Am I the only person who never opens their front door to anyone?

[jugglingjugs]

I just heard my front door go, so I hid in the kitchen out of sight, no idea who it was but I'm now very curious.
I wasn't expecting anyone, if it was family I would have answered because they wouldn't come unannounced.
I also never answer my phone if I don't recognise the number. Is this just me or does anyone else do this?
I have never really thought about why until now.

Sorry tagged wrong person @24KaratCucumber that should've been for!

Silly sheepie me!

Do you have a moat?

@24KaratCucumber remove the door knocker, that'll stop the mad feckers using it!!

A sheeple - for answering the door? This here is the pinnacle of evidence that there clearly no upper limit for the ridiculous scenarios which people will gleefully use this word for.

Sheeple - Jesus.

Loads of people don't open their door to unknown callers. More do.
Even more don't answer there phones to unknown callers. Some answer everything, some just screen out witheld/unavailable.

Re door opening. Risk assessment comes into it. If I was an 82 year old living alone in a council bungalow or with a grab handle and a keys are on display I wouldn't answer.
If I had 3 kids who were in and out all day Saturday I'd likely answer my door on a Saturday afternoon

I rarely open my door. Not because I'm scared, but because I don't want to be disturbed or want visitors. I'm not usually doing anything critical. My ftiends and family don't make random visits. Any other calls rarely benefit me.
Phone, if it's not inconvenient to answer I generally will answer a withheld or unrecognisable number but I'm not averse to saying 'it's not a convenient atm, can you give me 10mins/half hour (whatever) then I'll get a cuppa and a pen and be ready for whatever Npower, bank, insurance, recruitment agency etc want

@JudgeRudy a "council bungalow"..... WTF!

I don't answer door or phone if I don't know who it is.

I answer the door most of the time unless they look like charity people or similar, then I tend to stay out of sight and ignore them

For the most part, I answer the door. It's mainly deliveries for me or my neighbours.

If I'm not expecting a delivery and the knock comes late at night, I won't answer it and I don't give a fuck if anyone thinks I ought to grow up. I live alone, and I reserve my right to refuse to answer my own door when I feel it is least safe to do so.

My doors remain locked throughout the day, even if I'm in. You simply never know and it never hurts to be careful.

As for the phone, I only answer if I know the number or I'm expecting a call. If not, if it's important, they'll leave a message.

I do understand about feeling put on the spot when someone knocks on the door out of the blue, especially if it's someone trying to sell something. I had one a few weeks back-and she took a right huff with me when I said that I didn't have time. If you have social anxiety, being put on the spot like that can feel awkward so I can understand why you'd avoid it as I also have social anxiety.

It's your door/phone. Your choice if you want to answer them.

Yes a council bungalow! .....if I was a dodgy person and wanted to rip someone off (robbery, distraction burlary, signing up for a service etc) l'd go straight for the council bungalows. A private bungalow could belong to anyone but a council bungalow will only be allocated to someone elderly or disabled.
Do you understand now.
I'd also try all the keys safes with numbers from 1945 to 1965 or send a female to the door.

‘Sheeple’ (the favoured term of the ‘do your research’ tinfoil hatters 😆) for answering the door?

These posters are absolute maniacs. I can’t get my head round it.

Oh I understand @JudgeRudy your thoughts that for some reason "council bungalows" would be owned by less savvy people!

Hint.... "council bungalow" people are not stupid.

A sheepie for answering rhe door. I need to stop doing that. Become a rebel me 😂

You're wrong to say 'oh I understand ' as clearly you don't. I'll try again.
I'm talking about vulnerability. One of the biggest reasons people don't open the door is they feel vulnerable. Vulnerable to being 'taken advantage of' by unscrupulous callers.
The vulnerability could be physical eg hard of hearing, unsteady on feet, poor eyesight etc or through naivety/lack of awareness.
Council bungalows are typically rented to this group of people, so elderly or physically/mentally disabled. Why do you seem to have a problem with that. So I stand by my post, yes tenants in council bungalows are statistically likely to be more vulnerable due to disability and old age than other households. Choosing a birth year as your key code is far from savvy. It happens frequently. Seeing 12 bungalows together with ramps/keysafes/grab rails is heaven for a scammer.
Which bit do you disagree with

I can't believe people are acting like they're so shocked and horrified that some people don't answer their doors/phones to unknown/unannounced people/callers.

You've seriously never thought that some people don't answer their phones if they don't know who is calling? Or don't answer their door for the same reason? Really?

Pull the other one.

Some people act like it's a fucking moral virtue that they answer their door and phone each and every time someone comes a calling and it's a moral failing if you don't. Answer the door/phone if you want-don't if you don't want.

@CleverLilViper I don't think it's a moral failing, but I do think it's a bit odd. My DH won't answer his phone to a withheld number or to a number he doesn't recognise, but I still think he's weird for it.

@CleverLilViper what did your parents do when the phone rang? Did they have caller ID? We're they killed by the caller?

You've seriously never thought that some people don't answer their phones if they don't know who is calling? Or don't answer their door for the same reason? Really?

Not before MN, no. I mean elderly or disabled people who can’t get to the front door, sure. Everyone else, no.

Surely if you answer the call or the door, you'll then find out what it is people want?

I've had:

'do you know where xyz is...' - police looking for a vulnerable missing person with a link to my address that was outdated. I didn't but that ruled out one possibility and aided finding them more than had I hidden!

'We've come to update you on a crime you reported a few weeks ago' - police again, no idea why they knocked instead of emailing or calling but it was nice to know that the man who made threats to me over the internet had been spoken to and was not capable of doing what he'd said he would and was in fact very sorry for his behaviour.

'Your Sky dish is about to drop off' - neighbour.

Loads of parcels that didn't have tracking that would have ended up at the hard to get to depot, gifts I didn't know were being sent etc.

I'd also miss phone calls from the people who want to work with me, or the people who are trying to help me with various things.

Sometimes I can't get to the door, too many dogs in the way, not enough time to get out the room, herd dogs back in, shut door, etc (takes a LOT longer in a wheelchair!) but generally, I answer the door and if I don't want whoever/whatever, I tell them to go away, level of politeness closely linked to level of annoying request!

I don't think it's peculiar to MN. It's a minority stance but quite common.

@JudgeRudy I disagree with your lack of paragraphs! Can't read that shite!

Anyway I've got the measure of you.

Who cares?

Not remotely sure how it's relevant what they did 20 years ago when we do have caller ID now and can take absolute advantage of it to our heart's content. Maybe they stopped answering when they realised it was me or my brother prank-calling them for the millionth time. Who knows? It's a mystery.

Why do you care if someone does or doesn't answer their own phone/door?

It does happen elsewhere. I'm on MN but I wasn't a year ago. I still rarely answer the door. Sometimes I do and it's someone I know and I tell them 'not today thanks'...OK different words but pretty much. Others might hide because of social expectations. I don't. But generally I don't bother. I've been doing this for 20+ years

@CleverLilViper it's a discussion that OP has opened up? Why are you contributing if you're that "why do you care"?

Ditto....sometimes my plates even empty and that's just the way it's staying.

Ditto....sometimes my plates even empty and that's just the way it's staying.

???