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.

Yep weird. I can’t imagine you didn’t look through the spy hole/blinds and see it was your neighbour. Just makes you come across as self important and selfish.

Also, if it's a JW or a cold caller (maybe once every few years) I just say "no thank you".

My neighbour was alerted to the fact her house was on fire by a passer-by knocking at her door….

They are selfish banging on the door of a family with a baby for something g that was clearly not an emergency.

just say you were trying to get your baby asleep you loud bastards

MN is the only place I've come across people who don't answer the door. And I've managed to go through life and get to 57 without being murdered for doing so. I also have the confidence to shoo away cold callers.

@youshouldnthaveasked

lol 😂

YABU - a quick "who is it? " before making the decision as to whether or not to open the door would have probably avoided this scenario happening.
If I get a cold caller I just tell them they are disturbing my meeting and don't open the door.

I don't answer my door if I'm not expecting someone. I don't have family nearby and my friends always ask before coming over. Unless your neighbour was yelling for help, I'd have ignored it too. Sounds like it was a big panic about nothing and the son didn't actually need an ambulance anyway.

im with you, I ignore the door all the time. If I’m busy/trying to get a baby to sleep/in Pyjamas/eating lunch.

Exactly. Aren't folk assertive enough to say those little words?

@faffadoodledo

Oh good for you for ALWAYS answering your door. Do you live on an incredibly deprived estate with crime rates through the roof? It’s not about confidence it’s about common sense. I suspect opening the door in a pleasant village has a different feel 🤔.

Give over.

I can't get my head round the "I must answer the door and the telephone" brigade either. Seems bonkers to me to waste time with cold callers which the majority are.

I'll answer if it's convenient to me, if it's prearranged or if it's immediate family. Or if someone is banging on a window like it's an emergency.

The problem with answering the door is that it will often be religious nuts, scammers, chuggers etc. I don’t like it, but there it is.

I don't really get the 'don't answer the door' mentality myself though that's up to people what they want to do in their own homes. I get that 9 times out of 10 a unexpected knock will be something unwelcome but it's not like it happens often enough for answering the door to be that much of a chore.

I do think people are just getting too insular though and that, especially as I see more and more consumer assistance moved to chatbots and more young people seeming to feel super awkward about having to - horrors - interact with strangers in real life, there's a risk more people will grow up with difficulties you know, dealing with other human beings.

Yanbu! You have a baby - you could have been mid change, mid bath, mid nap, exhausted. I answer mine if I am free, if my baby is contact napping on me no I don’t kill myself to answer the door if I am not expecting a knock. Nor do I answer the door while I’m bathing my baby. Etc etc. Obviously you’d answer the door to an emergency if you knew it was one. I don’t get how people are saying you must always answer the door when it’s your door.

I don’t always answer my door — it might be that I’m not respectable or I’m in a work meeting; if I’m at the wrong end of the house, I don’t always hear the doorbell, especially if my DH has taken the dogs for a walk (they ALWAYS let me know when someone’s at the door). Occasionally I’ve just sat down with a cuppa and just can’t be arsed. You’re allowed to not answer your door if you don’t want, OP!

I am a slattern. I rarely bother to get dressed until quite late in the day and would not be in a fit state to answer the door. If somebody was banging like that I would probably open the window and give them a piece of my mind. If I saw it was a neighbour then I would probably call down and tell them I'll be there in a minute once I had made myself decent.

Im not allowed to drive so I wouldn't be able to take them anywhere in an emergency anyway.

But @Maireas OP didn't say that's why she doesn't open the door. It was about cold callers and Religious people not knife wielding nuts.
Had she said 'I live in a dangerous area and felt threatened' it would of course have been understandable.
That said the neighbours jn this case haven't subsequently covered themselves in glory

Tbh I'd buy the kid some little toys and sweets or something and the parents a bottle of wine. Head over and just say you had no idea it was emergency and hope the sweets cheer their son up and that he feels better soon.

You want to keep getting along with them.

I deal with other humans constantly (it's my job) it's got nothing to do with not being assertive or scared. Sometimes I just don't want to answer the door or I'm in the middle of cooking/reading/whatever else I might be doing. I can't wrap my head around why that seems to wind people up so much 🙃obviously if someone was repeatedly banging on the door clearly desperate then I would see what's going on

Oh God, the poor neighbour.

I can think of a thousand reasons why it's perfectly reasonable not to answer a knock at the door.

YANBU OP.

So shut the door in their face like I do

Same here!

This!