Asked to take delivery for house next door

[washabear]

Hi all:

Today a delivery person came to my door and asked me to take a delivery for the house next door because nobody was there. I said that I was not comfortable doing that because I didn't know the people, but he didn't accept that and implored me to take it, saying that it was windy and raining, the implication being that he couldn't leave the delivery at the door. I ended up taking it but am enraged that a delivery person would put me in that position. I think that after I politely explained why I did not want to take the delivery, he should have left and come back later when someone was there. I suppose I should have just told him that instead of caving and agreeing to take it. Later I shot off a comment to the company expressing my displeasure with the event. I doubt that I will receive a reply but wanted to register my complaint anyway.

Have you had a similar situation? How did you handle it?

Feel free to delete if you consider this outside the scope of the forum.

Thanks.

 

[bluejay]

I've had this happen both to me and for deliveries I was expecting. It doesn't bother me too much, as I know both neighbors fairly well.

It'd be awesome if it was an appliance delivery. You could claim that it wasn't left with you.

Kidding. Mostly.

 

[DADoES]

 
I've lived in this neighborhood for 9+ years and am on familiarity with majority of the neighbors up the street (my house is first) only to the point of waving/acknowledging them when passing ... I surely would have taken the package and walked it over later in the evening.  USPS delivery has misplaced a few envelopes, I walked those over in each instance.

 

[rp2813]

I would love it if I was asked to accept a package for the single hunky hottie guy down the street . . .

 

I know both of my next door neighbors, but can relate to the awkwardness if I wasn't on cordial terms with them.  I think the guy should have kept the package and tried to re-deliver it the following day, but I'm confident the company he works for frowns upon that process simply because it messes with their productivity matrices.

 

[goatfarmer]

It depends. How well do you know your neighbors? Great way to meet them, BTW. And they or another neighbor, might do the same thing for you someday.

 

[arbilab]

Depending on shipping terms, undeliverable items are returned to shipper. Certain classes get 'delivery attempt notification' where you have to reschedule or pick it up at the depot. The lowest tier, the item just goes back and you're not even notified.

Like my Chinese twintub from an ebay retailer with 'free shipping' back in May. Had the institution manager not gone outside formal policy and let the Fedex guy in when the feeble intercom buzzer didn't wake me up, I'd probly STILL be trying to resolve it.

The Fedex guy put the manager in the same position, accept it or it goes back. That's the bottom-tier service. The next tier is 'plop it on the porch irregardless' (sic).

Let's face it, all products and services are in a race to the bottom.

 

[danemodsandy]

Sometimes....

....It's unbelievable how direct you have to get with people when their request is something you can't or don't want to do.

When I lived in Marietta, I was next door to a guy I will call The Biggest Jerk In The Known Universe. He caused many difficulties for me and other neighborhood residents, to the point that police were out on quite a few occasions.

One day, UPS came to my door, saying that TBJITKU wasn't home and they needed me to accept a package. I said, "I'd really rather not."

Well, the guy went on, saying that he needed to get on with his route and would I just accept the package.

I ended up saying, "You don't understand. I just said NO, and if you ask me ten more times, the answer will still be NO. I don't talk to that guy and I am NOT going to do him any favors."

Incredibly, the UPS guy went on: "Look, I'm just trying to get finished up here."

To which I said, "Do I need to call UPS and tell them that you can't finish your route without trying to make me do something I just told you I am NOT going to do?"

He strode off in a pouting huff that would have done credit to Blanche Devereaux.

 

[yogitunes]

as Ralph mentioned, if it was for a hottie neighbor, or even if the UPS driver himself was a hottie......I would jump right on it....take that however you want!....

I too have a neighbor that I don't get along with, BUT, I would do it to show I am the bigger person, rather than be petty about it!

think of it too, THAT driver delivers to your neighborhood area....NOW, did you create a bad taste in his mouth, so that your next delivery may not get to you, or arrive damaged just before it left his truck?....

in a few weeks, we'll be seeing a thread, "Do you know what that UPS driver did?".....yeah, I can't imagine WHY he would do such a thing!

 

[davey7]

I live in a medium sized apartment building and people sign for each other all the time (and even recognize the UPS/FedEx men by voice over the intercom). I'm a curmudgeon and don't answer unless I'm expecting someone. I'll sign if I'm working out front, but that's rare. One of our neighbors gets something from Amazon every day - we joke it's Christmas every day for him (he's Jewish) - it's usually replacement dvd's he lost in that black hole of an apartment of his...

 

[perc-o-prince]

Hi Bruce,

UPS, USPS, and FedEx all have rolls of large plastic bags that they can put boxes in if it's raining/snowing or otherwise wet out. Maybe it wasn't one of these services? If it was, UPS makes 3 attempts even for ground (the least costly service) and I believe FedEx makes at least two. I don't know how many USPS make, but they all leave notices at the door. Or at least they're supposed to!

It's a tough call, but I guess the bottom line is that you're being asked to take responsibility for someone else's property; someone you don't know. 1) You don't know what's in the box. It could be something hazardous or maybe something the neighbor wouldn't want anyone to see. 2) What if something's wrong with it, like it's broken- who takes responsibility?

I've done it for neighbors we know, but I don't think I would for anyone I didn't know.

Chuck

 

[countryguy]

I just read an item in the newspaper where a delivery man in British Columbia didn't deliver the package but left a note on the mailbox up the road explaining why - 'Bear at door' LOL I guess there was a real bear in the yard.

Gary

 

[mrb627]

Not Long Ago...

I was out on my back deck and happened to see something sticking up from the other side of the fence. It was a very large broken branch that had come from the top section of one of my trees during an earlier storm. So, I put my shoes on and walked around to my neighbors front door and rang the bell. My neighbor answered the door, a neighbor I had never met other than to wave back and forth across the fence and such. Well, there I stood face to face with him on his front porch while I tried to explain that I was there to retrieve the broken branch from his back yard. He just looked at me as if he was waiting for me to tell him what I was selling, silent, no response. Awkward moment. Suddenly, he replied "oh oh oh, you live back there!?!" pointing towards my house. Funny he would wave a couple of times a week, but didn't recognize me up close.

So yes, I can totally understand where you are coming from. It shouldn't be your responsibility to complete the delivery of the package on the shipper's behalf.

I know that on more than one occasion, I have gone to the mailbox at the street to discover that most of the mail in my box belongs to multiple homes on my street. And on that instance, I would pull out the mail that was mine and return the remainder to the box in front of the post office. Mainly because the simple task of knocking on doors to deliver mail can result in conversations that can span the afternoon. Ain't nobody got time for that!

Malcolm

 

[yogitunes]

rule of thumb....

just be wary of boxes that have air holes, or ViBrAtE!!!!.....

it can be an unmarked box, those guys know exactly what's inside!....aren't you glad they use XRay machines on all packages now!

 

[whirlcool]

I just read an item in the newspaper where a delivery man in British Columbia didn't deliver the package but left a note on the mailbox up the road explaining why - 'Bear at door' LOL I guess there was a real bear in the yard.

I saw this on the news this morning. The Brown Bear was sitting on the porch directly in front of the door. The driver didn't want to disturb the bear, for good reason!

 

[davey7]

Bears

Who knew they were so dangerous, I just thought they were into good food, wine and opera (oh, wait, that's leather).

 

[runematic]

If it was me & I did not know the neighbor, I wouldn't sign for it. Too much liability on the signer's end. However, where I live out in the country, I'd sign for 2 of my immediate neighbors. I know them well. Some of the other folks, I have never met (the places are rentals and I'm on a hill up above them).

Now to add my UPS rant to some of the other comments above:

When my brother & I finally took a vacation this year after 2 long years of hard work, we headed to Alaska. We hit up a number of small breweries and bought growlers as souvenirs (growlers are 1/2 gallon glass jugs used for take out draft beer). We sent 6 home the second last day there. I expected that the shipping from Alaska to PA would break probably two. I also knew I'd be back at work on the scheduled arrival day.

Now here at the store we get UPS all the time. So I sent the package from me in Alaska to me in PA at the store address using the store name. I checked tracking and saw that the box was out for delivery. It's supposed to arrive by 5pm. I left the front door unlocked & opened until 6pm. No UPS. I check tracking the next morning and it's listed as "REFUSED BY RECIPIENT AND RETURN TO SENDER"!!!!! WTF!! I call UPS & she said I refused it or no one was there. I stated no yellow tag was left like normal that they missed me. The UPS hub is about 35-40 minutes from here. Usually, you can run down and get the package. Nope. They wouldn't let me.

I was told the package was sent back to the shipper. WAIT! I'M THE SHIPPER. I SENT IT TO ME. I'M NO LONGER IN AK! Tough crap was basically the response I got. UPS could not reroute the package back to me. I called the UPS store where I sent it from and they couldn't get anywhere with UPS either. The package was sent back to AK and they repackaged it and sent it back to me in PA!!!

I was right, only 2 growlers were broken when the package made a THIRD cross-continent trip.

I think my delivery man dropped the package, heard the glass, and FORGED my signature. UPS customer service didn't want to hear me say fraud. I was brushed off. UPS can KMA!!

Sorry for the long rant. I could go on & on about this shipment. I just have a very sore spot for UPS.

 

[perc-o-prince]

Todd,

It would have been completely within your rights as the shipper to request (demand) proof of refusal, same as you can for proof of delivery. Then you could have had the forged signature to come back at them with.

I've always found UPS to be so much more helpful than USPS or FedEx. We shipped a bakelite TV to Florida once. It never arrived. It showed up at a warehouse in FL via tracking, but no one could find it. Turns out the clear label envelope provided by UPS had come off, and there was no packing slip inside, so it went to their version of the dead letter office in that area. The long and the short of it is that it was eventually found (how do you lose a 60# box of that size?) and delivered, but the people at UPS were most helpful and understanding. Since then, for all boxes I send, I write the tracking number on the box with a Sharpie.

Chuck

 

[washabear]

Hi all:

Thanks for your replies and interesting takes on the subject. It wasn't a UPS or FedEx package; it was flowers.

Because nobody came home for awhile, I put a post-it note on their door saying that I had a delivery and to come pick it up. The man came and picked them up, said he wasn't expecting anything, and thanked me, but I can imagine that the woman was probably creeped out that I had her flowers, as was I.

I don't think I have to worry about a delivery retaliation in this case, since I don't expect to be receiving flowers anytime soon.