AIBU to be a petty as the neighbours?

[Notmyhouse]

I live at 42 Petty Crescent which is a cul de sac off Petty Avenue. 42 Petty Avenue is about 12 houses away from me, it’s a small business on a residential street.

Very occasionally my post is delivered there. I collected one parcel which was delivered inside the business about 4 years ago and another a few months ago which was left outside their door by the courier (they probably weren’t even aware of that one as it was the weekend, I was waiting for the parcel and guessed where it was from the delivery photo).
A few times letters have been delivered to my house for them in error and I just post it through their letter box without a second thought - it takes 30 seconds at most.

A few weeks ago a small package arrived at my house with my normal post delivery. CRESCENT NOT AVENUE!!!!!! was scrawled across the envelope. They clearly made the effort to put it in the postbox rather than my door when it was delivered to them in error.

Today Royal Mail delivered a tracked package for them to my house - it came through the letter box and assuming it was for one of my children didn’t look at it straight away.

AIBU to make the same petty point they did and delay them getting the package by putting it back into the post system rather than just doing what I would normally do and delivering it to them?

Clearly their point was to the postal service and not you, as it's not you who made the error. Why would you let it bother you?

I'd take it round in person and introduce yourself so they know who you are.

Hopefully in future they can pop yours through the door.

The start of a petty post war, however tempting, will only bite you in the backside in the long run!

I used to live on a semi circular road. One half was called 'blue road', other half 'red road'. Used to cause a lot of confusion.

We once had an envelope with several hundred pounds through the door, no other explanation. Fortunately I knew the resident of the other house with same number so the money got to correct place (raffle ticket sales!).

We also had workmen turn up and fix stuff on the wrong house

I am always getting wrong post. I just pop it back into the right house when I'm out and about.

Do they know you're getting their post? As you just put it back thro their letterbox?

I started putting post back in the postbox when it became a bit too regular; not that I couldn't be bothered, but so that attention was withdrawn to the misdirection. This was after I returned from a fortnight's holiday to find a neighbour's post had been sitting on my doormat for some time (don't know how important it was).

I think they’re aiming their frustration at the post service not you.

Keep it on the side and wait for them to come and ask for it

We have the same problem. There's 1 Mountain Road and 1 Upper Mountain Road. The number of times I've had to call the delivery guy back to say he's delivered to the wrong address.
I've redirected a few takeaway food deliveries from the local Chinese restaurant.
When our pizzas were delivered to them, they just took them in and said nothing.

They aren’t having a go at you. They are frustrated by a crap postie.

I live in no 2 Sunny St and number 1 is not next to mine but stuck up in an odd corner. My house is on the end. So inexperienced posties could easily think I am no 1 and put MY post in no 3.

I used to always put NDNs misdelivered post through her letter box until the time she signed for one of my parcels and then hung onto it. I had no idea it was there until I contacted the sender and got the tracking number. It took a bit of detective work to find out where it was. When I went to retrieve the package it had been opened.

When I challenged NDN she said "I didnt know it was for you" (it had my company name on it). "No but you bloody well knew it wasnt for you." Nephew gets out phone and mutters about calling police. NDN starts to whinge about it being a "misunderstanding." No it wasnt a misunderstanding bitch, you had every intention of keeping it.

Nowadays when I get mail for her I put it back into the post or hand it to the postie. I NEVER put it through her letter box because I dont know how much of my post she may have stolen over the years.

Have you let Royal Mail know about the frequent misdeliveries? We had similar, and when we did report it they said it would be really helpful if we could let them know each time, with the date of the delivery so they could identify whose mistake. Unfortunately that means they really need to hear from the recipient rather than the intended recipient.

(I'm sure that they don't sack posties for occasional mistakes, but this was happening very regularly to us and others on the round. Our worst was when a special delivery didn't turn up, but was recorded as having been delivered. It turns out they record that when they put the "you were out" card through the door. They'd put it through the wrong door, and the other people were away.)

I think speaking is always the best idea

If you don't want to pop in and have a word you could always email them

Life's too short for petty behaviour.

You could be supremely petty and take the parcel over, show it to them and say "could it be yours?" When they say "ooh yes", take a big Sharpie out of your pocket, write the same message on it and say "great, I'll just pop it in the post box, toodle-oo" and skip out with a tinkly laugh and their parcel.

@Twatterati brilliant

I like petty its cathartic .

That said the note really is probably for the delivery guys . We have a similar issue in that we are both no 4 , different roads but at a crossroads and the two houses with no 4 are across the junction from each other. The sat navs send the other no 4 deliveries to us. We regularly (as in every couple of days ) have to hail a rapidly departing user eats deliverer as they have left Starbucks etc on our door step and legged it.

Its quite interesting really I get a random insight into the neighbours habits (clearly every Friday they can't be arsed to cook and are not slaves to routine ....Indian last week , pizza the week before and I am fairly sure the parents would not be impressed to find their teenager orders Starbucks like 3 times a week ).

Often mail swops are done in the middle of the path like a middle aged drug deal.

To be honest we should both put signs up like the one you said.

If they are arsey to you you personally I fully condone pettiness but perhaps not over the sign...yet!

Definitely put it in the post box with a note on. They started the pettiness.

tbh i think both of you need to have strong words with the Post Office. Are the post codes the same?

I used to live at 138 Random Road, I'd lived there over 5 years when I started getting mail addressed to someone I'd never heard of, at first it was the odd letter, and Christmas cards, but then a couple of parcels turned up so I checked the name in 192.com and found they lived at 180, so I wrote on the packages that it was the wrong address and took them down to 180 and left them in their porch. Next day I get an irate woman banging in my front door and saying I'd left packages in her porch for her daughter, and that it wasnt her daughters fault the address was wrong, I said that I'd also received cards previously so it was obviously her error giving the wrong address, but she just started shouting at me saying I was wrong. I'm not sure what she was trying to achieve but their post just went back in the postbox after that with "return to sender" on it

@Notmyhouse

This happens all the time to us;we live on duchess lane and duchess lane merges into duchess lane west to the right and lower duchess lane to the left.

It's an absolute PIA.

Tbf the onus is on the postie/delivery drivers to go to the right address and postcode.Going to deliver stuff down to the same number duchess lane west is a 15 minute walk away and the same number lower duchess lane is a first floor flat inside a door that you have to be buzzed through a 10 minute walk away.

I wouldn't mind if it was a few doors down round the corner.

The other people are arses.Be as petty as you like.