How long must I keep neighbours’ parcels left at my house?

[Spring1664]

How long do I have to leave neighbours parcels which have been left at my house before I can get rid of them? I have not accepted these parcels, there is more than one notice saying don’t leave parcels here that are not addressed to [address redacted], the other houses have their house number clearly displayed, everybody has been warned I am not redelivering parcels anymore. If I catch a courier trying to leave a parcel I insist they take it back and either keep it or take it to the correct address.
The background. Ever since moving couriers have left parcels for other houses. One week I had about 8 parcels left that were for other addresses no one came for them and I had to drop them off and I said no more.
I am still getting some parcels left, I did leave one at the end of their driveway the other week and they drove past it for 2 days! It was quite a large parcel. There’s one tucked in near my gate atm and they could just reach round and get it but it’s been there for over a week now.
I would like to get a parcel bin thing for my own parcels but at this rate it’ll just fill up with other people’s.

I've often been the neighbour who accepts parcels for others on my street as I WFH. Every time I ask the courier if they will put the card through neighbour 's door so they know to come and collect. They always say they will do. Yet my neighbours say they've not received any notifications do didn't know to come pick ip from me.

Your case is different as I don't understand why they would leave them at yours so at wrong address.

In my experience once you start saying no a few times, the courier drives know not to knock. I haven’t got time
to run around handing out parcels to neighbours.

They’re not knocking, read the OP posts

We had this because we had a long drive, bigger garden and were in a better position for the courier to then turn around his van. Happened so much.

Have you got a list of all the people you’re providing this unwelcome service for?

Why don’t you muddle things up a bit and return them to the wrong front gardens? Have a bit of fun with it 😂

My neighbours used to leave parcels here for weeks on end, the record was 6 weeks they would turn up sheepishly saying they didnt know they were here even though I could hear them on their ring doorbell saying to drop them here! And they weren’t tiny parcels either things like TVs and double beds Even had their family members who don’t live on my street getting their parcels sent here!! Figured they were using my home as their storage unit until they needed the item.

I completely refuse to take them now, had a delivery driver hand me one of the weekend and only told me after it was my neighbours I handed it back to him and shut the door on him. i would either put their parcels outside their doors, or tell them if it happens again you’ll return it to the sender.

Honestly OP in your shoes I would leave some parcels out in the rain if they’re related to repeat offenders - maybe tip some extra water on them and make them look a bit fox chewed for good measure - and then deliver to them.
Basically you need the recipients to be sufficiently motivated to contact the courier companies and change the instructions to “absolutely do NOT deliver to number <your address>”.

How can they access your garden furniture?

I feel the need for a diagram!

Can you put a note through the door of the worst offenders and say that if they continue to get parcels delivered to yours, you are no longer prepared to take any responsibility for notifying them or storing them so in future they will be left outside and you assume no responsibility for the contents . You could finish with a nice passive aggressive line such as “Thank you in advance for your understanding.”

Just put the packages in your bin. Up to your neighbours if they get to them before the bin men.

Or open the packages up and keep the good items and throw the other stuff away.

Yes there is. It happened to us a lot because we had a bigger drive / garden - it was much easier than navigating the rest of the narrow track.

Why would you say this never happened when other people are saying that it does happen?

Exactly !

It makes me wonder if there is some kind of scam going on .....

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/feb/15/brushing-fraud-britons-
mystery-parcels-scam-review

https://www.callercheck.co.uk/guides/parcel-delivery-scams

You've done the first thing with signs, the 2nd being notifying the cfers about their parcels.
The next thing is to contact the compamy delivering and complain, let them sort their couriers out. The parcels get dumped on you because the couriers have so many and you are an easy dumping area, large garden, you're at home etc but that's not the point. If the couriers get moaned at /job threatened that is not your problem.
Please don't leave anything in the street as that could be seen as fly tipping.

It would be seen as theft on part of OP if she is knowingly depriving the cfers of their parcels. They don't deserve them I agree but OP need to do things properly or she could get into trouble.

Couriers don't read signs. My front door opens outwards, and I have 3 signs at varying heights that state this. They still leave parcels propped up against the door.

I don’t think that’s correct.

If she tells the delivery company and gives them the opportunity to collect the parcels and within a reasonable time they don’t, she’s entitled to keep them.

I believe she is in the role of an “involuntary Bailee” in legal terms and there are well established rules for that.

If she has refused to accept the parcel - which is clear given she has put a notice up - you could argue it’s been dumped and is rubbish that could be binned

i would think however it would be classed as lost property then you have to take some kind of step to avoid becoming responsible- a note on social media of the company or a note in the neighbours door and keep it for a month ( or if you do a note in ther door you could probably get away with stating 7 days )

i would NOT take the item - I would put a note through the door because they need to take responsibility

You have done enough.

If the couriers are leaving them without you present then there is zero proof they are in your posession.

Either throw them in the bin, leave them outside the relevant addresses or open them, take what you want and bin the rest. You have done your bit, who is to say they werent all stolen from where the couriers dumped them.

I was answering the poster Anapple who said to keep the parcels and open them, keeping the good stuff and throwing the rest, THAT is theft if she knowinlg deprives the legal owner of the goods by keeping them herself.

Even as an involuntary bailee she can't destroy or dispose of goods wirhout legal prodecure.

We get this. It drives me round the bend as we are rural and it involves me traipsing off to find the correct houses. I find the couriers don't even knock, just leave the parcel in the porch so I sometimes have people knocking on my door to ask for a parcel I didn't even know was there. Worst case was when a parcel arrived and no one came to collect it. I kept going to the correct house but no one ever in and the parcel wouldn't fit though their letterbox. About 9.30pm after I'd had the parcel for about two weeks, neighbour hammering on the door, tears in her eyes, absolutely furious because I had been 'keeping' her engagement ring! I tried to explain that I had been down to her house on a number of occasions, but nope, she just kept ranting at me and then stormed off! If I do catch the courier now, I refuse to take any parcels but it doesn't help with the ones that just get left. I wish I knew how to stop it.

I do agree she can’t just open and keep the stuff on the day of delivery.

As a strategy, I think the right way to fix things long term is to put pressure on the neighbours by getting the vendor to have their courier collect the items. When the neighbours’ orders aren’t delivered in time they will chase up with the vendor.

Put up a large sign on your door in capital letters saying that you accept parcels only for this property.

Put it outside your gate. And then ignore it.

If may get stolen. But it could get stolen off your garden furniture, so...

They do with us because our house is set back up a footpath and sometimes they can't be bothered. Amazon were really bad for this and used to leave it at our nasty neighbours. They eventually got the message that we weren't going round to collect as it would end up with police involvement and no way would they bring to ours so they had to keep sending replacements.