Pissed off with my “kind” neighbour

[Peony1985]

More of a rant
I live on a nice estate with the front doors and a token bit of grass facing the road and small fenced back gardens to the rear. There’s high fencing with tall gates ( can’t see over) leading onto private parking at the back.

We all take in parcels for each other and usually just wait until people knock for them. Amazon leave mine in my porch at the front, so aside from that it’s just the odd thing from Royal Mail.
My neighbour on one side has taken to opening my back gate, walking through my garden and leaving my parcel by the back door.
I felt a bit uncomfortable as we have little privacy so respect what we have. The houses have the only living space directly leading into the garden. She is clearly able to see into my house and have a nosey.
She’s quite gossipy and judgemental.

I the thanked her the first time and said she could leave any parcels under my bin store by the back gate ( thinking she didn’t want me disturbing her by knocking).
This is the third time she’s gone right up to the back door and left it there. There was loads of stuff left out in the garden so it’s clearly not inviting for visitors at the moment. Myself I just wouldn’t go into someone’s back garden uninvited.

I know some of you live in areas parcels get nicked and the neighbours are shit. I still feel she’s being intrusive.
I put “ don’t leave with neighbours” but stuff still seems to go to them.

Lock the gate.

Put a lock on the gate

She’s doing you a favour. Order parcels for when you’re in if you don’t like it 🤷🏼‍♀️

Surely you just put a lock on the gate?

So not an issue with a lock on your gate.

Put a lock on your back gate and a note on your front door saying Amazon please leave parcel on front step, or arrange a alternative drop off or collection point if you're not going to be in.

She’s being kind. But lock gate as others have said.

I'll add my voice to what will be a chorus of people all saying lock the gate.

@MissMoneyFairy , the delivery service is leaving the parcel in the porch. OP is OK with that, but not with nosy neighbour removing the parcel from the porch then entering OP's back garden to leave the parcelon the back doorstep.

The lock is on the inside. It can’t be reached from outside so I can’t bolt it from the car park.

As I said I really don’t get many parcels. This over six months. But I just don’t understand why she feels it’s ok to walk into my private space for something non urgent.

Put a padlock on the other side?

@Peony1985 , you could ask the neighbour to not move the parcel from the porch and to not enter your back garden uninvited.

Please don't enter my garden again.

Lie in wait and shout 'Get orf my land!'

Well I could but I don’t want to be arsey to someone I share a fence with.
I thought asking her to leave it by the back gate was enough.

I need to be able to use my back gate. You can’t park at the front. For the small number of times it happens it’s not worth turning the gate into Fort Knox. It just annoys me she thinks it’s ok.

Simple - install a lock on the gate that you open with a key. Or lock the back gate and use your front door and walk round to the car park.

I’m really good friends with one of my neighbours, always enter her house through the back garden. I’ve taken in parcels for ger
many times. Honestly, I wouldn’t dream of going into her garden while she’s out and leaving her parcel there.

Get a post box bolted to your house. The sort that can accept a couple of shoebox sized parcels.

We got one a few years ago when our choice of front door couldn't have a slot cut in it. Our postman wishes everyone had one. Saves us a lot of bother.

No neighbours taking things in, no lost/nicked parcels, no trips to the sorting office/parcel delivery company depots.

I think you’re being unreasonable. She’s doing you a favour but also passing it over on her own terms, rather than having to wait for you to knock for it. She’s ensuring the parcel is safe for you to find. If this is really about you being embarrassed by the state of your garden, then maybe do something about that.

People will always do things differently to us. It’s up to us to put barriers up otherwise we will be eternally annoyed.

Change the lock into one you can access from either side if you really want to stop her.

@Bedknobsandhoovers actually that’s not a bad idea! I’d still be concerned about the a signature thing ( that was one of the three occasions- it was a gift not my order)

A simple lock and key might work too.

I’m not a lock person at all hence surprised when people don’t get boundaries.

Close the curtains at the back?

Ours has a bar code inside that can be used for signatures - not quite sure how. We do occasionally get asked to sign things - but few.

She is doing you a favour, she might be nosy too, keep your gate unlocked from the in side and install a padlock on the outside, keep the blinds drawn if you're out, or install a parcel box on your front door or the porch. Id be more pissed off if a parcel got pinched from the porch.