AIBU to complain after Amazon opened the door and my cat escaped?

[HelloDenise]

I had an email from Amazon saying that a package had been delivered. No photo. When I got home I found the back door open, the package inside the door and the cat gone.

It's quite possible the cat opened the door, some can be quite clever and doors aren't hard once they know what to do (not mine though!)
If it happened to me I'd be more annoyed I'd left the door open and tbh it's much more likely.
I don't think popping a parcel inside an unlocked door is that terrible tbh, there's a really really easy solution if you don't like it.

If you knew your cat could get out or the door could blow open then you should have locked it, parcel or no parcel.

Amazon drivers have opened my door before, and also attempted to open the door. I have two dogs one is not very friendly to randomers coming to the door also no one should be opening my door so I called Amazon to tell them to put a note to never open the door.
They asked if I wanted to make a formal complaint I said no just don’t open my door

You went out without locking your doors?

So many people on here really think it’s ok for delivery strangers to enter your home, insane. Leave the parcel in a safe place doesn’t include entering the house when no one is home:.

@Yogabearmous
I agree, is this the same
MN who need an appointment to pop in for a cuppa from family.
Nobody should be opening your front door.

Amazon once did that to me. I was at home and rather than ring the door bell at the front, the Amazon man just merrily walked through the side gate, and opened the side door, straight into my kitchen. Where he was greeted by my very large, and very startled, pack of dogs! They moved like lighting, baying like bloody wolves and I’ve never actually seen a man close a door so quickly 🤣🤣🤣
I did contact Amazon after that and request they never open my doors. They agreed that would be best all round!

If you forgot to lock the door it’s perfectly possible that you didn’t shut it properly and it was open when the driver got there. Not acceptable if he/she did open it but you really don’t know.

Leaving a door unlocked does not entitle anyone to open it!

Burglars don't stop to think about whether they are entitled to open a door before walking in.

If the cat got out the door may have been open the delivery person put the parcel inside and shut the door? Was the door unlocked and shut or unlocked and open when you got home. Our cat can open doors pretty efficiently when he wants to.

Do people usually deliver to your back door in a walled garden? Or do they leave things at the front? A bit odd if so.

No. I hadn't locked it after putting out laundry (but hadn't realised that). I keep the cat in, so I wouldn't have left it open.

Yes it's the "safe place" for delivery. It's accessible, for anyone who knows, including delivery drivers but not to every Tom and Harry, and they would try ringing the front door bell first.

Last week I found a parcel from Zooplus in my recycling bin by accident when I put recycling out. I hadn't had any notification of delivery.

I'm fully aware I made a mistake and forgot to lock the door. I don't need telling how stupid that is. I already know.

Why is it your “safe place” for deliveries if you have an indoor only cat? Surely it was just a matter of time before this happened?

Do you have proof it was the delivery driver and not a neighbour? I'm not buying that response at all. Did you write it yourself? If not it is mad that after a quick email and no investigation they are making a complaint and threatening disciplinary action and retraining. They shouldn't have opened your door but that response is a bit suss.

Call me stupid, but I would never have expected them to attempt to open the door.

@danimcannie I'm not sure which is more ridiculous, suggesting I wrote that response myself when it's clearly a screenshot from the Amazon chat box, or the suggestion I would do it in the first place particularly at bloody midnight. That's one of the craziest things I've seen on Mumsnet. I also don't need you to "buy it".

Both my neighbours either side are new here and we don't really know each other and this seems incredibly unlikely. Besides they're all at work.

If you didn't realise you hadn't locked it, it's likely you also didn't realise you left it slightly ajar.

Moral of the story though, don't make it a safe place for delivery drivers if you don't want them to use it 🙄

@BudgetBuster I do want them to use the safe place. That doesn't include trying to get into the house. It's clearly stated that the safe place is outside the back door.

YANBU OP.

I would complain. Glad your cat came home ok 🐾❤️🐾

I’m baffled by those slamming the OP.

The safe place ‘by back door’ does not mean try my door and enter my property. Regardless if it was unlocked or not!!

It seems much more likely to me that you didn't shut the door properly (I can't see how you can be so sure it was definitely shut when you had forgotten you didn't lock it), and it blew open between the time of you leaving and the delivery person arriving. (I've done this a lot by the way; I leave the door open, it blows closed but not properly shut, but I can't tell by a casual glance).

The delivery person than went to leave the parcel round the back(as per your safe place instruction), found the door open, probably assumed you were somewhere in the house, and left the parcel just inside the door rather than just outside.

IME delivery drivers do the minimum needed to drop off their parcel and move on to the next place; there is absolutely no reason for them to try the door on the off chance that the owner left it unlocked if they've been told to leave the parcel outside.

Of course they shouldn't have opened the back door if you asked them to leave it outside. I'm not sure why everyone is having a go at you - typical mumsnet 🙄
I'm glad your cat is ok x

They sometimes do. I work in the sitting room, which has our front door in it (no hallway). As I’ve got a direct view of the front door, I didn’t always lock it but do now after a delivery driver knocked, and then let himself in as I was walking the short distance from my desk to answer it. It frightened the life out of me because before I saw the parcel, I had no idea why there was a large man letting himself into my house.

I told him he really shouldn’t do that- alarming for the homeowner, how does he know there isn’t a fierce dog the other side etc. He was apologetic and told me his manager tells drivers to try doors to see if they can get inside and deliver the parcel. Perhaps he wasn’t being truthful but it does happen.

And then the parcel delivery man delivered a parcel.

Gosh.

My brother leaves the back doors open all the time in SE London but I agree Amazon should’ve used your safe place and not opened a door. They probably tried the door though, found it open and hey presto.

Cats are clever and can open doors (my nana’s Persian could open windows) but they’re not the considerate type to bring parcels in. Food is their common denominator.

I'm a bit torn, really. It is tough for drivers to know what to do when they are under such huge pressures to complete deliveries fast, and so liable to complaints if packages go missing, get damaged, wet, etc.

I bet that the initial 'training' your driver was given didn't include "don't open an unlocked door" or "double-check you have closed it properly", and the driver thought he/she was being helpful. If you don't have a cat, your mind won't go to the possibility of one escaping, especially if you encounter a door that has been left unlocked.

In these sorts of situations, I want to complain to Amazon but I know that it will be the driver, not Amazon, that bears the pain of my complaint, and I don't want to create additional hassle for them.

EDIT: Really glad your cat is home safe. Fear makes us prone to anger and you must have been very scared for her/his wellbeing. x