To put a sign on my door telling delivery drivers not to leave parcels?

[PostmanTwats]

I keep having deliveries nicked and it's getting to the point I think companies won't believe me!

For context I live on a terraced avenue, quite busy, with an alley way next to my house.

I don't have a front garden. My front door is directly on the public pavement.

So many companies just leave my parcels at the front door and take a photo. And very often they get nicked.

Anyone walking passed just has to reach down for my parcel then turn directly into an enclosed passage so perfect for an opportunistic tea leaf.

I've put it on all my accounts not to do this but they never listen.

Should I make a big bloody sign saying leave with neighbours?

Should have added, OP could you get a locking parcel box? That might help if the couriers won't stop doing this.

It is very odd that you are 'always at home' yet miss lots of parcels, and many of them are stolen.

If you can't get to a locker or pick up point, and can't really inconvenience neighbours when you are at home yourself, and can't add a Dropbox to your property, then you are going to have to find a way to answer the door in a timely way. As pp have said, this could well be a Ring doorbell. They can be battery powered so can't imagine your landlord objecting.

I know there's a cost involved but it will be worse if companies refuse to deliver.

@OMGsamesame

i get 'it's in your safe place' (not quite how I'd describe my front door right on the street) or we've left it in your porch. That would be fine if I had one!

thankfully not had any missing parcels, but I'm home a lot. If I wasn't, I'd go for the locker option or the shop down the road.

I take in quite a few neighbours parcels, I don't mind because my neighbours are all known & nice.

If you had said in your OP you were actually at home, you would have got more useful suggestions. You can’t put a note on your door saying deliver to neighbours when you are actually at home that’s being a CF. If you want to put a note on your door why not put one saying couriers please knock loudly. Otherwise a ring doorbell is the answer or a lock box if there is enough space

It's not odd. They often don't knock here, just put it on the doorstep. Alternatively they hammer the door like the house is on fire & leg it. Unless you're standing in the doorway there's no chance of being handed the parcel.

Did you not read that the op has health issues and barely leaves the house?

The delivery guy is just dumping the parcels on the doorstep without knocking.

I would be suspicious that the parcels might have been taken bythe driver after photographing them on the doorstep.

@FairIsleCromartyForties

oh my sweet summer child..

my friend had a large box, he leaves instructions for any delivery service. It's easy to find, easy to open, and they still leave parcels in front of his door! He even took the lock off as he thought putting the code in might be too difficult/time consuming for them, but no, didn't help.

OP added that very relevant nugget of information much later than her initial posts!

Very unlikely that every courier is leaving parcels without knocking. Perhaps it's more that the bell (if there is one) isn't working or isn't loud, or that the OP is in a room at the back and simply can't hear them knocking??

Perhaps the OP needs to put up a sign saying "I'm in, please knock loudly" or buy a louder door bell?

If they can't get out, it's even more unreasonable for parcels to be left with neighbours as presumably the OP expects the neighbours to bring them round themselves to her!

There's a photo/meme of a cat, with the 'sorry we missed you' card, which says that the driver has left the parcel with your receptionist.

Reader: the cat is the receptionist.

It's annoys me too! I have just found a delivery on my doorstep, when i looked at my Ring camera, he hadn't even rung the doorbell!

But not only is it a problem of theft, it screams of any empty house to potential burglars.

Not sure what the solution is other than to complain to the companies or like others have suggested use a pick up collection point.

I am there!

I don't leave the house very often due to health issues, hence everything I need being delivered.

Sometimes they just knock on the wood (which I hear if I'm in the hall) but not anywhere else in the house. There's a proper knocker there! Which I would hear unless I was hoovering or on the 3rd floor.

But they just keep leaving them without waiting or banging (it does take me a while to answer the door usually)

I thought about someone local waiting for parcels but that seems too far fetched for general things like cleaning products, school supplies, craft stuff and general house hold items?

Like a previous person said, get a ring doorbell or one of the other types. It can alert you on your phone every time there is movement at your door. You can set the area of interest to just your immediate front path / doorstep area. It will also hopefully deter parcel thieves.

You don't have a door bell/buzzer then???

Yeah this. ^ As many posters have said @PostmanTwats use a local locker.

I am also confused about you saying you 'don't go out much' but then say loads of parcels keep getting delivered when you're not there. 🤔

As a pp said, I would not ask neighbours, it's cheeky. I had a new neighbour move in last year, and she was out a lot, (worked 4 full days,) and unbeknownst to me, she had given instructions to delivery men to take packages over to No 11 (me.) Didn't ask me or anything, just assumed I would take the packages in!

I discovered this when a delivery driver was banging the hell out of my door at 8.35am when me and DH were in bed asleep (had both been to a party the night before and not gone to bed til 2am.) I dragged myself out of bed and went to the door (three parts asleep!) and said 'yes?!' The delivery driver said 'I've got a package for No 9 across the road.' I said 'well I don't want it!' He said, 'but she has put you down as the place to deliver it to as she knew she wasn't going to be in!'

I took it, but later on I was fuming. First of all for being woken! And then because of her sheer cheekyfuckery. I took her package over later and was determined never to take another one in. The following week, she called over to me at 7pm when I was putting the bins out, and said 'I have got a package coming tomorrow and I've told them to deliver it to you as I won't be in.' I said 'well what time is it coming...?' She said 'I don't know, but I know you're in all the time, so I told them to bring it to you.'

Cheeky cow. For a start, I am NOT in all the fucking time! And when I AM in I am sometimes working, (I work from home/am self employed.) She is away at work 4 days a week (8 til 6) so how does she know I am 'in all the time!' And I'm not! I only work 2-3 days a week, and am out quite often. I said to her 'sorry but I'm not going to be in!' She said 'well where are you going? What time are you going out?' I said 'I am out from 9.30am and don't know when I will be back!'

After that I put a sign on my door saying I do NOT take anyone else's packages in, and so do not knock and ask me. Only knock if it's for this house.

I never ever take parcels in for neighbours - and don't ever want them taking them in for me. It's an imposition, and a ballache. Having to take the packages in, waiting for the neighbour to come home, going over to them to take it (or wait for them to get it from you,) and having to make tedious conversation with them. And I am flat out not taking responsibility for anyone's packages/items.

If you're at home and not hearing them or they are just dropping the parcels; write a sign saying that you're in and to use the knocker/call your phone number and you'll take the parcel in due to theft.
I would also consider getting a doorbell that sticks on the door and connects to a plugged in bell inside.
We had a delivery driver who always just knocked on our pvc door when my husband was working on the second floor, despite us having a doorbell that connects directly to his office. He wasn't even leaving the parcel. We wrote a note saying that we're at home, please ring the bell and it helped.

Can you put a note saying it can take you a while to bc answer the door, so please wait.
i think the neighbours would get annoyed if your parcels kept gong there.

We have this, it's so annoying.

There's almost always someone in at our house but they still throw the parcel in the general direction of the door and get back in their vans and are off before I've got to the door (if they even bother knocking)

Obviously if you leave a parcel on the side of a busy pedestrian street it will get stolen! (It shouldn't, but it will) Sometimes I open the door to find an open parcel because whoever was looking in it didn't fancy whatever I had ordered...

I changed my "name" on Amazon to "Ring the doorbell" and the first line of my address to "do not leave on doorstep"
It works most of the time.

I don't think the drivers have time to read the delivery instructions part (as they are constantly ignored)

We also have a video doorbell so can provide evidence of less than intelligent thieves making off with our parcels if asked.

I also provide delivery feedback if they do leave it on the doorstep even if it's not stolen, if it is I always claim it back.

Most courier services including Evri (because I'm getting one today I can see it) have a box to mention disabilities and can give additional time for instance

I used to do Amazon deliveries and there are a couple of things you can do. Choose not to have it left, in your account and put a note on that you are disabled and take time to answer your door. Get a sign to say that put on your door, too.

Take a photo of it and email it, with an explanation, to Amazon Customer Services, or call to explain:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GSD587LKW72HKU2V

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?ref_=hp_gcs_csd_d2_other_1_G202119400_dM8m3FE9j9&nodeId=G202119400&qid=1718104597390&sr=1

I used to do Amazon deliveries and there are a couple of things you can do. Choose not to have it left, in your account and put a note on that you are disabled and take time to answer your door. Get a sign to say that put on your door, too.

Take a photo of it and email it, with an explanation, to Amazon Customer Services, or call to explain:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GSD587LKW72HKU2V

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?ref_=hp_gcs_csd_d2_other_1_G202119400_dM8m3FE9j9&nodeId=G202119400&qid=1718104597390&sr=1

You need to use a pick up point.

If someone is knicking your parcels they might start breaking in if they think you're not in. (I live in a shit hole so am extra cautious about this stuff).

It sounds as if you don't have a doorbell.

You need a really loud one, or a Ring bell, and a sign saying that you are home but might take a few minutes to get to the door.

OP is disabled and doesn't leave the house.

this does ofcourse happen... we have a ring doorbell, and we often get a notification that the courier tried to deliver and couldnt so they have taken it back... and when we check the doorbell, the courier never gets out of the van... i understand lots of couriers are on a time scale and somethings its easier for them to not deliver than to deliver