AIBU to think it was rude they kept my misdelivered parcel?

[FrostedCandyAngel]

Was expecting a parcel on Saturday. (Was a small package, in a padded envelope so could easily fit through letterbox, no signature required)

Didn’t get delivered. So I checked the tracking details online Sunday evening. Tracking details said it had been delivered at 09:30am Saturday. It had a photo of the delivery person handing it over. All you can see in the photo is the package, someone’s shoes and their driveway. Which had a particular unique pattern of paving.

It wasn’t my shoes, or my driveway.

I walked up and down my street trying the find the driveway. Found it. About 8 houses down.

Knocked on the door and luckily they answered. I said “Oh I’m just wondering if you have a parcel for number 60 please”. They said yes, and gave it me. No “sorry I was going to bring it round/post it through your letter box”.

I understand people are busy but they had my parcel for 30+ hours. I would have had no idea they had it unless I went out looking at everyone’s driveways.

Was this rude of them?

That's the delivery service's fault, not the people stuck with your delivery. There are lots of reasons why someone might not prioritise redelivering your padded envelope.

The courier is unlikely to return to a house 8 doors back up to leave a note. The courier has probably gone to the wrong door.
The person accepting it should not have taken it especially if they do not know the op. Depends what the courier said to them.
In this instance I do think the neighbour could have brought it round.

We had this recently with our neighbour! Next door I will add!

Parcel delivered. We posted on all the local neighbourhood groups if anyone had taken it in. No response.

Worked out the next day it was their door from the delivery photo - they have a very distinct difference to their door surround compared to the rest of the estate

So made us wonder why would you not have dropped it round when we are literally next door!!

Went round to collect and they very sheepishly gave us our package

To our horror they had also opened it and re-taped the box shut!!!

It was a door sign, personalised with our address so of no use at all to them but I did wonder if it had been something else if they may have attempted to claim it

Isn’t it rather more likely they just opened it without looking at the label and then thought, “Oh shit - it’s for next door” and taped it back up?

I don’t think @FrostedCandyAngel said the parcel had been opened, @AnnieLummox.

@FrostedCandyAngel - you don’t seem to have taken on board what so many people have tried to tell you - your neighbours had NO way of knowing that the postie hadn’t put a card through your door, so it was entirely reasonable of them to wait for you to come and collect the parcel!

It was NOT their fault that a card wasn’t left, nor was it their fault that you had to search for the right house to retrieve your parcel - yet you have started a thread calling them rude, and implying they were deliberately keeping your parcel. And you still cannot see that you are being unreasonable.

It's like the OP thinks the neighbours will have had the time or inclination to stop and actually consider whether or not a card will have been left, on the basis that it's a small parcel that fits through the letterbox. Who has time to give that much thought to an apparently simple situation? The same goes for her bonkers notion that they should have checked the name and address and mentioned it to the courier before they left

@AnnieLummox was not responding to OP, she was responding to a story posted by @Forestgreenblue about a parcel being opened.

@Forestgreenblue I agree with @AnnieLummox - it’s very easy to open a parcel without reading the label first, especially if you order a lot of things or are expecting something else. Really surprised that your first thought was malicious intent. Do you always automatically think the worst of people? That’s no way to live

I am sorry, I didn’t realise that, @UhOhRatPoo - thank you for telling me. I apologise, @AnnieLummox.

So that's their fault too?

Perhaps in future you could use the option whereby you ask one of your neighbours who you like and trust to take in parcels for you, rather than the (clearly untrustworthy) people who did you a favour by kindly agreeing to accept your delivery for you. Then put the acceptable address on your delivery details.

Perhaps in future you could use the option whereby you ask one of your neighbours who you like and trust to take in parcels for you

I dont need anyone to take in parcels for me. I would rather Royal Mail deliver it to the correct house. I was in my kitchen at the front of the house at 09:30 when it was delivered 8 doors down.

If I know I’m not going to be in when due a delivery I order it to a pick up point.

I think people are assuming I’m blaming the neighbours for a misdelivery. I am not at all. That is ALL on Royal Mail and I emailed to complain before I event went out to look for the house.

My thread was about my “neighbours”. Not Royal Mai. I KNOW that Royal Mail are at fault.

My AIBU was about the neighbours realising the parcel was for me and could have quite easily walked 20 seconds to my house to post it. Because that’s what I do when I receive someone else’s post on the street in ERROR. My viewpoint hasn’t changed.

Being neighbourly isn’t very popular on Mumsnet. And everyone is either unable to walk 20 seconds down the street or they are so so so busy with kids pets, washing up etc. 🤣🤣

Still happy to be called Unreasonable though. I will be unreasonable and proud.

Have a great week everyone.

Why can you not accept that your neighbours did NOT KNOW it had been delivered to them IN ERROR?

@UhOhRatPoo Because the OP has made it abundantly clear that her perception of her neighbours is the only correct one and now that people have disagreed with her, has decided that she is some sort of heroic martyr to the allegedly un-MN quality of neighbourliness. It's quite funny when someone lacks self awareness to that extent.

Why do people post in AIBU if they don’t really want to know? We need a ‘righteous indignation’ topic for those sure of their societal correctness. Or we could just call it Hyacinth?

I have a parcel that was wrongly delivered to my address. I tried to deliver it to correct address but no answer beyond the huge security gate. I went out of my way to contact a friend to get contact details. Messaged owner of parcel who said she would pop round to collect at a certain time. She never appeared. She never messaged again so the parcel has been in my possession for months. I could return to company but I cannot be arsed.

No worries 🙂

I'll happily take parcels in for neighbours, if i'm home.
The parcel then gets put to one side and pretty much forgotten about until it is collected. I assume that a slip will have been posted through their door to say where their parcel is and that they will come and get it.
I wouldn't go out of my way to go to the neighbours to deliver their parcel. I'm busy with my own life.

Sorry, I meant to quote @SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius

Yes, I think it's out of order. My parcel from Etsy went to the wrong house & I only got it a week later after hunting for it in my road. To make it worse the occupier of the house is a postman,so I was disgusted. If I get someone's post I deliver it the same day.

That's very public spirited of you but can't you appreciate that you do so despite having no obligation to do it and some people who equally have no obligation just do not have the spare time or capacity to make up for the crapness of courier companies.

The high rate of incorrect deliveries is because the delivery companies pay such shit wages that they only have a few seconds to establish that the address is vaguely right - if they took the time to verify that each parcel is dealt with correctly they miss their targets and are penalised. This will not change as long as kindly members of the public are willing to do the difficult bit of the job for free. It would be far better if everyone refused point-blank to act as courier agents and insisted on the deliverers doing the job properly start to finish. Only then will the companies find that it's worth their while to pay better rates and allow the couriers to slow down and take sufficient care to get it right first time.

I wouldn't expect a neighbour to drop it off usually but if it fits through your letterbox dont see why not. I would drop any size to a neighbour as long as its not heavy. Guess we're in the minority

You kind of have no clue what others are in the middle of when it arrives or whatever. Super easy to put it down and forget about it until you knocked.
Must be hard being so perfect that you'd never forget anything, have something going on or be too busy and something slips your mind.

In this instance they did nothing wrong. They just didn't do what you wanted when and how you wanted it.... That's a you issue.
Maybe take yourself down a few pegs.. I can guarantee you're far from perfect.

I am quoted in the ops post here. Unfortunately it is only a small part of my post.

So op is happy to be called unreasonable.

That's a relief.

Can it stop now please?? There is no point in any further discussion!! 😂

Can it stop now please?? There is no point in any further discussion!! 😂

I hope so!! 🥲

I must be in a minority looking at all these replies, but I would always glance at the address when taking a delivery to check it’s in the right place and the delivery person isn’t cocking up. If I was actually being handed a parcel, as here, I’d be particularly likely to check straight away so I can see who it is I’m expected to be looking after it for, in the case of a parcel I’m taking delivery of because the recipient wasn’t in. If the parcel was small enough to fit through a letterbox, I’m pretty sure I would hand it back because it would be obvious it’s a misdelivery. Why on earth, in the case of a small parcel, would RM have any need to give it to anyone other than the correct address? I’m with the OP. RM were shit, obviously, but the neighbours added to it with their careless obliviousness.

And it you check the address straightaway, the onus on correct delivery remains where it should be, because the parcel gets handed straight back. It’s second nature to me to look at what’s written on the envelope as soon as I pick up/receive any post.

Thank you @eastegg . A blast of sanity at last.

You don't HAVE to accept a parcel for someone else. But if you do then at the same time you some responsibility for it.

We all know how unreliable parcel deliveries can be ... the neighbourly thing to do is to deliver it yourself. It's not hard to guess that the intended recipient doesn't know where it is.