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Original poster

Postman at xmas trying the door handle for a signed delivery. Is this normal?

30 replies

Fazed2019 · 21/12/2019 15:59

Our car is normally up the drive but my OH was out buying Christmas presents. I heard a knock at the door and went to answer but before I got there I got a fright when the door handle suddenly went (although thankfully the door was locked). I opened the door to a postie who had a hand-held device for signing for a parcel. It was legit - the device had my surname and the package was addressed to me. I tried to get a good look at him as I thought it was strange to try a door handle but he had a baseball hat on and was staring at the ground.

I understand if perhaps he was doing me a favour by leaving my parcel inside so I didn't have to walk a mile to the sorting office - but was he also planning on faking my signature too? I know a lot of extra posties are recruited at Christmas but do they carry out thorough background checks?

We were burgled a few years ago by someone who took a wrench to our old back window (old and wooden - now pvc and alarmed) so perhaps I'm more suspicous than normal. We do not have a porch - it's very clearly the only door to the house - is this normal behaviour for a postie?

OP posts:
BooksAreMyOnlyFriends · 21/12/2019 16:29

Normal if it's obviously a porch. Not normal to try and open your actual front door Xmas Shock

ACouchOfOnesOwn · 21/12/2019 16:33

All our delivery drivers and posties do this. Our front door does take you into a small front porch and obviously the postie knows that. The delivery drivers don't because you can't see the porch from outside.

CarolinaPink · 21/12/2019 16:37

Depends where u live. I live in tiny village and in past have been surprised to find postie put parcel in sitting room when I was upstairs and didn't hear door. I'm ok with that now but wouldn't be if I lived in a less intimate community.

plominoagain · 21/12/2019 16:39

Mine does it all the time - puts everything on a shelf just inside the door. But then we do live in the back of beyond,

Bibby26 · 21/12/2019 17:21

I had an amazon delivery driver try to deliver something when I was in the bath. I heard the door go but I didn’t realise DP was expecting anything so left it. A few minutes later I could hear banging on my patio doors!! Which meant he had reached over the garden gate to unbolt it. I was terrified! Made DP come home from work as I was convinced it could only be an axe murderer!

cabbageking · 21/12/2019 17:34

Mine also reaches over to unbolts and then rebolts the gate on leaving to leave parcel.

I would rather he did this than drive miles to collect it.

CherryPavlova · 21/12/2019 17:35

Ours would come in and shout. He knows we don’t have a problem with it.

ExplodingCarrots · 21/12/2019 17:36

They shouldn't do it but they do. Have had parcel force , Royal Mail and DPD all do it. A DPD man opens my door and throws the parcel in and closes the door. From the outside of my house it may look like a porch area but it's not as you look right into the living room. I try to remember to lock the door behind myself now as it unnerves me.

VivaLeBeaver · 21/12/2019 17:37

Some posties do sign for it on behalf of the householder and leave it....they shouldn’t but they do.

Sofast · 21/12/2019 17:42

Mine does, I've no issue, she just puts things on the bench in the utility room. In fact not long ago I had a different postie for a little while and bless him he looked so unsure when I was like "please just put them on the bench", this was when I was constantly breastfeeding my baby. He did do it though, inreally appreciate it

DDIJ · 21/12/2019 17:46

This reply has been withdrawn

Message from MNHQ: This post has been withdrawn

Summergarden · 21/12/2019 17:47

Yes my postman has often opened the door just enough to pop a package just inside the door. I’d rather they do that than me have to go and collect it.

CSIblonde · 21/12/2019 17:50

Normal. Our post guy knows the woman upstairs leaves the main door on the he latch all the sodding time, despite their weekly milk order going AWOL & her Cousin who lives round the corner being burgled 6months back. At least I never have to go collect a parcel.

Aquilla · 21/12/2019 18:04

Saves time at Christmas.

Doyoumind · 21/12/2019 18:11

He might have just wanted to shout. I think that's helpful. Missing parcels at this time of year can be a pain. If you have to go and collect them the queues are huge and it's a journey you could do without.

Original poster
Fazed2019 · 21/12/2019 18:25

Thanks everyone, I'm happy to know about 50% of you think the postie's behaviour is normal and not some pre-burglary reccie :)

OP posts:
Kuponut · 21/12/2019 18:29

All the delivery drivers around here do it - but we have a porch and when we got it built the postman's face was a picture of delight as he loves it when people have porches and can leave them unlocked for deliveries!

SexlessBoulderBelly · 21/12/2019 18:32

My Hermes delivery driver did this! I could hear what I thought was door, so walked out to see if anyone was knocking, opened the inner porch door to see the Hermes driver in my porch putting my parcel down.. I was shocked and they just smiled and left 😰

Tinytimoteo · 21/12/2019 18:34

The crucial part is was it the main door or a porch door???

ChristmasFluff · 21/12/2019 19:01

Where I used to live the postie would sign for stuff and put in a safe place/porch/back garden. It was very annoying to find the posties here don't do that!

So I think he was probably trying to do you a favour.

Srictlybakeoff · 21/12/2019 19:08

I used to work for the nhs in the community and would do home visits. If there was no reply at the door I would try the door handle. I would never go in but if it was unlocked I would continue to make an effort to get in .

SlidingIntoForties · 21/12/2019 19:12

Ous did this once (opened the front door to put parcels inside) and let one of the bloody dogs out into the road.

The resulting chaos and my face of thunder has meant he never tried it again Grin

WhenISnappedAndFarted · 21/12/2019 19:13

Wouldn't be where I live (London) but it is for my Mum (Wiltshire) - she often finds parcels left by the postman in her kitchen.

Lulualla · 21/12/2019 19:14

It normal here. The postie as well as hermes and DPD guy and amazon prime guy. They all just open the door and stick the parcel in!

John470322 · 21/12/2019 19:22

I often leave our front door unlocked and delivery drivers simply leave parcels inside, it saves them time and is easy for me.