Delivery driver let himself into my house

[Wineatfiveisfine]

I WFH. A delivery driver knocked quite loudly on my door a few days ago. I got to my hallway within 10 seconds to find a very tall man in my hallway setting the delivery down on a table and taking a photo, as proof of delivery.

He said “hello, delivery”. I was too shocked to form a cordial response and just said “erm, why are you in my house?” He said “delivery, thanks bye” and off he went.

We’ve raised a complaint with said company - but they’ve said this is a common occurrence (!) and that they will speak to the driver, but it won’t be taken any further.

i was terrified to find a stranger in my house - but having googled, this seems to be a common occurrence!!!! How?!?!?

This is news to me! I think anyone would be startled as hell even if they were wise to this Chicanery

No you are not being unreasonable.

We live in the middle of nowhere with a long driveway, and never lock our doors when we are at home, even if we’re out on the farm. The dogs barking would alert us to anyone coming up the drive. However I’ve never had this issue as we have a post / parcels box on the wall at our gates and the couriers who bring signed-for parcels always just knock on the door. I would be cross to find a delivery driver in the house but then the hounds would have licked him to death by the time I got there I expect!

Could have been worse…
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/34103814/village-ruined-tourists-japanese-family/

I would rather a delivery person open my door and leave a parcel than leave it outside and risk a porch pirate nabbing it
My friend has has a couple of things taken because they were left at the front door.

Leaving your door unlocked is « unhinged behaviour » . Oh please! Our front door locks automatically as it’s a yale lock but we have forgotten to lock our back door countless times and I certainly never lock it while I’m in.

I’m not saying no one will ever try to enter it but in 20 years, no one ever has. It’s a risk I’m prepared to take rather than feeling like a highly strung neurotic in my own home.

By all means lock your door if you live in a high crime area and you live in a very flashy house, but really, saying people are unhinged if they don’t lock their doors shows the acute neurotic anxiety that is pervading everyone nowadays.

Does your village have a force field round it that stops the bad guys at the boundary? You were at home, the guy was a delivery driver, not a burglar, he was attempting to leave your property safely inside your property, much better than when they leave it on the door step in full view of everyone walking past (of course, in your zero crime village this wouldn't be an issue!) If you don't want people entering your house then lock your door opportunist burglaries are more common than you think 😉

No sympathy for this problem at all. Literally none. Lock your doors.

... First off, echoing what a few others have said, why on earth was your front door unlocked...??!! 😨

I can only hope that the delivery wasn't first thing in the morning, as this'd imply that you left your the door unlocked overnight - which will most definitely NOT end well if it's a habit! (And esp. if the delivery guy mentioned this fact to his colleagues...)

But moving to your corner, it's certainly not good that the guy just came into your house when you didn't get to the door quickly enough. (That said, though, I'm given to understand that delivery people often have very tight schedules owing to the number of parcels they have to deliver, so they don't have time to hang about...!)

If it were me delivering a parcel and I found a front door was open, I'd go only far enough in to put the parcel out of view from passersby, but not so far that I'd feel like I was entering illegally. (And if I had a pen, I'd also advise that the occupants not leave their door open...!!! 😏)

Do you have your safe place as front porch by any chance?

Close the door, and if it has a handle, lock it from the inside. This time it was the delivery driver - the next time it could be someone on the run from the police.

hilarious - people seem all to have grown up within the fantasy world by having the Mail / Star / Insta / Toxic Social Media permeated into the brain by i- phone neurotransmission ........ and now obviously ALSO Grand Theft Auto ... where demonic bandits and kidnappers really are racing up and down your street !!!!

To be fair you come across as very entitled when you say things like this and, to an extent, in your opening post.

I never lock my doors and I understand why you probably don't want to, especially when you're in the house.

But you asked for advice and got the only possible answer from people. They're not tearing you down but they are being pragmatic. If something bugs you that much then you have to take action to prevent it. Expecting the whole world to behave as you expect is literally quixotic.

I don't know what got delivered. Or the weather conditions. Nor do I know how long the delivery driver had been trying to get your attention. You know only at the point you first heard him but he might have been ringing your bell for a whole minute. He was seemingly trying to be helpful.

I can see an alternative thread in which someone complains "driver left parcel out in rain despite door being unlocked and never we knocked even though I was in"

The other thing you can do is specify where you want parcels left. Put a big plastic box outside your door etc.

You seem to be looking less for a solution and more for validation of your outrage.

Just my $0.02

Lock your door. Problem solved.

it’s not like he let himself in and made himself a cup of tea, he was leaving a delivery for you. i don’t see the problem.

Helping yourself goes a long way.

Why would you think because you live in a village, you’re exempt from an undesirable entering your house?

You’re very naive if you think it could never happen to you.

Lock your door if you're so scared!

No this is not OK,you shouldn't have to lock your doors,even my kids knock so do I when I go to theirs it's being polite.I had to get onto the deliveries because they threw my parcel over the back gate as they couldn't be bothered to walk round the front

All those, not living on a remote Scottish island, who don’t lock your homes - I bet you lock your phones.

How?
The only way somebody could get into my building is if someone LET him in, and he couldn't get into MY flat unless I let him in!

So you'd be happy if a delivery guy came into your house unannounced then? Forget whether the guy was ringing the bell for half an hour, NO-ONE should simply enter your premises unannounced and without permission.

I think you're the one coming across as rather entitled, to be quite honest...

They do.
I have a sign on the door telling them to.

If they wandered up to the bedroom I'd be a bit hacked off but it's the hallway behind the front door.

But also when I'm WFH I have a view out front so I'd see them arriving generally amd I'd go to the door and thank them. When I'm on the phone I'll usually just wave at them.

You may think I'm being entitled (lord knows why but you're allowed your own opinion) but my point is I've arranged things in a way that I'm comfortable with. I prefer that to having a soaking wet parcel or have to search sheds .
If I wasn't happy with that arrangement I would have stuck a sign on the door saying "leave deliveries outside on doorstep".

Whichever, I wouldn't be complaining about a situation where I could have made my desires known (but didn't).

@Heroyamslava - I used the singular form. I don't play games. I do not watch television. I do not make fun of people. Man, 30, arrested on suspicion of murder after 75-year-old man stabbed to death at property in Putney, southwest London This is just one of many incidents.

"Whichever, I wouldn't be complaining about a situation where I could have made my desires known (but didn't)."

The bit I've highlighted is exactly the point of this entire thread. The OP didn't leave an indication that it was okay to come into her house to leave a delivery, so it WAS NOT ok to do so.

You may be comfortable with strangers entering your house, but I'd wager that the vast majority of people wouldn't be.

People's lives/lifestyles are entirely different; there may be things you do that you would be misunderstood by someone who doesn't know you (such as a delivery person) if they just "popped in".

People also talk, so said unknown person might then mention to colleagues that they caught you doing x, y or z - entirely out of context - at which point, private aspects of your life become gossip. And we all know the damage gossip can do.

This is just one example of things that can go south when someone comes into your house without your permission; there is also the biggie; opportunistic theft.

I don't think I need to list anything else.

Remember: we're all different; what works for you will not work for everyone else.

I very had this happen to me,i heard a loud knock so went to the door and there was the delivery driver trying to open my door,it has a deadlock on it so can open it slightly but still have the bolt across I opened the door and he said thanks madam and started walking away I was like was you just trying to open my door he said yes to put ya parcel in the house,I said well if I'm not in they usually put it in the garage as thats where I state my safe space is he said "I put it here so I open the door" he couldn't understand what i was saying that you can't just walk in my house,I complained and got an apology off the company and not seen that driver since,just becareful hun