Damien O'Brien, a local ward councilor, told The Evening Standard that as much as he likes the coffee shop, it has attracted a handful of complaints from locals - with some even contacting the police.
Needless to say, the internet has jumped to its defense, with a petition being set up on Change.org to allow them to keep the questionable sign in place.
The petition reads: "[Fuckoffee] have had a few anally retentive and gormless people complain about their name and now they have their money grabbing corporate landlord demand they take the sign down as it is deemed to be 'offensive.'"
Other users have branded the landlord and his lawyer as prudish and lacking a sense of humour.
Prudish idiots > The managers of Fuckoffee in Bermondsey have been told to remove their 'offensive' sign https://t.co/xn8kh4rhxe
- Nåsåermus (@Nissemus) October 22, 2015@fuck0ffee Total sense of humour failure :( I was hoping you would expand cross-country! Perhaps move into the Kebab market with FucKofte?
- JasonD (@OccamsBroom) October 22, 2015I love this coffee shop, and these people are joyless https://t.co/4EDtqBVhaR
- Rupert Myers (@RupertMyers) October 22, 2015