Neighbours who don't use their correct address

[bringbackspanishflu]

We live in a street where a 'spare' plot had extra houses built on it so the house numbers on this plot are 26a,26b and 26c. Were we have the 26 number without the letter.
All this was done years before we moved in. We don't really know the neighbours as they have a gated entry to their plot and I think maybe rent. The names have certainly changed on the post we get anyway.

The odd bit of post always goes astray and that's fine but Over Christmas it became clear that one of the lettered houses either forgets or can't be bother to use their letter in addresses as we were getting lots of their post and parcels, and I mean lots.
They were never home and never came looking so I start just marking it 'non known at this address' and 'return to sender' and putting it back in the post.

We had yet another parcel delivered the other day, heavy rain and the courier basically threw it through the door and ran. For this lettered house but again missing the letter.

Two days later we get a knock on the door, woman I've not met-
'do you have a parcel for 26.?',
I said this is 26
Oh she said as if I was being odd.
I said I have a parcel for mrs* that isn't ours.
That's mine she said I'm at 26c
So I said well it's addresses to 26 and this happens a lot. Can you please check and use your correct address in future.
She was a bit oh alright then about it.

Am I unreasonable to be irritated by her ringing my door and still thinking she is 26 When she clearly is a lettered address.

FYI whenever I've had to put addresses in websites etc 26a,b &c always come up first.

I've even had to register all the neighbours names at not at this address on the mail preference service because we were getting so much.

We had this problem, although half the time it’s that the postman or delivery person can’t be arsed walking the 100 metres down the lane to deliver it properly, so dump it with us. If I was getting a knock to sign for a delivery obviously I’d redirect them to the correct place, but because our house is quite enclosed and secure, most of the time deliveries were just left at our front door.

It was always kids or teenagers that came to collect the parcels so I tried asking them to ask their parents to call over, then I tried knocking at our neighbours, A and B, but couldn’t catch them at home.

I ended up posting a note telling them to please ensure they gave their correct details when placing orders for delivery, and that any parcels delivered to us in error because they’d been wrongly addressed in future would be left outside our property on the main road pavement.

A friend of my FIL had this. New houses were built across the road from him, he was say number 40 and they were 40a, 40b, 40c and 40d. One house didn’t used the letter and he got there post, he used to deliver it and asked them several times to use the letter.

In the end he got so pissed off he marked them return to sender. The owner of 40d turned up at his house one day asking for her mail. He told her that he sends it all back and puts it in the post box. She called the police and they TURNED UP!

He told them the letters were in the post box, and to try Royal Mail. They went away.

We have this problem. Address often self correct on some websites, not a problem with our next door neighbor who has our number A. We share the main front door and it's no problem to take in a parcel and leave it in the shared hall way. But the terrace down the road, our street name misses out the terrace part of the address frequently on certain websites so we can go through runs of getting lots of their parcels that can only be delivered to the address stated. The family that live there are lovely and we've exchanged numbers for such situations.

I can imagine its really, really annoying. I would do what you do.

@abadlyshavedyeti I wonder what she told the police?!

Do you think she's a CF and deliberately puts 26 knowing that you're more likely to be in than her?

Maybe - there were a lot of handwritten Christmas card where I feel that people would have put the letter if they had been given the letter and not just the number for example.

Do you think she's a CF and deliberately puts 26 knowing that you're more likely to be in than her?

That makes more sense than her not knowing her own address! I'd be miffed too, OP.

We're always apologetic/thankful when a neighbour takes a parcel for us, this neighbour doesn't even seem grateful!

We had this in a previous house and the CF neighbour actually confessed they did it because her DH thought the letter made it sound like their house was a flat I told her if he disliked it that much he had three options

1. Move
2. Accept he won't be getting any more mail as I was going to write return to sender
3. Get over himself

They went with option 1 when the lease was up

I've been scoffing to myself all day about the way she asked for the parcel.
Do you have a parcel for no26?
You've just rung my door bell and my door has a great big 26 on it you cf.

People do this with blocks of flats too ... Just put the building number and leave off which flat they are.
As the previous poster says, they don't want it to look like they live in a flat, so even handwritten addresses miss out that critical part! It's so bloody stupid.

Our friends did this. We turned up for a dinner party at No. 32. Owners looked blankly at us on their doorstep. We looked blankly at them. Turned out our friends live at 32A. We apologised for all the wrongly addressed Christmas cards we'd sent over the years. They were very nice about it.

This used to happen to us at a place we used to live but instead it was the Hermes courier being a lazy bastard. We explained every time and he had the cheek to argue with us on our doorstep about it! We complained about it. Years later I went past the house and there was a big notice taoee to the front asking couriers not to knock with parcels for 16a

*taped

We have this as well. We have just the number, then there is a number A and number B. We've never had a problem with A but we're always getting letters for B and I just return to sender.

Like you say, whenever I search for my own address our three different addresses are always listed properly so there's no excuse.

Not quite the same but I live in a small block of 4 apartments
One is SAHM, 2 is retired, 3 also retired, I work FT mon - fri
Postman comes and rings trade buzzer. I'm obviously not in. Does anyone else answer? No
So we get no post apart from on Saturdays when I get woken from my lie in by the postman staggering up the path with a weeks worth of post
I gave the postman a fob years ago but they've lost it and it's £40 for a new one which I begrudge paying

I had a similar thing but in reverse, so I was the person at number 25A and my mail kept going to number 25. They were lovely about it but I was feeling bad for them so I write my address as 25A (front). It was the postman I think that didn't quite get the front/back doors were for different residences. I was able to sort it as it was my issue though, she doesn't seem to give a shit and there's not much you can do to prevent it if she isn't willing. I think threatening to send all deliveries back to sender or leave outside their house is a good idea, as PPs have suggested. Refuse to accept any deliveries without checking the name first. If you're feeling kind, suggest they try 26A otherwise she will soon learn to write her own address correctly.

@ClientQueen can you not have an external post box fitted?

We have this too. We live at 2 and there is a 2a, 2b and 2c before us. To make it more complicated, 2b only has their house name on a sign, no number and letter, but they don't seem to use the name on any of their deliveries, so couriers always come to us.

2c has nothing on their house to indicate their address other than a number 2 sticker on their wheelie bin.

And 2a has all his electricity bills sent to my address and he hasn't been paying them.

@sleepylittlebunnies the management company won't approve it (eyeroll) but also won't supply a fob as "there's a trade button"
I own the flat but the building is controlled by the shite management company. To be fair they're meant to be able to inspect the inside of our flats every 6 months, I've not seen them in 11 years which suits me! If I installed one I can guarantee my neighbour would report it before I finished

@ClientQueen that’s really annoying. So even if you are in you have to answer the door just to get a letter, no lie ins . Is there any way around it like getting post diverted to a PO Box or something?

Next time a parcel arrives make sure it's for your house. If not, send the courier to the other doors. Just don't accept it. As for letters I'd redirect them with 'not known at this address' on them. Pain in the arse though if you don't regularly pass a post box.

@sleepylittlebunnies exactly. TBH I would be that petty I would pay £40 for the fob and tell them only to deliver my post
Ordered a lightbulb as one has blown and got this today

@ClientQueen I would be that petty especially if none of them ever take post in for you.

Note on the door: Deliveries for 26 ONLY. (NOT 26a, b or c).