While the company claims that those who buy the 'plots' can choose to be titled Lord, Laird or Lady, as part of a supposed "traditional Scottish custom", souvenir plots are too small to be legally registered for ownership and owners of souvenir plots do not have the right to officially title themselves.

[6] It received backlash for its aggressive marketing efforts, which involves recruiting YouTubers for promotions.

[4][7] The company is owned by Hong Kong-based investment firm, Galton Voysey Ltd.[8] On 23 November 2022, YouTuber Scott Shafer uploaded a video accusing Established Titles of being a scam that misleads its customers, advising YouTubers to stop working with the company as they do not legally bestow ownership.

[9] After the video went viral, many YouTubers dropped their sponsorships, including Philip DeFranco and SomeOrdinaryGamers.

[2][4][10][11] Legally, the company never transfers ownership of the plots to the customers, but even if they did, the Court of the Lord Lyon has stated that "ownership of a souvenir plot of land does not bring with it the right to any description such as ‘laird’, ‘lord’ or ‘lady’".