Neighbour outraged I ignored the door

[Scrumbler]

For context I've lived in my home for 6 years, I have a baby and we get on with our neighbours very well usually.

Yesterday someone banged on the door a few times and I ignored it. I never answer my front door because everyone who I'm expecting use the side door. We get a lot of cold callers and religious people who knock alot so I will never answer it.
Today I see my neighbour and his son has a bandage on and I asked what happened, he'd had an accident yesterday in the street, my neighbour said his wife knocked on my door at the time for me to call an ambulance because she's panicked and left her phone in her house so I said I'd heard the knocking but didn't know what it was.
He looked at me completely gone out and then asked me why I'd ignored her. I explained I obviously didn't know it was an emergency or I would have course answered. But he told me I was selfish and slammed his door as he went in.
I carried on taking my shopping out of the car and then his wife comes out asking if I'd ignored her! I told her I don't answer that door and didn't know it was an emergency but she just went mad shouting how horrible that was and asked what kind of person doesn't answer there door.

I know their probably still shook up but I didn't know what had happened.
To clarify, their child seems fine from what the dad told me before he found out I'd ignored the door and turned out to be a very minor injury. I feel awful it happened but I didn't ignore them on purpose knowing they were needing an ambulance so I think they've been a bit over the top.

You'd effectively already decided that no unplanned situation would be worth opening the door for, so yes - presumably you didn't think you and your neighbourhood were exempt from emergencies - you did include emergencies in this.

If you're going to make blanket decisions about the future maybe think it through a bit more?

You could have been out for all she knew. Crazy behaviour.

Same. Weird as anything IMHO but I seem to be in the minority as most on here seem to think it's fine to never answer their doors.

I'm like you OP, I do not answer the door unless I am expecting someone / a delivery. At all other times it is always someone trying to sell something or get me to donate to charity etc.

I think they are being OTT but also never answering your door is mad, of course you 'don't know who it is' you haven't opened it yet !

Do you seriously sit there with lights on and tv blaring ignoring it every time ?

What if it was the police, a genuine emergency or gas leak etc ?

Could you maybe ask who it is through the closed door first?

"She was doing none of those things so they're completely irrelevant."
As irrelevant as the neighbours assuming she should have answered the door. OP shouldn't be getting a hard time because she didn't answer her door 🙄 whether she chose to or not, that's her right. Pointless being upset about it.

I wonder if it’s a social anxiety thing or if they are expecting the bailiffs or something, it’s just odd to sit there deliberately ignoring someone knocking on your door.

I fully understand why the neighbours think she’s odd. I’d also think the same.

op you should habe lied and said I’m sorry I was bathing baby and didn’t know who it was.

I have a camera doorbell for this reason. I get you ignoring the door to cold callers, but you didn’t even check who it was.

so yes YABU and they are right to be pissed off

why are you trying to minimise this as a ‘minor injury’? Does that makes you feel better?

Mum might now have known how minor it was at time. She was clearly panicking and needed help.

I can see both sides of this:

He was BU to shout at you and there's no entitlement to have the door answered... what would they have done if you worked FT? They would have had to be more self-reliant. I do think the assumption that you will drop everything to attend to this (relatively minor) medical emergency is a bit entitled.

But I think having a blanket policy of never answering your front door is a bit neurotic. Yes it's annoying when Amazon knocks for the fourth time in a day and then there's a Jehovah five minutes later but it's 20 seconds out of your day.

You did nothing wrong

They'll calm down.

Are you okay. ? You’re typing like it’s not a social norm to answer your door. Like she’d been asked to cartwheel naked in her front garden. It’s answering her door, a perfectly normal thing to do

You are not obliged to open your front door. I tend to look through the peephole and decide - although yesterday I did answer and it was charity collectors (so wish I hadn't).

YANBU. There are lots of reasons for not being available to open a door. You don't have to give reasons.

Your house, your door, your rules

How entitled are they?
How is it your fault that their son wasn't being supervised correctly and had an accident and his mother forgot her phone?

Not your problem OP and frankly, I would be telling your DH to go and tell them to have some respect and not shout at you in the street.

I hate people who shout in the street, it's so common

Equally, some people massively overplay minor injuries to their children, like banging on neighbours' doors and calling ambulances for e.g. a scraped elbow. There's no mention that I can see of an ambulance actually attending so maybe the neighbours are butt hurt because 999 triaged them into the "drive yourself to minor injuries" category.

You obviously have every right to do what you want in your home.
But I find your behaviour very odd and not very neighbourly.
I've always told my kids to knock on a neighbours door if there were an emergency.

If I were you I'd be worried they returned the same policy to you and one day you or your daughter may need their help.

You'll be in trouble if some kind soul knocks on your front door to let you know there's smoke billowing out of your upstairs windows.

Sure, but when neighbours bang on it in an emergency they are entitled to think someone is a dick for ignoring it.

Maybe they will return the favour in your time of need.

Not answering the door is so weird.

People have the right to behave like an arsehole or an idiot or a bad person or an inconvenience a lot of the time - it doesn’t mean other people have to think it’s an acceptable or reasonable way to behave.

If you act like a self-absorbed and/or ignorant muppet then expect people who treat you like a self-absorbed and/or ignorant muppet. That’s their right.

OP has exercised her right to ignore the door. She’s not now permitted to have a hissy fit that her actions (ignoring people) have consequences (that they don’t like her).

You say you didn't open your door because you didn't know it was an emergency.... but chicken and egg really. How do you know if it's an emergency or not without answering?

People who don't answer their door are weird.

Everything aside I just can’t get my head round not answering your door

“…my neighbour said his wife knocked on my door at the time for me to call an ambulance because she's panicked and left her phone in her house so I said I'd heard the knocking but didn't know what it was.”

You walked right into it, OP. 😂 The correct response was a look of polite astonishment and “Did she really! I never even heard it!”

Next time say that, but first perhaps have a look out the window to make sure your neighbor’s child isn’t bleeding in the street.

Well if someone was banging on my door I would open it. Else how do you know? But in mumsnet land I know the rule is never open the door, even if its someone trying to tell you your house is on fire.