Neighbors sometimes sure do get up to some weird stuff, don’t they? It’s like some people’s goal is to make starting up the lawnmower at 6AM on a Saturday the least weird thing they can do.
But I firmly believe that what makes their actions even weirder is if they get up to some weirdness and you never talk about it - it’s like you can’t even comprehend what they’re thinking.
This is the backdrop for today’s odd story, when a man tried turning his neighbor’s house into a post office.
More info: Reddit
Directing parcels to be delivered to your neighbor if you're out on business may have unforeseen consequences
Image credits: Tima Miroshnichenko (not the actual photo)
A person took it online to vent about his neighbor who just put up a sign to deliver packages to his door while he was out, without even asking
Image credits: scottr82
Image credits: Kindel Media (not the actual photo)
The poster decided not to put up with the audacity and just refused the packages from the couriers
Image credits: scottr82
Image credits: Min An (not the actual photo)
When the neighbor came to get his packages, he was left feeling a bit deflated and promptly removed the sign
You see, it’s just as I said in the intro - this whole thing wouldn’t even be a story if the neighbor had just talked about it with the poster and asked for a favor. But again, it got weird since it’s impossible to even guess what the guy was thinking when he was doing it. Especially when he knew he was going to get at least 3 parcels soon enough.
Even worse, he’s soured the deal for any other neighbors, as the poster had a history of taking in parcels when they weren’t around, but not anymore.
Turns out even the customary British politeness has its limits.
Taking in deliveries for neighbors is a hotly debated issue. An 11-page discussion about a similar situation on Gransnet is a testament to this.
Many railed against it, saying that you shouldn’t ask people for such favors and even more so not take in any packages yourself. Peeps emphasized the fact that once you take possession of the parcel, you’re responsible for it.
Besides any accidents you yourself may have with it, such as dropping or misplacing it, it’s possible for the recipient to blame you for something, ranging from damaging the contents of the package to stealing it outright.
A person by the name of User7777 even said that one of his parcels had been handed to a neighbor with dementia, who then misplaced it for months, it being found by a relative doing some decluttering.
There is also another camp advocating for accepting parcels, no matter what. Their main slogan seems to be along the lines of: “For goodness sake. Give and take!” as said by one of the writers there.
Funnily enough, on the last few pages, that thread deteriorates to some form of delusional ranting by one of the commenters, sparking outrage and infighting. Oh, internet.
Image credits: Lisa Risager (not the actual photo)
Eurosender talks about this practice in depth. They point out several ways the arrangement can go awry: your neighbor may not give you back the parcel, deny ever having gotten it or even have it stolen from their place, in rare cases.
Another important thing to keep in mind is that when they sign for the delivery, they’re basically agreeing that it was delivered in a good state, which another person may not care as much about as you do. If you’re a fan of opening packages yourself and the damage is only apparent after opening the shipment, that’s one more thing to be wary about.
Of course, all this alarmist talk aside, if you’re pals with your neighbors, you’re most likely totally safe. Even more so if you’ve been neighbors for years and years. Just don’t forget that you should return the favor!
The story collected almost a thousand upvotes, with more than 200 comments to boot. Many people suggested solutions to the problem, such as charging for the parcels per day of safekeeping or posting a sign that says “delivered parcels will be considered as unsolicited gifts.” In all honesty, far more people were appalled at the audacity and rudeness of the neighbor.
UK politeness is a double-edged sword.
What would you even call behavior like this? We’ve got porch pirates for people who steal packages off - you guessed it - porches, so what do we call these people? Freelance mailmen? Post reDirectors? Oh I give up. But you should give your best suggestions and thoughts about the story in the comments down below!
The community were stunned by the neighbor's audacity and jokingly suggested doing something nefarious with the parcels
