to challenge my paper-stealing neighbour?

[Thingaling]

I have a newspaper subscription I pay a fair bit of money for, which gives me digital access during the week and then the actual weekend papers delivered.

But for months now, I have only been receiving Saturday papers maybe twice a month and Sunday papers only once a month. The rest of the time they “disappear” before I can collect them from the entrance hall to our mansion block.

Two weeks ago, I saw my Saturday paper there (which has a label with my name and address on it) in the morning on my way out to the corner shop. When I came back ten minutes later, it was gone.

Armed with this intel, I asked the building security people to look at the CCTV for that ten minute window to see who had taken the paper.

It turns out that the thief lives in the flat above me - a normal looking woman, AFAICT from a non chaotic household. I don’t know her to speak to although I’ve talked to her husband before about water pouring into my flat from their broken loo and he seemed perfectly pleasant.

The security people (somewhat reluctantly) agreed to speak to her - basically saying we’ve seen you on camera doing it, just please stop. She apparently denied it then went mental “Are you accusing me of being a thief?” etc and then claimed she also had a subscription and thought it was hers (although we’ve never seen another paper delivered to our block, ever).

Security are now saying there’s nothing more they can do. AIBU to be really really cross about this? The brazen cheek of her!

Short of getting up at 5am to grab the paper as soon as it’s delivered, what else can I do? ?

it's theft,pure and simple.it fits the criteria.
You are entitled to report it as such which I would do.
Don't discuss with her .
If the police ask you if you want to take it further that's your decision to make but the security will have to give them the cctv so the evidence is there.she would likely get a caution of she admits it.
If you don't want to take it further you'll have no recourse.

I don’t think you should have to collect it from a shop though, the whole point of having it delivered is so you don’t have to do that

Agreed. Nobody would be suggesting going to the sorting office every day if all mail was being stolen.

Do you actually want the paper versions or are you happy to read it online? If online, then can you cancel the paper versions.

I'm sure OP has considered that, but the choice shouldn't have to be made based on whether somebody decides to remove your perfectly legitimate options from you.

I'd recommend getting mailboxes where any mail can be delivered for collection only by the residents of the actual flat/apartment it's intended for. Might make mail deliveries a bit slower but it should eliminate any mail theft.

It's the only sensible way. I don't see why your right to confidential mail for your household only should be lost, just because you share an entrance hall. True, it would make deliveries slightly slower than they are for that building now, but for the service as a whole, considering that some people have big long driveways for just one house, I don't think any postie could complain about being able to stand in one position and get multiple households' mail all delivered into adjacent mailboxes in one go.

I'd say there needs to be a security system in place for mail. Not just left randomly around for anybody to pick up. Lockers or something.

Oh sorry. Dicnt read last post.

@Brindisi32

Be careful about neighbour intel, people can pass on inaccurate info. Is there any way you can monitor the mailbox yourself? Or as others suggest put a replica of the item in the box with a note inside it? If not, maybe it's worth sending a note round to all of your block explaining your mail is being taken?

You are dead right. Gossipy neighbour got the wrong woman. It seems it’s the person who lives above her not the lady in the flat with the broken loo who lives above me. Am extremely glad I did not charge round there/send rude letters to the people above me. It makes more sense because the person in question is quite a new resident but already has some form.

I really like the glitter idea - also the idea of putting a note inside the paper to say “I KNOW WHO YOU ARE”. The trouble is, I don’t get my paper from a local agent as none of them deliver any more - I get it straight from the printers sealed in one of those pale green potato starch bags. So it would be fairly obvious if I tried to put anything extra inside.

I have also tried putting a notice up in the hall which says “QUIT STEALING MY PAPER” but it keeps being taken down as fast as I can put it up.

i think your only option is to wait til its delivered and lie in wait to catch them red handed.

Go tape your ‘quit stealing my paper’ sign over her front door handle 😇

It can't be coming by Royal Mail if it's weekend papers - they don't do same day delivery and they don't deliver on Sundays. The publisher must arrange it with a newsagent or other delivery service. Still theft though, especially if it has the OP's name on it. I love the (bioegradable) glitter idea.

We don’t have mail lockers in the hall - not sure why. Possibly because it’s deemed not aesthetically pleasing, but I suspect also because the postman delivers a lot of parcels and large letters, which wouldn’t fit into one of those little mail boxes anyway. You’d end up with parcels left lying loose around in the hall and even more theft, trip hazards etc.

In terms of lying in wait... so the paper comes from the printers and often arrives in the small hours. Also the culprit’s front door is the nearer to the hall than I am, and there’s nowhere to hide where I could get a clear view of what she’s doing without her seeing me.

It’s just occurred to me that the other thing l could
do is post the whole story on Mumsnet AIBU and hope she recognises her shameful self....

I'm not just making this stuff up. A neighbour nicking a paper left unattended in a common area is theft. Of an item valued less than a fiver. The police will not be in the least bit concerned and it will not warrant a serious response.

It isn’t about going to the police and what might do, it is about the possibility of going to the police and that being a deterrent to the CF.

Although, depending on where the OP lives, there may be police targets to meet in which case, the case of the missing newspaper might be the constabulary’s top priority.

OP, I thought you had identified the culprit from CCTV. Make sure you are certain before you speak to anyone, ideally, get the CCTV footage from building security yourself. Tell them you need it for insurance purposes and the police.

Get down there early, fill your Sunday paper with glitter, then leave it there

We have one of these just outside our front door, but lots of similar ones are available: www.amazon.co.uk/Parcel-Safe-Green-Old-Version/dp/B000NUWCC6/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?tag=mumsnetforu03-21&ie=UTF8

No reason why you couldn't have one for each flat in the hallway, surely? People might complain about aesthetics (not that they're ugly - just functional), but I'd say being able to securely access an essential service is far more important than something looking pretty. Our street looks a horrendous sight at the moment, as the gas board have dug up half the roads, but I'd far rather that than not have a continued, safe gas supply.

A tiny spy camera, fake smoke alarm, one of the various other types available, which won't be noticed. You could tape it on somewhere with double sided tape, one that sends images to your phone would be best but some take a tiny card.

Put it somewhere where it can see either the paper being stolen, or someone making off with it which is more likely to be out of sight of the security cameras in the building and will give you a record of the theft.

Post a picture in the hall or if it is removed, through doors of flats with an explanation that your papers have been getting pinched for months, and this is the culprit.

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll

We have one of these just outside our front door, but lots of similar ones are available: ]]

No reason why you couldn't have one for each flat in the hallway, surely? People might complain about aesthetics (not that they're ugly - just functional), but I'd say being able to securely access an essential service is far more important than something looking pretty. Our street looks a horrendous sight at the moment, as the gas board have dug up half the roads, but I'd far rather that than not have a continued, safe gas supply.

They look good but there are 20 flats in the block and not enough floorspace in the hall to accommodate 20 of them.

She has been told. By security.
She would be an idiot to continue.
Surely the problem has been solved.

Fair enough, but in that case, could the security people not just (on individual request) take bulkier parcels in and keep them in a single big locked box (or room) and then release them to the actual people they're addressed to? For flatter things like letters, magazines, newspapers, couldn't there be a lockable compact pigeon-hole unit?

What happens now - is the post separated or does it all just get dumped in a pile with everybody having to rifle through the lot and being trusted to only take their own?

Doesn’t your block have a trades button the postie can use before a certain time? When I lived in a mansion block all the post was delivered to our individual flats.

You need to intercept on Sunday morning somehow and report back!

You need to raise this again to the building management company and to building security (if they are one and the same, all the better).

You are treating this as mail theft and you want THEM to canvas the residents to find out if they are open to getting individual mail boxes installed like the HR270-2 in this image:
www.postboxesukltd.co.uk/product-category/letterboxes-for-apartments/in-front-out-back/

Honestly it’s fairly unlikely she’s going to continue.

She’s been confronted by a third party and told that there’s CCTV covering the area.

People like this are generally cheeky, not stupid.

And as for the police, there’s a decent chance they’ll send someone out to have a word- it’s not exactly going to take a huge amount of manpower or investigation to send a PCSO round for a two minute conversation.

I'm the director of a leaseholders mgt company and think you should raise it with the building management company - they should be able to inform everyone in a neutral way that there is someone stealing things from the communal hallway.

If it continues you should report it to the police and tell them there is CCTV. Our local police were very proactive when someone kicked in the front door to lift all the parcels in the foyer pre-Christmas.

You COULD do the glitter thing with a tiny hole in the end and use a little tube to fill it. Unlikely they would check the entire wrapper for integrity.
But also security of mail - the building managers have a duty to make sure your post is not stolen. What about birthday cards (containing money) / bank cards / passports / anything that could be used for identity theft?

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll

Fair enough, but in that case, could the security people not just (on individual request) take bulkier parcels in and keep them in a single big locked box (or room) and then release them to the actual people they're addressed to? For flatter things like letters, magazines, newspapers, couldn't there be a lockable compact pigeon-hole unit?

What happens now - is the post separated or does it all just get dumped in a pile with everybody having to rifle through the lot and being trusted to only take their own?

The security people used to take in parcels but they stopped about two years ago for “insurance” reasons. I think there was a dispute over something allegedly delivered that wasn’t there so the managing agents said right then, we’re not doing that anymore. Also, they are not there 24/7 so they couldn’t take in courier parcels (or newspapers) that arrive outside business hours anyway. Re post - the postman comes into the building about midday and delivers post to everyone’s front door.