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Original poster

New tenants are refusing to hand over my daughter’s parcels

334 replies

PerseverancePays · 27/07/2021 21:42

My daughter ordered £200 worth of clothes for herself and her baby from Next and forgot to put her new address on the order form. The courier has sent a photo of the door opened to her old flat with a man’s leg showing accepting the parcels. She asked her upstairs neighbour to pop down and get the parcels and hang on to them until I can get round there, but the new tenants have point blank said they’ve not had any parcels delivered !
I’m going round there tomorrow morning to show them the picture of them receiving them and seeing what they have to say about that.
If they still refuse, which is daylight robbery, would the police take any notice at all?
I’m also a bit nervous as I’m a short and small woman and easily intimidated. WWYD?

OP posts:
User56439876 · 28/07/2021 05:29

No crime has been committed until the daughter is refused the parcel as she is the owner of it

maddiemookins16mum · 28/07/2021 05:33

@PerseverancePays

My daughter ordered £200 worth of clothes for herself and her baby from Next and forgot to put her new address on the order form. The courier has sent a photo of the door opened to her old flat with a man’s leg showing accepting the parcels. She asked her upstairs neighbour to pop down and get the parcels and hang on to them until I can get round there, but the new tenants have point blank said they’ve not had any parcels delivered ! I’m going round there tomorrow morning to show them the picture of them receiving them and seeing what they have to say about that. If they still refuse, which is daylight robbery, would the police take any notice at all? I’m also a bit nervous as I’m a short and small woman and easily intimidated. WWYD?
What would I do? Get my daughter to sort it.
Mindymomo · 28/07/2021 05:48

I’d go round with some lagers in one hand and say sorry I understand some parcels have arrived for me, thanks for taking them in, and here’s some lagers for your trouble, but I expect they’ve already opened them.

CallMeRisley · 28/07/2021 05:49

Weird that the courier didn’t check the name. Normally when I get a parcel the courier will say “what’s the name there please?” And I’ll say “Smith” and they’ll say “that’s the one!” or “Hmm…” in which case I’ll say “Or my partner, Jones?” and they say “Yep that’s it!”
No ID shown or anything but just a quick name check.

User56439876 · 28/07/2021 05:53

@Tavannach

It's theft. Plain and simple. Your daughter paid for It, they didn't. She wants it back, they won't give it to her.

Phone 101 in the morning.

The daughter hasn't been round for it if you read the OP.
mrsbeeton999 · 28/07/2021 05:58

Your daughter probably didn’t bother changing addresses because she knows you’ll sort it out. Why on earth are you going round there. Presumably she’s an adult if she’s having a baby. Let her grow up and sort out her self made issues herself

insancerre · 28/07/2021 06:02

I really think it’s up to your daughter to sort this
She can go round and ask for her parcel herself
Then she can report it to the police herself if she doesn’t get her parcel
I don’t see why op is involved at all

Palavah · 28/07/2021 06:20

@BlatantlyNameChanged

I’m going round there tomorrow morning to show them the picture of them receiving them and seeing what they have to say about that.

I'd keep the tone conversational/friendly and mention that the courier company/Next have said you need to report it to the police as theft but you wanted to make absolutely sure it hasn't been delivered there before you involve the police. Ten to one they will realise that their son/partner/dog took it in without telling them.

If you get no joy then do report it, it is theft and at the very least you'll get given a crime number which you can then use to try claim a refund.

This
onelittlefrog · 28/07/2021 06:21

@Googlewasmyidea1

Jeez, there's some cold people on here! She put the wrong address by mistake, that doesn't entitle them to steal the parcels
Exactly! It's still theft, which is illegal.

Whether the police will be interested, probably not, but you can still say you are going to inform them. That's enough for most people.

PheasantsNest · 28/07/2021 06:23

Good luck getting the police involved. They don't even come out for actual crimes here.

Your daughter needs to do her own sorting out so far it's the upstairs neighbour and you. It's up to her to sort her problems out.

LakieLady · 28/07/2021 06:29

@CallMeRisley

Weird that the courier didn’t check the name. Normally when I get a parcel the courier will say “what’s the name there please?” And I’ll say “Smith” and they’ll say “that’s the one!” or “Hmm…” in which case I’ll say “Or my partner, Jones?” and they say “Yep that’s it!” No ID shown or anything but just a quick name check.
Goodness, delivery drivers here are proper slack, unless it's something that needs signing for or they need to take a photo, they're usually back down the drive by and at the gate by the time I've opened the door.
Nomorepies · 28/07/2021 06:36

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ on the poster's request

newnortherner111 · 28/07/2021 06:51

Your daughter should go round. Only then if that fails should the police become involved, which hopefully won't be needed.

Basil2021 · 28/07/2021 06:52

There are some unbelievably horrible holier than thou people on here.
If the tenants keep the parcels then it’s theft. Plain and simple. Completely illegal to keep/open a parcel/letter that’s arrived for someone else.

Original poster
PerseverancePays · 28/07/2021 06:53

Gosh, so many replies, so much advice, thank you, so appreciated. To answer a few queries,
My daughter has moved south three and a half hours away which is why she’s asked others for help.
She has changed her address on essentials like utilities, council etc, forgot her Next account, it can happen.
The flat is a rental and she’s gone to another rental.
Thanks for all the suggestions of how to give them the opportunity to cough up before letting them know I will be contacting the police.
I take in parcels for half a dozen neighbours up and down my street and it has never occurred to me to keep any. One CF thinks its my job to take it to him, the longest he’s left it at mine is three weeks!
Will leave an update when I get in. Thanks all.

OP posts:
Lostinthemail · 28/07/2021 06:54

If I’d receive such a parcel, I would be contacting Next to give them the opportunity to recollect it. I sure wouldn’t give it to a random neighbour, someone who claims they accidently used my address and/or their mother. If all these people showed up, I’d feel sure someone is trying to put me in the middle of fraud.

NumberTheory · 28/07/2021 06:57

@melj1213
According to the Postal Services Act 2000, it is illegal to open mail that is not addressed to you, unless you can show reasonable excuse and you are not doing so with the intention of purposely denying the correct recipient from receiving it.

It's a bit more than that. The wording in the legislation is:
"A person commits an offence if, intending to act to a person’s detriment and without reasonable excuse, he opens a postal packet which he knows or reasonably suspects has been incorrectly delivered to him."

So it seems, to be guilty you would have to have both an intention to act to their detriment and be without reasonable excuse. If you got your neighbour's mail by mistake but knew it was theirs and just wanted to be nosey about what their daughter had written to them but weren't intending using that knowledge to their detriment, I can't see see how the elements of the offence would be made.

NumberTheory · 28/07/2021 07:05

@Basil2021

There are some unbelievably horrible holier than thou people on here. If the tenants keep the parcels then it’s theft. Plain and simple. Completely illegal to keep/open a parcel/letter that’s arrived for someone else.
It's not holier than though to point out that the law that makes something criminal or not doesn't always conform to the easiest interpretation.

It is not completely illegal to open a letter or parcel that arrives for someone else. It isn't always completely illegal to keep a letter or parcel that arrives for someone else. It would be a very poor law that would let someone become a thief because someone misaddresses a parcel to them and they refuse to give it to a random stranger who asks for it with no proof of ownership.

Outbutnotoutout · 28/07/2021 07:11

@PerseverancePays

My daughter ordered £200 worth of clothes for herself and her baby from Next and forgot to put her new address on the order form. The courier has sent a photo of the door opened to her old flat with a man’s leg showing accepting the parcels. She asked her upstairs neighbour to pop down and get the parcels and hang on to them until I can get round there, but the new tenants have point blank said they’ve not had any parcels delivered ! I’m going round there tomorrow morning to show them the picture of them receiving them and seeing what they have to say about that. If they still refuse, which is daylight robbery, would the police take any notice at all? I’m also a bit nervous as I’m a short and small woman and easily intimidated. WWYD?
Yes it's theft by finding and yes the police would be interested.
Tulipomania · 28/07/2021 07:20

My advice is to be polite and friendly when you go to see them, and not be aggressive.

Catch more flies with honey than vinegar!

Horst · 28/07/2021 07:24

I doubt they are going to hand it to you op as again the parcel isn’t for you either. Your best bet is that they return it to next.

I always open all post parcels that come to my house unless I know for a fact it’s not for me. Such as a driver asking if I can take in number 24 parcels or whatever. If it comes to my house I presume it’s for my house. If I open it and realise it’s not I’ll pop it next door if that’s where it belongs or return to sender at my convenience.

I certainly wouldn’t be telling noisy neighbours about what parcels are coming and going to my house.

AdelindSchade · 28/07/2021 07:24

If they won't give it back it's theft. They cannot argue that she somehow agreed for them to have it. As pp said I could accidentally leave my bike unlocked but if someone took it it would still be theft. Good luck OP I hope you get it back but if not phone 101.

NumberTheory · 28/07/2021 07:34

@AdelindSchade

If they won't give it back it's theft. They cannot argue that she somehow agreed for them to have it. As pp said I could accidentally leave my bike unlocked but if someone took it it would still be theft. Good luck OP I hope you get it back but if not phone 101.
If you left your bike unlocked and someone took it, it would (normally) be theft. If you put it in their garage and they shut the door, it wouldn’t. At least, not until they did something else that made it theft.
Amandasummers · 28/07/2021 07:43

@Lostinthemail

If I’d receive such a parcel, I would be contacting Next to give them the opportunity to recollect it. I sure wouldn’t give it to a random neighbour, someone who claims they accidently used my address and/or their mother. If all these people showed up, I’d feel sure someone is trying to put me in the middle of fraud.
She has the photo showing the parcel as delivered from the courier company though....how much more proof would you need? Nobody else would have access to that.
Chicchicchicchiclana · 28/07/2021 07:55

I can imagine taking in a parcel without noticing the name on it. I might even open it by mistake if I was expecting a parcel myself. If someone then contacted me and said "really sorry but I forgot to change my address on the order form and I had a parcel delivered to you" I'd say "sure, come and get it".

Isn't that what 99% of people would do?

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