To not answer door to neighbour

[Koalababy]

It’s 8 am and neighbour has rung my doorbell twice already. Have no idea what they want but I don’t feel like answering the door. They probably know I’m in which is why they keep ringing the bell but AIBU to ignore until I feel like it?

Never unreasonable to not answer the door, or the phone.
What's unreasonable is calling on someone un-arranged and expecting an answer. That's just rude.
There doesn't have to be a reason beyond you don't want to.

Hell yes, ignore, ignore, ignore. Don’t encourage your space being invaded.

Lotty456

My neighbour regularly asks me for favours & knocks on my door, at one point if I didn’t answer she would call me to see why I wasn’t answering. Just because someone knocks on your door doesn’t mean you’re obligated to answer it. Hopefully she’ll leave you alone if she’s becoming a pest“

Oh crikey that sounds difficult and I sympathise!

I was in my husband’s great aunt’s house by chance one day, many years ago. The phone rang and she said “if that’s Pat, would you say I’m out shopping”? So, I did, put the shopping, put the wheelie bins out, had a cuppa and went home.
That evening, my PILs phoned up, demanding to know why I had “lied”.
Long story short, Pat and her husband were distant relatives of said aunt’s deceased husband. They invaded her home every year for a week’s stay (we were in Cornwall) either before or after invading other UK relatives. They were from SA and we’re booked to fly home later that evening, after a flight from Newquay to London.
Auntie had heard on local radio that Newquay flights had been disrupted and just couldn’t bear the thought of them coming back! They were well off and could easily afford accommodation.
Instead of just accepting auntie was out, they called my PILs who were just up the road. enquiring where she was, saying they didn’t know who the person was who had answered the phone and questioning the situation. They “needed” to come back to aunties (there are dozens of hotels within 5 miles of Newquay airport).
Oh my goodness, the grief I got from PILs the next day. My defence, “I just did what auntie asked, she doesn’t have to answer the phone, it’s not again at the law.
Things were really frosty for several months! They were of the generation that if the phone rang, you answered it! I thought those days were gone.

Sorry about that waffle folks. Finally got it off my chest. The injustice (about 15 years later, it still burns 🤣)

@Angrywife

Never unreasonable to not answer the door, or the phone. What's unreasonable is calling on someone un-arranged and expecting an answer. That's just rude. There doesn't have to be a reason beyond you don't want to.

Right on!

They were of the generation that if the phone rang, you answered it! I thought those days were gone

I don't think those days will ever go. My background is telesales, and I can't bear to leave a phone ringing and ringing. I am pretty good at dealing with unsolicited phone calls though, and so is DH.

The thing is, if someone needs to get in touch with you, and they don't have your mobile number how can they text you first?

They may need your help? I’d have to answer

@Koalababy

Have just come back to the thread and am at the number of posts!

Sorry to disappoint but neighbour has not been back. and to you all though

It can’t have been that urgent then! Totally unreasonable to knock at that time in the morning.

For Jaysus sake, answer the door.

@MaLarkinn

For Jaysus sake, answer the door.

Why?

To answer the door or not answer the door? Kinell, what a moral conundrum. (At least, it seems to be on Mumsnet, if nowhere else).

Your house, your space. So someone decided to lay into your knocker at 8 am: that doesn't mean you're under any obligation to answer it. Particularly not if your neighbour's a jerk and you're busy doing something else, but in neither case do you owe anyone else an explanation.

If neighbour hasn't been back it seems to confirm the suggestion that it can't have been that important. Few things are sufficiently urgent that they can't seek assistance elsewhere and need to come hammering at that hour.

Continual callers break my concentration. If I'm WFH I don't answer either. It's not a requirement.

YANBU.

I always, always answer my door when someone knocks.

My bloody dogs don't shut up until I do.

I'd be too curious to ignore it! Learned my lesson back in the days of office working - I thought the people in the office across the road were just being annoying and constantly waving at us. Turned out our roof was on fire

You are not at all unreasonable in not answering your own front door, especially if you know they’re complainers.

Please go round now to see what they wanted OP

YANBU - totally feel you @Koalababy
In our last home on the Mornington Penninsula, VIC we had middle aged-early retiree's on both sides-the self-appointed CEO's of the avenue-people who'd had a holiday home in the family for 30-odd years and finally come down from Melbourne to live out their "golden" years in boredom and gossip revolving around who's doing what in the city-YAWN.
Completely resented anyone cashed up enough to buy in, those who flouted their neighborhood policing attempts(putting bins out "too early/late", not engaging with neighbor gossip and not helping with the twilight street patrol) or the occupants of the 2 renatl properties on the street.
Its nice to be almost invisible in a complex of 120 apartments now we are living in QLD! A freindly g'day in the elevator or around the pool is enough for me : )

I always answer my door.

The only person who ever knocks is my ndn who is a frequent and very generous baker.

Couriers just leave parcels in the porch.

Doesn't anyone on here ever receive an unexpected parcel or flower delivery?

@Ginfordinner

Doesn't anyone on here ever receive an unexpected parcel or flower delivery?

of course, but they are left at the door. It makes no difference to the courier if I don't answer the door or if I am actually out.

@Ginfordinner

Doesn't anyone on here ever receive an unexpected parcel or flower delivery?

But the whole point about unexpected things are that they’re... well, unexpected. They don’t happen very often - otherwise they’d be expected. For the couple of times a year this might happen, I’ll risk the five-minute walk to the sorting office. That is if they don’t just put a card through the door saying it’s behind the wheelie bin.

Doesn't anyone on here ever receive an unexpected parcel or flower delivery

We recieve so many of them that it is a non-event. It happens a few times a week. Even if I do answer, by the time I get to the door it's often just be left on the doorstep. Why would I drop what I am doing in my house and immediately walk to the front door to collect a parcel that will be sat there whether I go now or in a couple of hours?

In some areas a parcel left on the doorstep might not be there when you go and pick it up a couple of hours later.

Where we live it is a massive inconvenience to go and collect a parcel from the sorting office. Is this even allowed right now? Having it redirected to the local post office cost £1.50 last time I used this service.

I just find it easier to answer the door to pick up deliveries. It only takes a few seconds. Although, in reality DH usually answers the door when I am working as his office is by the front door.

In some areas a parcel left on the doorstep might not be there when you go and pick it up a couple of hours later.

Maybe, although I live in London and have never had a parcel stolen. 🤷‍♀️

I am just as puzzled by people who physically cannot leave a phone ring but must answer every single call however inconvenient they might be.

They must feel like they are in some kind of high-paced movie where every phone call is life-changing or the world would stop if they didn't take charge 😂

Some people are very obviously very uncomfortable if someone else's phone rings and doesn't get answered!

@Ginfordinner

In some areas a parcel left on the doorstep might not be there when you go and pick it up a couple of hours later.

Where we live it is a massive inconvenience to go and collect a parcel from the sorting office. Is this even allowed right now? Having it redirected to the local post office cost £1.50 last time I used this service.

I just find it easier to answer the door to pick up deliveries. It only takes a few seconds. Although, in reality DH usually answers the door when I am working as his office is by the front door.

Probably the same sort of areas where people don’t answer the door, because it’s not going to be a ‘lovely neighbour’ armed with baked goods.

People generally plan for the life they have, not the life someone else has. That’s why you don’t think ‘Oh well, I can just go to the sorting office’ - and why I think exactly that.

True @StillCoughingandLaughing.

I am just as puzzled by people who physically cannot leave a phone ring but must answer every single call however inconvenient they might be.

We get very few phone calls - usually from DD who is a student and who only rings when something is wrong, so I always answer the phone to her.

I think we must have very dull lives compared to most of you, so answering the door or a phone call adds a bit of excitement