Postman trying to open front door?

[Bumblebee2302]

Postman just tried my (locked) front door handle when an item wouldn't fit in the letterbox. He hadn't even knocked. I could see this happening from the inside and opened the door - I asked him if he was trying to open my door and he said he was only going to leave the item in the inside of the door. I said that I didn't think he should be attempting to open people's doors and he got a bit shirty.

Is this a thing?! I don't know him and he is not a regular postie - in fact, the postmen in this area change frequently. Just made me feel uncomfortable - does your postman/woman do this?

I don't leave mine unlocked all day but if I'm expecting dp home, my mum/dad/dbro etc then I'll leave it unlocked. Because I don't mind them opening the door without knocking ( esp dp!)

Must be an area thing, the only people who would open someone's front door round here without previous arrangement would be a burglar or similar!

@purple no they don’t knock. Dh has told them they can drop the parcels at our house so he just puts them on the side in the hallway.

@crumbs maybe house insurance is different for different areas then as when we had our bikes stolen from our porch we weren’t paid a penny because we’d had the front doors unlocked.

Crumbs you'll likely find that if you leave your house unlocked and you go out, and got burgled, your insurance would be invalid

I'd be amazed if there wasn't a clause in there that states you have to ensure your home is secure if it's left unattended.

I work from home and I'm here most days on my own, postie will come and open door to leave parcels, delivery drivers will do the same, my courier who collects daily also just walks in, they rarely even knock now unless they are new.

I don’t get this?

If your door is unlocked then you should have been anyway to take the parcel?

No I wouldn’t be happy if the postie decided to just open my door and leave a parcel without knocking.

I wouldn’t be happy if anyone opened my door tbh!

I would definitely check your small print carefully crumbs1. We have been insured with lots of companies over the years and locking your doors is basic stuff if you want to be covered. They ask what type of locks all the external doors have. Who are you insured with?

if I'm expecting dp home, my mum/dad/dbro etc then I'll leave it unlocked. Because I don't mind them opening the door without knocking

But anyone could open the door without knocking!

But they shouldn't.

Well by definition criminals do all sorts of things they shouldn’t.

We bolt the inside door to the porch and leave the front door open - if people want to steal a collection of extremely smelly teenage boy's trainers then they can. So far the mass of thieves in the area have managed to avoid stealing such rich delights.

Agreed, obviously! But who's fault would it be if I left my door open and a burglar came in while I was in the house.

My fault? For leaving a closed door to a house unlocked? Or the criminals fault?

I definitely watch too many real life crime documentaries to ever leave my door unlocked and I live in a nice neighbourhood. Saw one recently where a man with paranoid schizophrenia walked into a random woman’s unlocked house and stabbed her to death in the middle of the day. Obviously things like that are very uncommon though.
I’ve had my house burgled twice (bikes stolen and a laptop that was on a table near the front door) so maybe that’s why I think it’s really careless to leave a door unlocked all day now

The criminal’s fault, but I don’t understand why you wouldn’t use a very simple tool (a lock) to protect you from it.

How could you prove to an insurance company that you were broken into if you left your door unlocked?! We could all pull fast ones with our insurance companies and make claims by saying “oh someone walked into my unlocked house and took all my TVs, laptops and phones”.
When my dad got an £800 mountain bike stolen from his shed he only got the very minimum payout as he hadn’t had it securely padlocked

I've never had a postie do this in 40 years of receiving post and about ten houses. Tbh it sounds as if those doing so leave themselves wide open to allegations of theft etc. I live rurally and postie and other delivery people leave bigger items at front door ( I've asked them to do this) When I lived in a city it would have been unheard of for a postman to try to open a door. Absolutely bizarre

Because like I just said, if I'm expecting someone who I don't mind opening the door without knocking, then I'll leave it unlocked.

I was responding to someone earlier who asked why someone would leave their door unlocked.

@lovesgin well let’s hope you never get robbed when you leave your door unlocked for the postie then. My ex was a policeman and he said burglary’s were more likely to happen in nice quiet areas because they know a lot of people feel safe enough to leave their doors unlocked, and they’re more likely to have nice things to steal if they live in wealthier neighbourhoods too. Plus rural areas would take the police a bit longer to get to if the resident alerted them to the fact they were being burgled

Purple I dont leave my door unlocked for the postie, I'm one of the ones on this thread who thinks it's very wrong of a postman to do that and would never blame someone if they were robbed while they were in the home if they left their door unlocked, because that's the fault of the criminal, not the victim.

And I take that stance with all crime where there may be some people who suggest the victim must have done something to provoke/invite it..........

what
Oh give over. I am talking about where i live. I dont give a stuff about where anyone else lives.

BUT if you actually read the thread there are many more posters than myself who are saying the same thing and that they are glad thier postie does this. I dont know where they live but they are fine with this arrangement.

If you dont do it fine. But its quite normal here. I dont live in a city where i dont know my neighbours, i actually have known all my neighbours for 30 years. Therefor i am able to say its quite normal here

Happened to me once when i was living in Cumbria. Postie let himself in and put the package inside the door - except I have two walloping great big bull breed dogs. The bigger one just cocked her head to one side and wagged her tail (she was a bullmastiff), but the smaller one went BERSERK. He was an Dorset olde tyme bulldogge with congenital brain damage, and a halo cataract. His default mode when he saw something he didn't recognise? Snarl and lunge.

Postie didn't try THAT again.

It's trespassing btw - he shouldn't be doing it.

I'm amazed that so many people leave their doors unlocked so that anyone can walk in!

I have no idea why people are saying this is Ok? Not all porches are double doors, for instance mines is my front door then just an internal door to my living room. I would not be a happy bunny if our postman did that! Yanbu. Why didn't he knock?

Those saying he's a postman not a theif.... how do you know? Are all postmen/women magically exempt from being bad people??

Again.. the postie doesnt come in the house he puts the item just inside the door, shuts it and goes away.

Its not like he is marching into the living room brandishing a parcel!

Willow2017 I have also lived rurally in a low crime area; people still weren’t stupid enough to leave their doors unlocked. Rural areas aren’t more idyllic you know; that’s a common misconception.

They’re targeted areas because muppets leave their doors unlocked believeing they’re safe, and it takes the police longer to actually get there.

One day your laziness of not wanting to trek to the post office to collect your parcel will not pay off, and I can almost guarantee you’ll be the one with the loudest voice whining woe is me.