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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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:
neveradullmoment99 · 28/07/2021 08:38

It is theft.
It would have had her name on the parcels despite the wrong address. I had a similar situation happen to me except the owners of the house were in a home ( she was elderly) and only an occasional visit from family so they didn't know a parcel would be there. Next refunded no problem.

Goldi321 · 28/07/2021 08:40

I’d take the baby around in too small clothes and explain that they were clothes for the baby!

Ozanj · 28/07/2021 08:41

Knock, tell them Next have asked you to report it to the police as theft, but you wanted to make sure it definitely hasn’t been delivered first. They will bring it out.

StrangeToSee · 28/07/2021 08:42

How do you know the leg in the photo wasn’t a visitor or guest opening the door, not the tenant? He could have put the package somewhere and forgotten all about it, or (if the dishonest sort) kept it without the tenant knowing anything had been delivered.

Why would a man keep hold of your daughter’s clothes and baby clothes? It seems highly unlikely he’d have any use for them!

Your DD gave the wrong address (I’ve done it before and the new tenant kindly returned my dress to the company) but I don’t think your DD has claim to items she sent to the wrong address? It’s at the goodwill of the new tenants, some people just bin mail addressed to the previous tenant.

I once opened a package that was delivered to my address but actually meant for next door! It was sandwiched between my parcels, so I didn’t realise until I’d opened it and wondered why someone had sent me several sets of lingerie in the wrong size (that I hadn’t ordered!) Then I looked at the address and realised it was for next door. I was far too embarrassed to take it round in case her husband or son opened the door and I had to explain I’d opened it by mistake, so I re-packaged it and re-posted it to her anonymously! She’s a lovely lady but I’m sure she’d be horrified if she knew I’d seen her order. Really it was the postman’s fault for not checking the addresses when he bundled the packages together with a rubber band and I signed for the whole lot thinking they were mine!

Ozanj · 28/07/2021 08:42

And yes this is theft and yes the police will be interested in it particularly as the delivery company has proof.

neveradullmoment99 · 28/07/2021 08:42

@Moonlaserbearwolf

Don’t go and immediately accuse the parcel holders of anything. It’s possible they didn’t want to give the parcel to the upstairs neighbours if they didn’t know them. They might hand over the parcel to your daughter straight away.

Unless your daughter can’t physically get there, I would leave this to your daughter to manage. It’s her name on the parcel and she should be asking for it back.

If they don’t give the parcel straight away your daughter can show them the photo evidence.

Last resort - say she will shame them on local Facebook site and/or log crime with the police.

Agree with all of this!
NumberTheory · 28/07/2021 08:45

@neveradullmoment99

It is theft. It would have had her name on the parcels despite the wrong address. I had a similar situation happen to me except the owners of the house were in a home ( she was elderly) and only an occasional visit from family so they didn't know a parcel would be there. Next refunded no problem.
They can’t keep and use whatever’s in the parcel for themselves. But refusing to give it to the neighbour, or even the OP is not theft by itself and neither is lying about receiving it to the neighbour.
Dohrehmee · 28/07/2021 09:10

If a package has someone else’s name on. And you have just recently moved in. It’s obvious the package is the previous tenants. In that case the new tenants should have looked at the name and said it was not them And given to the courier , Or if they’d not realised until they had package and saw the name. They could have contacted the letting agency to ask them to ask the previous tenant Mrs x to come and get their parcel or contact next to say a parcel was sent to the address but that person doesn’t live there . This is what decent humans would do.

StrangeToSee · 28/07/2021 09:21

And yes this is theft and yes the police will be interested in it particularly as the delivery company has proof

The delivery company only has proof it was delivered to the address the DD ordered it to! So I doubt Next will take responsibility as they have proof they delivered it to the address on the order form.

They’re unlikely to refund £200 when they’ve delivered to the address DD told them to send it to, and have a photo of her door.

As for the tenants, if they’ve kept it yes it’s theft. But how do police prove whose leg it is in the photo? What if the new tenants had several guests or friends over that day? What if a male visitor or uncle or grandpa took the parcel in then left it lying around, it could easily get thrown away or mistaken for rubbish? (Especially if they’ve just moved in and there are boxes and packing materials lying around). Or perhaps whoever took it in realised it had the wrong name, left it outside the door for the old tenant and forgot to tell the new tenant. Someone else could have taken it. Does the building have CCTV inside?

Even if the tenants opened it and kept it (which is clearly theft) they could have hidden it away or given it to someone else. Would police honestly get a search warrant for a parcel someone sent to the wrong address?

Hallyup6 · 28/07/2021 09:22

I can't believe so many people are condoning theft because of an honest mistake. What's wrong with you all?! They've got proof that the tenants have it so absolutely call the police. I agree they may not do anything, but for other posters to say 'oh well it was her fault, that's £200 gone, never mind' is, quite frankly, utterly baffling. You must all be millionaires or something.

HaveringWavering · 28/07/2021 09:25

Yes, because in general Police officers are massively indolent aren't they? hmm.

@KaptainKavemanI guessed you missed the recent report into the Manchester Arena bombing that found that the officers on duty went off for a kebab, (using an unnecessarily long route) and so were not there to back up the security guard who had suspicions about the bomber. The fact that they thought this was acceptable says quite a lot about police culture…

rainbowstardrops · 28/07/2021 09:27

What CFs! I really hope your daughter gets her parcel back or at least a refund. Good luck.

Brainwave89 · 28/07/2021 09:28

Might be a simple misunderstanding after people have moved in things can be chaotic for a while. I would simply politely ask and ask them to check with everyone living there. If they still deny then consider what you do next,

dottiedodah · 28/07/2021 09:29

Who on earth would accept/keep parcels with the wrong name on FFS? I would be on to Next or whoever ASAP to tell them .Pretty sure stealing post is an offence .Just go around and explain to them .Pretty sure they will cough up .OW involve police /post office

ChainJane · 28/07/2021 09:31

The comparison with taking in a parcel for a neighbour and then keeping it is not valid. If you take a parcel in for a neighbour it has their address on it and you know which house it belongs to. The new tenants in the OP's case have a parcel addressed to their home, with a stranger's name on it. They don't know where the person lives now and should certainly not trust someone claiming to be "a neighbour" or "the person's mum" and hand it over to them.

If you receive a parcel or letter addressed to your address but to someone who doesn't live there, return it to the sender - this is the only correct action. If there is no return address, you can open it to try to find an address (this is perfectly legal as you are not opening it to commit fraud or any criminal purpose).

xsquared · 28/07/2021 09:33

A couple of pages behind, but thank you @NumberTheory for your explanation.

2021hwg · 28/07/2021 09:35

I had similar happen. I had just moved into a house, a neighbour knocked on and said "I'm here to collect my parcel". The courier has put "delivered to no47"

We apologised and said no sorry we have been out all day, no deliveries. The neighbour was not happy and I could tell they thought we where keeping it from them. They knocked round again the next day and said the courier was sure they gave it to us, Again honestly no sorry we where at work all day

Anyway about a week later I was clearing some moving rubbish, and I found the parcel left under a bush in our back garden. No way to see it unless you looked for it. (It was also winter so you wouldn't really be hanging round the garden). I left it in place and went and got the neighbour, they took loads of photos and reported the courier. The contents where completely destroyed by the weather, it also could have caused terrible bad feeling with new neighbour.

HaveringWavering · 28/07/2021 09:37

@xsquared

A couple of pages behind, but thank you *@NumberTheory* for your explanation.
She’s wrong though.
sunglassesonthetable · 28/07/2021 09:39

Haven't RTFT but the parcels are not addressed to the tenants and I'd be pretty fucked off if they didn't get them for me if I went and asked politely and I knew they'd been delivered.

I don't know what the actual law says but I'd take it to the police yes.

Pretty sure you're not in the right withholding parcels that you didn't have your name on them and that you hadn't ordered.

Gingernaut · 28/07/2021 09:43

The charge would be theft by finding.

In the first instance, your daughter needs to visit them and explain what's gone wrong and ask for the parcel in person.

Failing that, a phone call to the letting agents, explaining what's gone wrong and if they could arrange a visit to the property to collect the parcel, she could collect it from them.

If the tenants refuse to give the parcel up, then call the police.

jesusmaryjosephandtheweedonkey · 28/07/2021 09:44

I would pop round and ask politely.
Then give next a call, see if they can help.
Then I would just arrange a return courier through next to collect the stolen parcels 😀

xsquared · 28/07/2021 09:48

@HaveringWavering
Wrong about why people send parcels to another person's address as a scam?

Lin6302 · 28/07/2021 09:51

You need a loud friend to go with you just to give you support. I’d call the neighbourhood police before going and explain the situation. Ask where you stand and if they can help. I’d look into suing this fella through the small claims court if he doesn’t give you the parcel adding your costs.

sunglassesonthetable · 28/07/2021 09:52

Why on these threads do you always get a bunch of posters jumping in, straight of the bat, being as fucking miserable as possible.

"oh police won't be interested "
" oh she put the wrong address on"
"oh Next won't be interested"
" oh RM won't be interested "

It's like rub peoples face in it why don't you? Does it make you have a better day? Feeling big and bossy? keyboard power trip?

God alive in RL most people would just go round and get the parcel or speak to Next or the police or whatever. We've always managed to sort this kind of thing out one way or another and we get loads of parcels. And we make mistakes too.