Postman opening peoples doors!

[Starlet9729]

Might be completely unreasonable here. I’m not sure!

I live in a village where most people know each other. We have a population of about 1000 I think so not particularly small.

The postman is an older chap. I think he might be semi retired as some days we have a different postman.

He’s always knocked then opened some peoples doors to place parcels inside - not ours as we have crazy escapee dog and equally crazy sen child who would freak at the door opening like this and probably run out. Our door remains locked 🤣

Whilst out walking said crazy dog this morning I noticed the postman was still opening peoples doors and placing parcels inside? Does this seem just a little bit crazy to you because of covid?

If he’s touching multiple door handles it seems a danger. I am more concerned about his health as like I said above he’s an older chap - lovely but very trusting! He’s left parcels on our step in full view Pre covid when we weren’t in. He leaves them on the step now which isn’t a problem.

I do regularly clean my door handle and letter box since covid but obviously I don’t know how many others are doing the same!

Aibu to think this isn’t great right now? He has quite a large area to cover! He may sanitise his hands regularly who knows but it’s not like he can wash his hands with soap and water until he gets back to his base or home or whatever.

There aren’t many cases in my area but the risk is still here in my opinion!

Mine did this for the first time the other day. It really scared me hearing my door being opened and closed - I should keep it locked, I guess, but I don't expect anyone to open my door.

I don't see how it's different to touching letterboxes. I'm guessing the posties are doing a lot of handwashing

No matter how "quiet" an area people live in, leaving your door unlocked is a massive risk to your safety and security. My brother lives in a quiet cul de sac in such an area, rushed in with his small daughter who needed the toilet, raced her upstairs (having dumped his keys on the hall table...came down to find someone had nipped in after him, nicked his keys and driven his car away.

Moreover, burglars often target such areas, especially if they know elderly people - who are known for leaving their doors unlocked - live there. And they're often not nice to people when they enter through those unlocked doors.

Postie should not be opening people's doors.

My issue isn’t with opening doors as such. Obviously it isn’t ideal but I think some people are happy for him to do it that’s their choice. My door is always locked.

@SnuggyBuggy surely door handles are more touched than letter boxes though? I never touch the outside of my letter box but we touch the door handle all the time naturally. I’m more worried about the posties health than the people that live in the house! For instance if I had covid without knowing it, I took dog for walk came home and opened my door with the handle, postman opens my door with handle and virus gets transferred to his hands. Like I said I do wipe mine but I don’t know if others are around here!

What is it with Mumsnet and front doors?

OP, here's a thought. If your neighbours leave their doors open.....then perhaps they're ok with it. And if they're not ok with it, they can tell the postman themselves!

Poor man is just trying to put the mail out of sight, people can wipe down the handles if they are worried. I touch door handles all the time when I am out shopping, I just hope the spitting youff who hovers outside hasn’t gone near them

My post isn’t about whether people should leave their doors open. I don’t give a crap about that at all.

My concern is touching multiple door handles and speeding covid that’s all! We are being told it can live on surfaces!

Well if you're washing your hands anyway I wouldn't have thought it makes much difference.

And yes the leaving doors unlocked thing is weird as fuck. I hope they've checked the small print of their insurance policies.

I suspect you'll get people focusing on the door locking.

MN is really hot on your doors being locked all the time. I haven't ever really thought about it as my doors are unlocked if I am in, locked when I am out or go to bed. Yes, even when I am in the shower my house remains unlocked.

Occasionally I read a thread like this and lock a door. But it doesn't last long.

Our post man also opens doors and drops post inside but has stopped doing it during CV19.

Oh.... And most insurance policies will pay out if your door or window is open. It's the taking without your consent that you are insured against.

We have put a notice over the letterbox thanking our postie and parcel delivery drivers asking them to put stuff in a plastic box that we bought and leave out on the porch. Saves them time and reduces everyones risk.

This doesn't make any sense. He or she (and probably many others) have touched the letter or parcel you then pick up anyway.

So if he leaves it outside, a person goes outside, picks up the potentially contaminated parcel and then touches the door handle again themselves and puts the parcel down inside. I'd say the risk is pretty similar really

Our post man also opens doors and drops post inside but has stopped doing it during CV19.

Same here.

We leave it in the box for a few days. Admit not everyone can do that and it doesnt work in the rain but our regular postman seems happy.

Yes the risk to him is higher but I guess he’s happy to take that risk. Those people who are saying he must wash his hands a lot, where? Unless his round is very close to his house, he won’t have anywhere to wash them. When I go back out to work rather than WFH, I’ll have this problem and I’ve no idea what to do about it as I don’t feel that hand sanitiser is enough.

No different to knocking on doors, letter boxes and ringing bells

I had this once with a DPD delivery. The chap opened my front door and frightened my dog. Not sure why he did it! I have a porch. Weird.

My postman used to do this and it drove me mad. Nothing like finally getting a baby to sleep to then have the bloody postman open the door, shout in, toss the parcel into the hall and then slam the door shut. We have never locked our doors when we are in, and I suppose that's our own fault, but honestly, it's fine. The only time I lock them is when no one is home or sometimes when I'm home alone overnight and feel extra creeped out. ILs are the same, literally never lock the doors, even when they go out. They went on a week's holiday a few years ago and it took several days to even locate the house keys because they never use them. We've never had a break in or anything dodgy happen.

But the most infuriating incident was when the Hermes driver dropped the parcel in a muddy puddle in front of the house (so was soaked and dripping with mud) and then opened the door and hurled it down the hall, splashing mud everywhere.

It's not wise from a covid perspective, but it's mostly just annoying. I'm glad for things to just be left by the door, thank you.

Ours does this too, it gave me a fright the first time but then I didn't mind as it saved us having to go to the depot to get parcels a couple of times. Hadn't really thought about it re COVID but I guess I would just maybe give the door handle a wipe down?

I never have known people to leave their front doors open until on mumsnet.
We don't live in a rough area either. I was just normal to lock the door behind you!

Who leaves their front door unlocked nowadays.

Can you let us all know where you live,asking for a friend.

Who leaves their front door unlocked nowadays

Can you let us all know where you live,asking for a friend

Me and I live Up North!

Who leaves their front door unlocked nowadays

Do you lock yours while you are in and up?

You need to contact Royal Mail to have him stopped, for his own protection as well as other people's. Health and Safety procedures have been updated and he needs to be made aware of the risk he is running. It would be a terrible shame if he got sick when he is genuinely trying to just do his job.

Best way is to talk to his Delivery Office Manager direct, you should be able to google the number for the local caller's office (the collection point) - it is printed on the "sorry you were out" cards if you have one. The other way is via the normal customer services channels - the phone lines are exceptionally busy but you can submit a complaint via the website.

I’m not a fan of postmen thinking they can just try the door handle.

I lived in a remote cottage a few years ago and as I work from home, was always in when he arrived - I was laying in bed on one of my first mornings when I heard door knocking followed immediately by someone entering the property as I lay frozen with fear in bed (I had forgotten to lock the door and tbh didn’t previously bother at the other rural places I’ve lived). When I ventured down there were parcels on my sofa (not in the first room you get to!)

I was not impressed but I initially gave benefit of doubt and assumed the previous resident must have been fine with this, but surely he wouldn’t just assume it would continue before you’ve even met the new resident on the doorstep/in person... But no! Happened again and I then had to remember to lock the door to stop him strutting in but he’d still knock before immediately wiggling the latch while trying and failing to gain entry! Unbelievable!

As I had some embarrassing things laying around during his unsolicited jaunts I couldn’t then bring myself to open the door to him (and he caught me hiding from him a few times early on as I discovered he would then look through all the windows if his knock went unanswered - once I was having a home spa day and happened to be naked and covered in oil with a really angry expression when I saw his face peering in with cupped hands lol) so a weird situation developed where I think I ended up freaking him out 😂 he would then never knock and started to run past the cottage to the log store and dump all my (many, daily) parcels and speed down the bumpy lane. I didn’t have to sign for a single parcel the whole 3 years I was there!