Are they, kind of, thieves?

[SoniaSwanners]

My husband and I ordered £150 of products from an online shop. We were out when the delivery guy came, and he left the parcel with our neighbour. He posted a note through our letterbox saying he’d left the parcel at number 22. When we enquired with no. 22, they said they’d initially taken the parcel up to their flat, but then they had brought it downstairs again and left it on our doorstep on the street, leaning against our front door. When we got back from work, the parcel wasn’t there, and we could only assume it had been stolen - because it was standing right there on the street for anyone to steal! And the neighbour at 22 admitted that they had left it there. When I suggested to them that they had created conditions in which our parcel got stolen and that they therefore owe us £150, they got very angry, called us unreasonable and are refusing to reimburse us. Am I being unreasonable to think they should pay us back the £150?

'Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the retailer remains legally responsible for your goods until they are in your physical possession. If the parcel is lost, stolen off your doorstep without your permission, or delivered to the wrong address, the retailer is legally liable to replace or refund it'.

The retailer needs to replace and sort out liability with the delivery company. My neighbour once stole a delivery from me. I hadn't specified that they could leave the parcel with a neighbour and I was at home at the time, so there was no reason for it not to be delivered directly to me.

On a personal level, it's pretty rubbish of your neighbours to agree to take in a parcel and then abandon it.

Do you not have a ring doorbell? Assume not so easy for them to lie and steal your parcel.

Urgh. This happened to us. Delivery guy randomly left a pair of expensive boots delivered two doors away, with people we don’t know. They at some unknown to us point, dumped them on our doorstep. And never saw the boots, ever. Money lost. Neighbours stupid as f* afaics, furious.

Because they delivered it to someone who was not the buyer. If they don’t want this risk they need to deliver only to the buyer

Unless you instructed the delivery driver / seller that they could leave it with a neighbour, you tell them it hasn't arrived and request that they deliver it to your house.

You have recourse against the seller.

Assuming your neighbours aren't lying, I wouldn't say they are kind of theives. But they are liable for the loss to the (I believe) the seller. If you have possession of someone's goods you have a legal responsibility to treat them with reasonable care and if you fail to do so, are liable for the owner's loss. Putting stuff out on the street where it is likely to get stolen would not be considered treating it with reasonable care (this is why lawyers won't tell you to put your ex's stuff out on the street if he won't collect it). It's not a crime, it's a civil responsibility, so the owner (the seller in this case, since you haven't received them) would have to go through small claims court.

Wise up. It's not their responsibility.
Why are you getting deliveries when you won't be there or haven't designated a safe place?

Get in touch with the Police and give the crime number to the seller who may be able to reimburse you, the seller 'may' be able to draw back the the costs from the courier but that is if they can prove that is issue is caused by the courier, which it may not be.

The main cause of issue lies with the thieving nieghbour at number 22, who delibratly placed your item in an unsafe place, in full view of the public.

Obviously they kept it!

I have no idea why courier companies still leave a parcel with a neighbour.

If anyone is liable it'll be the courier, take it up with the retailer and them. The neighbours obvs shouldnt have stolen it or left it but they did, but that was the couriers fault.

While I blame the neighbours id go back to where I bought the items and report the delivery as missing

Ask the neighbours when they left it and explain you are registering it with the police and checking neighbours ring doorbells

What was your role in all this? Why didn’t you wait at home for the delivery or else reschedule it for a different day? If your neighbour hadn’t taken it in the delivery person may have left it on your doorstep anyway. Of course you are being unreasonable- you’re playing victim and trying to blame someone else for your own incompetence.

They're only thieves if they've still got your parcel and are lying about leaving it on your doorstep. The thieves are the ones who stole your parcel.

I dont really understand why they would do that though? Are you certain they left it and haven't still got it?

What you should do, is contact the company and tell them that you haven't recieved your parcel. They should reimburse you.

Did you specify when you ordered that deliveries could be left with a neighbour? If so the chances of getting anything back are slim to none. If leaving it with the neighbour was at the whim of the delivery person then you will probably get a refund from the courier company via the seller.

In future make it clear that no parcels are to be left on the doorstep or with a neighbour. And preferably use a local collection point instead, where possible, to avoid the situation completely.

That's some brass neck!

This. They haven't fulfilled their contract with you by delivering it to someone else.

It'll depend what delivery instructions you gave. If you gave the instruction to leave at 22, and the delivery driver has proof it was - then it's between you and your neighbours, I don't think there's much you can realistically do. Did they agree to take it for you? Is it something they'd be interested in/likely to steal?
If you didn't ask the delivery company to leave with a neighbour then they're at fault and the company you ordered from will/should replace your order.
Going forward I'd get a ring doorbell or similar, you'd be able to prove they were lying/see who had nicked it. I'd also leave specific instructions to not leave parcels with 22.

Yes, you are being unreasonable to think they should reimburse you.

Have you done the correct thing, as many people have told you to, and contacted the seller?

They won't pay but they are out of order leaving the parcel on your doorstep. Not sure where you stand on this legally.

Did you stipulate for the order to be left with neighbours? If not, the onus is on the delivery company to cough up

@Brokentoes85the onus isn’t on the courier to reimburse OP. if OP’s parcel wasn’t safely delivered to her or to her safe place (if she stipulated one) then it’s the responsibility of the retailer - her contract is with the retailer and she should speak to them to get her money back. The retailer then tackles the courier as they have a relationship. It’s why the customers can never get any sense out of couriers’ customer service - we are not their customers!

Yeah, but why bother with facts when you can make things up as you go along? 😉

No one’s that moronic - they’ve just decided they like what it is and nicked it hoping you’ll get another from the company.

There is no way they ll reimburse you. I don’t get why they did it though. They could have refused taking in the parcel rather than getting in and putting down themselves. That’s so stupid! Maybe next time choose a pick up location.