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.

Absolutely they are, happened to me on many occation.
Equally every day on SM there are multiple posts asking if "anyone knows who's front door this is as my parcel has been left there" or "does anyone know a Mr/s x as I have their parcel".
Evri are mainly the worst.

I was having a lie in because my meeting didn’t start until 10am wfh and I hadn’t slept well for a few days so was fast asleep when my neighbour rang my phone asking for her parcel at 7:15am. I was so taken aback and sleepy that I just handed it over without a word but not impressed.

why did you get up?

I didn’t know this and I’ll give this a go

Like I said because I was half asleep and I wasn’t even sure of the time until I shut the door and looked at the clock. I assumed it was 9 or something

Actually I like the idea of delivering them to the neighbours’ drived but the WRONG neighbours (obviously only the ones she keeps getting parcels for).

Let them see how annoying it is.

If your neighbours have gates and they the delivery drivers can’t access for delivery that is probably why they are being left at your house.

Is there a local whatapp group? If there is then you could send a to say
Due to personal reasons I cannot accept parcels that are being left at my gate.
If you don’t I would pop a note through the relevant doors and then leave it. And what @NorthSouthEast wrote

Repeat offenders I would leave the parcel there and pour a bucket of water over it/jump on it (especially if it says fragile). You've hadn't accepted the parcel and therefore you are not responsible for it.

Sadly I think many really do not actually read English, especially if handwritten, and don’t bother to use the translate apps because they are penalised for non delivery or for not completing them in any given day.

In our road we have a whatsapp, and in these circs would simply leave the parcel on the door step and announce in the app, ‘parcel received for Jo Blogs in error. Left on doorstep as I am out’. Then it’s down to them to come and collect it, which luckily people always seem to do. Not sure what you are supposed to do if you have ‘busy’ or forgetful neighbours who don’t collect them? Chuck them over the fence onto their property? But threatening to bin them is legal IMHO - if you have notified them that this is the action you are taking for any wrongly delivered items. If they do not collect their items, then they have technically been abandoned and you are within your rights to bin them.

Have you got gates you can close over? Bit of a pain for a month but by putting the house number on the gate latch [No 15 only] you might curb things a bit.

I wouldn't be bothering with the neighbours parcel box, I'd just lob it down the driveway but to be fair to your neighbours they aren't the cause of this either unless they've put you down as a default address.

I might start taking the parcels back to the drop off points if I am taking a parcel I am sending at the same time.
I would do this. Don't put yourself out, but do it if it suits you.

When I went on maternity leave last year suddenly I started getting parcels for a house across and up from me. So not even a direct neighbour. They were left in my garden too for me to deliver. No thanks to that I was not picking up a shift for Royal mail while on mat leave. Anyway turned out she had left a note to go to me knowing i was off now. Check that out

Or what is more reasonable is that it's shitty couriers that don't read the house numbers or even street names.
I've had parcels left with neighbours, in the street over from me, and also in a block of flats 5 minutes drive from my house!

Shitty is a bit harsh. They are minimum wage workers delivering tat to confusing roads with houses with gates.

Hi OP, where we live we have a local Facebook page. Its amazing how many people post on it asking if anyone has received their parcel in error, or if anyone recognises the doorstep on the delivery photo. Also folk post to say they have received parcels addressed to Mrs Xxx and if anyone knows them can they get in touch. I realise that if a person moves, it's their responsibility to make sure addresses are updated etc. Hope it gets sorted soon x

I would tip the box back over your fence or hedge and while it technically is littering it is not YOUR litter and the owner of the parcel will be the one to answer to a litter charge.

I have couriers that don’t read delivery instructions. We are in. They don’t even knock and so we don’t know it’s there. Get a notification saying delivered and a photo. I have it on all my instructions to not leave outside as we have porch pirates. So started saying not received and because I put leave with neighbour in instructions the seller has to send another one. Takes some time as they do their own internal investigation first.

I then donate the spare item to charity. It has stopped as I send doorbell proof showing they didn’t even ring the bell. I also verbally told the Evri driver that we regularly have that if he didn’t ring the bell I would deny the item was received every single time they left it outside.

I would put them out on the pavement. If anyone's going to be investigated for fly tipping it would be the person who's name and address is written on the parcel, not you.

We had this with amazon for a while. A house about a 5 minute walk from us with a similar address but a bit harder to find kept ordering from Amazon and Amazon kept leaving it outside our house. We were patient to a point because it was new baby items but it was several times a week. In the end we told them and Amazon we would not bring items addressed to them inside, we did not accept them or responsibility for them. After a week all the items disappeared and it hasn't happened since

I’m baffled as to why you would take these round to the neighbours? Just leave them until they come to you, don’t take them inside. The message will soon land…

Delivery drivers barely bother to ring the doorbell now, in fact most don’t. One tried to force a package through the letterbox last week, which, had he succeeded, would have broken it.

Leave it in the front garden where it was put

Put a large note on it:

'Parcel for No x
Contains TV(?)
Please Take'

It's not your fault if someone other than No x takes it!

We used to get parcels for others because though there are lots of houses with the same postcode along our road our house was the one satnavs directed drivers to (no house numbers, just names, in our road).
Nb. We get our own parcels sent to a local drop off point now, it is a lot safer.

Bizarre that aside from the courier continuing to deliver, the true recipients aren’t even bothered about their parcels whereabouts or if they receive them or not?!