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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Gave package to wrong neighbour... Liable?

72 replies

Muminneedofadvicelol · 09/12/2019 23:06

Hi.

I have a dilemma tonight and can't sleep

A neighbour from across the street came to my door and said I had a package that belongs to them. My second name was the name signed and I couldn't for the life of me think what he was even saying as my new born was babbling away in the background. I just wanted to turn my attention to him as it was just after his bath time. Anyway, when he went away, I realised that I had indeed taken a package in, but gave it to the neighbour downstairs. That was over a week ago. When the delivery guy dropped it off, he said "can you take this for your neighbour" I stupidly assumed it was for the guy downstairs as he is my only neighbour in our block of flats. When I was leaving my house last week, he had come home and I just gave him the parcel without even looking at the label. (I'm an idiot)

Why hasn't he handed it over to the correct neighbour? Absolutely ridiculous.
Will I be liable for this?
Will baby brain ever get better!?!

OP posts:

ForalltheSaints · 11/12/2019 06:47

Talk to your neighbour.

GiveHerHellFromUs · 11/12/2019 07:09

Good to know you RTFT before posting @ForalltheSaints

Snipples · 11/12/2019 07:25

What a horrible dodgy cretin your downstairs neighbour is! Glad all sorted.

ProfessorSlocombe · 11/12/2019 09:20

If it was such a costly item wouldn't you insist that you have to personally sign for it, and if you aren't in and can't, then the iShiny be taken to the nearest post office or other suitable site to be collected?

Generally, retailers try not to draw attention to the potential value of packages by requiring special procedures for the high-end ones. It's kind of like putting a target on them.

At some point, I suspect the Great British Public will have to overcome their squeamishness about being photographed taking delivery of items, if they want to enjoy courier deliveries. Or to be more precise if they want to enjoy the protection of consumer law, as I can envisage (some) couriers making it a condition of carriage and delivery that the item is considered delivered when the recipient (verified by some form of ID) is photographed holding it. No photo. No delivery. Would eliminate a lot of scams overnight. Already some couriers take pictures of the door to which they delivered.

Emeraldshamrock · 11/12/2019 11:52

At least they got it, how strange of downstairs neighbour to try to keep it.
Yes you're right no more excepting parcels it is a nightmare.

Emeraldshamrock · 11/12/2019 11:53

When we had an expensive Samsung product delivered we had to be in and give the courier a pin.

SummerPlace · 12/12/2019 03:47

@ProfessorSlocombe I'm in Australia, so procedures are probably different. I live in what is considered to be a very safe area (touch wood - I hope I'm not tempting fate by saying that) and when I order anything online, which I do frequently, I add a note to say that if I'm not home please leave it and I will take responsibility if it goes missing. However I would not do this if I bought, for example, a new MacBook, nor would I expect Apple to tell a courier to leave it.

Some places will leave it without a signature at the door, whilst others will not and I end up having to pick it up at the post office. I actually don't think any courier or postie would ever leave it with a neighbour. There are a couple of courier companies that insist you ring them up and reschedule a missed delivery.

I always presumed that any delivery that was left at the front door had a picture taken of it showing the item and recognisable features of the house. The supermarket that I frequently use for home deliveries always insisted that someone be there to sign for it. But I was talking to the delivery man at my last delivery and he said that now we can nominate an unattended delivery and they only need to take a photo of it left at the door. He was quite concerned because of spoilage, having had to leave a load of frozen stuff at someone's front door a couple of days before in high temperatures. Still, that's what the shopper nominated.

GiveHerHellFromUs · 12/12/2019 04:26

@SummerPlace here most delivery drivers get paid per delivery. It's standard practice to leave the parcel with a neighbour. They'll leave it in a nominated safe place as a last resort.

Royal Mail will always take it back to the post office though.

Juliette20 · 12/12/2019 04:43

Oh fuck off armchair lawyers. No one is going to sue anyone. Christ. You wouldn't ever be in trouble unless you stole, kept or destroyed goods. Well done, OP, glad it was sorted out.

GiveHerHellFromUs · 12/12/2019 04:47

Calm down @Juliette20. That conversation was discussing worst case scenario.

Juliette20 · 12/12/2019 04:56

It was completely unhelpful and unnecessary to worry the OP like that.

MLMsuperfan · 12/12/2019 04:58

From now on I would politely refuse to take in parcels.

SummerPlace · 12/12/2019 06:40

@GiveHerHellFromUs It's interesting the differences that exist. Australia Post will sometimes leave parcels and other times require a signature. I assume it all depends on the company from which the item is ordered, and there will be a statement on the box saying if a signature is required. It is probably the biggest delivery service of small items in the country, and does most of eBay's stuff.

When I have received an email from a new courier company telling me that I can anticipate the delivery of my item the next day, a lot of them actually provide a form that you can fill in online to allow them to leave the item unattended and once, when an item needed to be re-delivered, they gave me a form which will enable future deliveries to be left. I presume this removes responsibility from them.

I have no idea how they are actually paid. I presume those that work for Australia Post are salaried and paid similarly to a postie. No idea if courier drivers that work for private companies or independently are paid per item, but I do know that none of them would dream of leaving any parcel with a neighbour. Perhaps they can't be bothered to trek around to find someone at home.

And I actually live in an area that would be a bit of a nuisance to deliver stuff to.

XXcstatic · 12/12/2019 07:40

What breach or offence is the OP supposed to have committed? She has no duty of care to the neighbour. She has made an honest mistake from which she does not benefit
Theft, potentially. The police and company who sold the items wouldn't just accept her version of events and say to the receiver "oh well. Honest mistake. Let's all move on."

Er no. You cannot commit a criminal offence without an intent to do so (a few exceptions but not theft). If I hand you my bag to hold and someone swipes it from you or you slip and drop it under a car, have you stolen it?

And the OP has only committed a civil breach if there is some sort of contractual relationship (in the broadest sense) between her and the delivery company or her and the neighbour, which there isn't unless she had agreed in advance to take the package - and even then it would be pretty tenuous. The courts generally do not support attempts to sue people trying to do other people favours, even when something goes wrong - there has to be some really spectacular negligence.

hula008 · 12/12/2019 07:51

If I hand you my bag to hold and someone swipes it from you or you slip and drop it under a car, have you stolen it?

Isn't the situation more like you giving me your bag and me giving it to someone else and then denying that you gave me the bag in the first place? I don't know if it makes it theft but it's not really similar to what happened here

GiveHerHellFromUs · 12/12/2019 07:54

@XXcstatic if your neighbour accepted your parcel, then swore blind they didn't have it, you'd assume they stole it, no?

nopocketsgrr · 12/12/2019 08:32

Bloody nightmare.

Just in case it was Royal Mail, their website personal.help.royalmail.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/19405/~/help-if-weve-left-your-item-with-a-neighbour says

^"What happens if my neighbour denies having my item, or mail left with a neighbour gets lost or damaged?

If any items are delivered to a neighbour and are then lost or damaged, you will still be able to make a compensation claim in the normal way. All claims will be investigated and assessed under the normal processes and in line with the terms and conditions of the service used."^

Not sure what would happen with a courier though.

GiveHerHellFromUs · 12/12/2019 08:35

@nopocketsgrr not that it matters, because OPs issue has been resolved, but usually the courier will go back and speak to the person involved. If not resolved, they'll suggest the intended recipient files a police report.

That conversation further down wasn't scaremongering, it's fact.

It's the same as when an intended recipient asks for the parcel to be left then pretends they haven't received it. 9 times out of 10 the parcel miraculously appears when police are mentioned.

nopocketsgrr · 12/12/2019 08:43

Sorry all and giveherheelfromus missed that last page with the update I think!!

I didn't mean to say that the potential for police investigation was scaremongering at all. Totally agree that there are risks with accepting courier deliveries and many CFs.

I'd noticed something in the Royal Mail info the other day when I opted out of neighbour delivery so it sprang to mind. but am incoherent with tiredness and election despondency! Apologies.

nopocketsgrr · 12/12/2019 08:45

And yes, I suppose the Royal Mail fulfilling a compensation claim would not preclude a police investigation if it was suspected to be deliberate etc.

GiveHerHellFromUs · 12/12/2019 09:06

@nopocketsgrr oh I wasn't saying you were accusing anyone of scaremongering, that was in relation to the PP who suggested it

ProfessorSlocombe · 12/12/2019 10:44

What breach or offence is the OP supposed to have committed? She has no duty of care to the neighbour. She has made an honest mistake from which she does not benefit

Accepting the parcel created a bailment which you will notice is independent of contract or tort. So, yes, there is an implied (and actionable) duty of care.

What implications that may have had for the OP are open to speculation, and in the absence of a court, debatable.

However the take home message should be (although I suspect won't be) that taking possession of goods that are not yours is not a zero-risk hobby.

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