New I-hate-my-neighbour stickers to protect Brits' packages

From Monday the Post Office will deliver letters and parcels to the house next door if you're out - and hand out new "don't trust the people next door" stickers that will tell you at a glance what type of neighbourhood you're living in. The Post Office asked for permission for surrogate deliveries back in July, and following a …

[Bod]

"I'm not at home, feel free to break in" stickers.

As after all, if you were in all day you'd have no need for such a sticker in the first place.

[JDX]

Yes thieves need a sticker to guess you're not in during the hours 9-5 when there is no car on your drive and the lights are turned off.

[DJ Smiley]

9-5 and your lights are on?

No wonder we are in a energy crisis! :D

[TonyHoyle]

Or the hallway light is on. That's a sure sign of 'I've gone out and left a light on to deter burglars'.

[Bod]

No car

Train commuter who's left the car in the drive?

Two car lecy driving liberal (bought with that £5k grant) who's left the longer range guzzler for the weekends on the drive?

Sure there are plenty more reasons to pick your house than a sticker, but I'd be putting it on the shortlist as I walk or drive past the houses during the day.

[Anonymous Coward]

In Most

large southern cities, we have no drive, only street parking....you must live in the north

[Anonymous Coward]

It's people like you who think the world is full of peados and terrorists, you daft Daily Mail reading prat!

I can imagine most burglers knocking on the door making sure it's all clear before nipping round the back to smash a kitchen window. A stupid little sticker is not going to put Rat-Boy off from getting in, nicking your valuables and shitting on your kitchen table is it?! Christ, some of the nastier ones will happily break in when your safely tucked up in your pit at night!

[Andy Livingstone]

Out of Date?

Didn't he stop that crappy behaviour when his DNA could identify him from the calling card?

[LarsG]

TWO STICKERS PLEASE

With arrows on them!

[Anonymous Coward]

True

I once stood in my hall next to the front door when a 'sorry we missed you' card came through the door!

I ran outside and asked the delivery man why he had put the card through the door. He said he had rang on the bell but no one answered.

To which I replied, 'strange but we don't have a bell, we have a large cast iron knocker on the door'

He handed over the parcel.

[LateNightLarry]

Re: True

One time, my carrier walked around my open car door, around my feet sticking out of the door, and dropped a notice for a parcel in the mailbox, then walked around both my feet and my car door to get back to the sidewalk to go to the next house... Because the notice was for a COD package, I had to drive seven miles to the post office the next day, stand in line for a half hour, and pay CASH (no checks accepted at that time) for the package... I filed a complaint with the Postmaster, and got back a form letter saying the carrier had rang the doorbell (didn't have one, and the front door was 25 feet further from the street than my mailbox)... After that, I had any mail requiring a signature delivered to my office... which was the post office in another city.

beer, because El Reg won't give me a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon...

[Homer 1]

"Trick or Treat" Posties

Yes, I get that a lot. Postie uses my letterbox as a door knocker (despite the big red arrow and sign that reads "This is a doorbell you're looking for, please use it, and stop destroying my letterbox --->", waits all of minus 0.3 seconds (as though people live directly behind their front door, just waiting for that moment when someone might knock on it), then sprints down the street at high speed, leaving me gawping and clutching onto a "Sorry we couldn't be arsed" note.

Now I suppose I'll be clutching onto a "Sorry we left your haemorrhoid ointment, sex catalogue and court summons with your busybody neighbour" note instead.

Oh joy.

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh come on

How many times have you not answered the door because you were on the sh1tter?

[JetSetJim]

Re: Oh come on

How many times have you not answered the door because the doorbell didn't go, only to find a "missed delivery" note on the floor with your post despite the fact you were hovering around the door waiting for the postie to turn up with the new shiny you ordered and have been pressing F5 on the track&trace web page for the last 3 days...

Thankfully my neighbours are trustworthy, but not the best implementation. Just goes to show what happens when you take a universal service and allow competition on all the profitable bits while neglecting the unprofitable ones. That and the demise of handwritten letters in favour of emails.

[tkioz]

Re: Oh come on

@JetSetJim

Tell me about it brother... I've seen it in action, after "missing" a number of deliveries I decided to sit in my front room one day and wait... I saw the van pull up, I saw the guy jump out, I saw him walk to the mail box (no-where near my front door), I saw him shove a card in it, jump back in the van and drive off... best of all my digital camera saw the entire thing as well, and so did his supervisor.

Normally I take a dim view of dobbing, but he wasn't a postal worker, he was a courier and the goods he was delivering cost extra to be sent that way...

[MrXavia]

Re: Oh come on

I now have security cameras in plain sight, I am hoping this will stop delivery guys from doing that in future!

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Oh come on

I'm guessing your parcel was being delivered by Yodel?

[Benny]

Re: Oh come on

I quite like Yodel, got back ~18:00 to find a note which had a mobile number on, asking me to ring it.

Gave it a ring and the bloke popped back ~19:00.

[Christoph]

Re: Oh come on

Yodel's tracker said they left a package in my porch (I don't have a porch) at a time when I was sat right by the front window. Then the next day (after a complaint to the supplier) they turned up and delivered it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Oh come on

@Christoph, another delivery company (can't check which one as I'm at work) left a package in the wheelie bin (albeit the recycling one) the other day. The day before the rubbish was being collected. Now if I had somehow missed this card, I would have just wheeled it out and been none the wiser. Package gone. Royal Mail also used to do the same in our area (even told the postie that I did not want that doing). Eventually they stopped, after asking people if they wanted that doing in the future.

[Furbian]

Re: Oh come on

It's even worse for us, I have a camera on my front door and inhabit the attic, I can SEE the ones who run off in the time it takes me to rush downstairs, or drop a card as I'm watching before I start the mad dash. Miss it and it's a mile down to the local sorting office that has LONG queues, and shuts at 12.45.

Thank goodness that this neighbour drop off scheme is about to start, but I fear that most of them are usually out to work, and as I do most of my work from home, I'll be the one with the extra interruptions for their mail. But I'm fortunate to have neighbours who even assign one of theirs to stay in our home when we're away on holiday, so I won't mind receiving their parcels.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Oh come on

As I work night shifts, I don't want these parcel drop offs for neighbours while I'm trying to sleep. Even ear plugs don't help, our posties usually stay a while and knock VERY loud quite a few times.

[Goldmember]

Re: Oh come on

@Larry F54

"I'm sure everyone's mileage may vary on this, but IME that's mainly a problem with "courier" services, not Royal Mail."

Nope, when I was a student, Royal Bastard Mail regularly left 'sorry you were out' notes for me when I was in. They pre-filled them and didn't even bother taking the packages on their rounds, just dumped them with the letters.

To be honest though, that's actually preferrable than leaving with a neighbour.

[chris lively]

Re: Oh come on

I have personally watched drivers (through my front window), get out of their vehicle with a sticky in hand, walk up to the door and back to their vehicle while never once knocking or ringing the door bell.

This has happened mainly with FedEx. The only thing I can figure is that the drivers filled out the "oops, missed you" labels ahead of time so they could leave early that day.

The 5th time it happened I opened the door as the idiot walked up, sticker in hand . I asked if I could have my package, he was a bit miffed but went back to the truck to fetch it.

UPS on the other hand has absolutely no problem just leaving thousands of dollars of equipment on the front porch, in the rain, when Signature Required was paid for. Grr.

[El Andy]

Re: Oh come on

I think it's mostly a case of the drivers trying to avoid unloading the heavy/large packages, carry them all the way to the door and then having to load them back up again. I'm not sure if that's better or worse than the HDNL/Yodel typical strategy of dumping potentially expensive parcels in "a safe place", which is usually anything but.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Oh come on

More like I've taken 15 seconds to get to the door as I was in another part of the house, and they don't wait long enough for you to get there..

[AndrueC]

Re: Oh come on

http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1738962

[thejackle]

Re: Oh come on

Actually, I've not answered the door every time I was on the sh1tter.

[TRT]

Re: How many times have you not answered the door because you were on the sh1tter?

I've never let that stop me before.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Oh come on

Yep, on the shitter, or having a bath. Can't wait all day by the door for the postie and it's unpredictable when they are going to deliver. (I remember a time when it used to be before 09:00 or so, but now it's anywhere up to about 13:00 where I live.)

Wouldn't trust my neighbours. At least they have stopped putting it in the wheelie bin, unlike some private delivery companies!

[Pete the not so great]

Re: Oh come on

If you live in London, you could probably answer your front door whilst partaking in said Tom.

[Anonymous Coward]

What to do?

I don't trust my neighbour, he is a psychopath and will refuse to hand over any packages to me which are left with him.

On the other hand i can't put up a sticker as he'll realise that I know he is a psychopath, and will probably put a brick through my window because of it.

[Mike Brown]

Re: What to do?

ensure your sticker says "please deliver to (which ever neigbour isnt a nutter) not (which ever neighbour is a nutter), not that i think he is a psychopath or anything, definiitly not. Its just that i think he is quite busy, what with smearing his walls with feaces, and boiling what i assume is the other neigbours cats bones.

[Steve Evans]

Re: What to do?

Is the "drop with neighbour" permission inherited?

If everyone in the road is out at work, bar the little old lady at the end, is she going to end up with a house full of boxes for the entire road (and possibly further if the delivery bod has the patience?).

[Why Not?]

Re: What to do?

that's fine she can start a new concept.

A small premises where the Royal mail and others can drop off packages for collection for a small fee.

perhaps she can sell stamps and accept items to be posted?

I think it would really catch on in rural areas. Surprised no one thought of it before it makes real sense for people to have to travel to some sorting office with poor parking and wait in line despite having paid for doorstep delivery.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: What to do?

I read that as 'small penises'. It must be the time of day.

[El Andy]

Re: What to do?

One of the little cafes in my area actually runs exactly that scheme. For £1 a time you can get parcels dropped off there and then collect at your convenience. I've never actually tried it out, as I tend to favour the 'deliver to work address' approach, but it seems like a pretty good idea (assuming, I guess, it doesn't get so popular that the café ends up looking like a shipping depot).

[kwhitefoot]

premises where the Royal mail and others can drop off packages for collection

In civilized countries like Norway this is what the post and other couriers already do. The local supermarket, petrol station, florist, whatever, takes delivery, the courier sends you a text saying it is ready for collection and you pick it up on the way home from work. As a lot of these places are open until 21:00 and open at 07:00 (or 24 hours a day in the case of petrol stations) this is a lot more convenient than going to the sorting office (which here would be at least 25km away).

In densely populated areas the post will also call you to arrange a parcel delivery to your door in a two hour window in the evening.

[DJ Smiley]

Re: What to do?

Order the items with his address.

They'll be left with you.

[Dan delaMare-Lyon]

Re: What to do?

Post him the brick? Then if he's out, you can accept the delivery and throw it through his window instead?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: What to do?

@AC 12:55, totally empathise with you. A few of my neighbours are nutters, sadly, and spoil it for everyone else. One in particular is very weird and his girlfriend would probably just use it as something else to throw at him, which seems to happen regularly.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: What to do?

Is he a politician?

[Thomas 4]

Some commentard input

Well, if this thing does go ahead, as it looks like it will, what would you want your sticker to say?

"My neighbours have made a fortune on eBay. Please ensure that parcels addressed to me do not increase their wealth."

[jb99]

The other problem

Some of my neighbours work shifts which is why they are in during the day to collect parcels. But they are not in in the evening when I am.... So my parcel is stuck in their house for a week.

[TechnicianJack]

Re: The other problem

Get a lockbox which you both know the code to, so you don't have this problem.

[Anonymous Cowerd]

Re: lockbox

That might work if it wasn't for the fact that my postie seems to change every couple of months. Royal Mail don't seem to rotate them, rather than letting them have dedicated routes.

Anyway, I expect a lockbox code would end up on a post-it for everyone at the sorting office to make a note of.

[ElNumbre]

Re: lockbox

Or you could get one that lets you change the code. Then put that code on your address label.

Although the postie would need more than 3 braincells to figure that you.

[terlan]

Re: lockbox

a better solution would be to get a box that self locks when closed. When you go out leave it open, have sign saying leave in box and close please or the likes.

That way only you need a key.

[Rabbers]

Another Sticker?

When's the "Don't deliver to my wife" sticker coming out?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Another Sticker?

I'd prefer one to cover both eventualities:

Don't deliver to my wife and my husband

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Another Sticker?

"I'd prefer one to cover both eventualities:

Don't deliver to my wife and my husband"

Well let that be a lesson to you to just pick one or the other next time.

[Richard 8]

I used to have one of these stickers...

...then my neighbour stole it.

[Mike Brown]

this sounds ripe for abuse

Order numerous small value, unsigned for items, have delivered to neighbour. Contact seller and say they havnt arrived, get sent another batch of items. Get the original items from neighbour. Bingo! You have 2 orders! And the posty pays!

[Richard 8]

Re: this sounds ripe for abuse

No more so than it already is... nothing to stop people from doing this already.

[Ragarath]

Re: this sounds ripe for abuse

Keeps this going indefinitely become a millionare! Surely it is their word against your neighbour if they are not signed for :)

[Rufus McDufus]

Re: this sounds ripe for abuse

"Order numerous small value, unsigned for items, have delivered to neighbour. Contact seller and say they havnt arrived, get sent another batch of items. Get the original items from neighbour. Bingo! You have 2 orders! And the posty pays!"

A few years ago I order a vacuum cleaner from Amazon. It didn't appear. I went round to my dippy neighbours and asked multiple times during this period. I eventually got Amazon to send another one.

Six months later the dippy neighbour turns up with the missing vacuum. It had been sitting in their hallway of their tiny house for all that time and was presumably there when I went round to ask months back.

[The last doughnut]

Optional, sometimes expedient

I like my neighbours and get on well with them. I hate having to make the 40 minute round-trip to my "local" collection office to retrieve the undelivered package.

Still, I would rather they didn't receive my badly-disguised copy of "Busty Housewives IV" for obvious reasons.

Hand-based icon for similarly obvious reasons.

[Richard 120]

Re: Optional, sometimes expedient

Dude, you're on the internet and you get porn delivered via snail mail?!

[Rob]

Re: Optional, sometimes expedient

Could be worse, you might have a 40min round trip to your neighbours.

[Rufus McDufus]

Re: Optional, sometimes expedient

Is living in a really posh neighbourhood with a 40 minute journey between houses worse?

[Rob]

Re: Optional, sometimes expedient

Posh neighbourhoods wouldn't have a 40min trip from house to house, they pay for enough space to surround their property but not for the inconvenience of travelling to another property.

Rural areas on the other hand, 40min trip to your neighbour probably means about an hour to the sorting office.

[Lunatik]

I've got my sticker. Happy enough with most of my neighbours but as I pass the delivery office at least twice a day it's as simple to get it from there and avoid any 'kept missing you' type of thing.

What I find bizarre is that you have to go to the RM site, complete a form and they then send you the sticker through the post. As the sticker is the *only* thing that determines whether the Postie takes it to a neighbour or not, this seems a bit of a convoluted process when they could make them available for collection from Delivery and/or Post Offices, or even just have done a mail drop to every household.

Furthermore, the sticker itself is ugly and consists mainly of a wordy explanation of the instructions to the Postie, instructions that he/she is most certainly already familiar with.

Why not give us an immediately recognisable yet unobtrusive logo instead of a block of ugly, redundant text?

[Anonymous Coward]

I've got my sticker too

but its a crappy paper sticker that is only sticky on the back so you gestured to affix it externally.....

Yes I have Sellotaped it to the glass inside but come on!

[Gav]

Nothing Personal

I share your circumstances. It is easy for me to pick up a parcel at the delivery office, and I'm fine with my neighbours, but I don't want them to feel like they're running a free PO box for my mail. Especially the pensioners who you just know are going to be the one's most often lumbered with others' parcels. So I'd much prefer to drop in on the delivery office.

Do I have to put up a sticker and then tell my neighbours it's nothing personal?

[Peter H. Coffin]

posted stickers

One thought occurs: having the stickers delivered means one can't loot the stack of them, and put them up at all the neighbors' so as to not be bothered with other people's packages.

[Daggersedge]

'Why not give us an immediately recognisable yet unobtrusive logo instead of a block of ugly, redundant text?'

Because RM doesn't want you to use these stickers, that's why. This is part of the 'nudge' process. RM wants to make it difficult and inconvenient to use the stickers so that it forces people to do it the way that the company wants them to. In the future, you can be certain, many posties will manage to 'not see' the sticker.

When I lived in the UK, there would have been no way that I would have wanted any package delivered to the curtain twitcher with her nose in everyone's business next door. Instead of this stupid 'leave the package with the neighbour' system, why didn't RM work with shops and the like to set up a system of intermediaries (relais as they call them here in France)? If they were held at the local convenience shop or something, people could pick up their packages without too much trouble.

[Andy Livingstone]

Royal Mail philosophy

OK, it might take a bit of understanding, but they did circulate a shiny leaflet explaining that this would present a great opportunity to employ more unproductive staff to maintain a huge database of names and addresses of people who like / dislike their neighbours. After all, it is not as if the don't have enough databases already. You do understand that if you have ever redirected mail or dared to go on holiday at any time you are stuck on one of their somewhat permanent lists, don't you?

The idea that anyone interested in their latest caper could pick up a sticker at a local Post Office......... too complex, mate.

Even Gareth Malone won't sort this lot.

[terlan]

Go along to online-sign and make up a custom "dont leave my mail with anyone else" sign. Then just print it off.

The Strictly no admittance sign would probably be a good pictogram to use. (http://www.online-sign.com/build_sign.php?pic=55)

faster than waiting for the stuff from RM and you can give precise intructions to the postie. If they actually look at them.

[The last doughnut]

Optional, sometimes expedient

I like my neighbours and get on well with them. I hate having to make the 40 minute round-trip to my "local" collection office to retrieve the undelivered package.

Still, I would rather they didn't receive my badly-disguised copy of "Busty Housewives IV" for obvious reasons.

Hand-based icon for similarly obvious reasons.

[richard?]

I don't get the Children's Panel bit - surely they just print "CONFIDENTIAL" on the outside, and then the postie doesn't deliver it elsewhere?

Same thing for tax details and other dodgy post - equivalent of putting the sticker on the delivery itself.

[Anonymous Coward]

@ richard

And do you really think that people look at that?

I've received confidential mail of mine before, mistakenly delivered to the neighbours, opened by them, only to realise it's actually for me, and then shoved in my mail slot without any apology whatsoever.

Oh well...

[Anonymous Coward]

What on earth is the matter with the PO, a simple "Please do not disturb my neighbours" sticker is both polite, caring and non controversial.

[TRT]

Can I have a ...

sticker to say "I don't want to be disturbed by the postie because I work night shifts"?

I mean, if the parcel is for me, fair enough, and I can usually time my orders so that it arrives with me on a day off, but my neighbour is freakin' OBSESSED with buying stuff from Amazon. He gets 2 or 3 books or DVDs a DAY, and he's never in to receive them.

[Lee Dowling]

Re: Can I have a ...

Remove doorbell battery before going to bed.

Problem solved.

Let him pick up his own damn parcels (and I'm that sort of person myself, around Christmas-time, and a royal pain-in-the-butt to my neighbours - but I don't ASK for them to be disturbed just because I'm out. Leave a damn card and I can get them all at once from the Post Office and not worry about them wandering off, well not-as-much.)

The phone and the doorbell have off switches, you know? It's amazing how many people don't know this or think they "MUST" have it on all the time "for emergencies". If there's a 1-in-a-million, absolute emergency that you (and only you) are required for, someone will find you, and you won't be any good if you're bleary-eyed from no sleep. Turn your damn phone off when you go to sleep or go on holiday.

[TRT]

Re: Can I have a ...

Our internal doorbell is mains powered from the flat's intercom system, but separate from the entry phone, so no, I can't simply leave the entry phone off the hook and be certain that the postie won't be waking me up. Yes, there are a hundred and one ways I could disable the doorbell, but why the hell should I? I enjoy much peace and quiet as it is, and all I would like is for the counterpart sticker to the "don't deliver my stuff elsewhere", which would be "I don't want to take part in your neighbour delivery scheme thank you".

[davemcwish]

Re: Can I have a ...

@Lee Dowling "The phone and the doorbell have off switches, you know?"

Er No. I have a cheap Tesco value phone; no batteries, no off switch. The only way to turn it off is by unplugging it.

My doorbell is battery operated but again no switch; I'd have to remore the batteries.

Also what would you suggest I go with the door knocker, dismantle that twice a day ?

[Alan Edwards]

Re: Can I have a ...

> Er No. I have a cheap Tesco value phone; no batteries, no off switch. The only way to turn it off is by

> unplugging it.

So unplug it...

> My doorbell is battery operated but again no switch; I'd have to remore the batteries

Put a toggle switch in the wire between the button and the bell box. A 2-pole switch is pennies from Maplins, cut the cable and connect the ends of the wire to the connectors on the switch. Turning the switch off effectively breaks the cable, so the push-button does nothing.

[Anonymous Coward]

The doorbell is battery operated

It is quite conceivable that it is also wireless.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Can I have a ...

@Lee Dowling, duhhh, there is such a thing as knocking on doors and they usually do it very loud. Ask anyone who does deliveries and they will tell you a lot of door bells don't work, so they knock. Their is an opt-out sticker. Now instead of useless replies, try to be more helpful next type:

http://www.royalmail.com/delivery-to-neighbour#Opt out

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Can I have a ...

@TRT, same situation and appears to be possible:

http://www.royalmail.com/delivery-to-neighbour#Opt out

Assuming the posties take any notice?

[Bod]

Mine are elderly and various things up with them that make it difficult to answer the door anyway, but annoyingly they will make the effort and take in stupid size packages they can't cope with when couriers have done it in the past. I always feel guilty when they get my stuff. Though having been done over by distraction burglar scum they won't answer the door at all now.

[Richard IV]

Why stickers at the houses?

I've still got a redirect in force from my old address and mail addressed there magically obtains a sticker _on the envelope_ at the sorting office. It seems to me that there's a database somewhere that's just screaming for a "Can leave at neighbours" field.

[Lunatik]

Re: Why stickers at the houses?

And how much does this cost you, eh?

Oh...

[cs94njw]

If this goes as badly wrong as it could, retailers will be up in arms with all the re-sends they are having to do. If my neighbour is on holiday for a week and my package is left there, I'll be politely expressing surprise that my package hasn't arrived yet - send another!

[Badvok]

Failed fail, because if it is delivered by RM then you have to wait at least 15 days (or is it 30?) before claiming it hasn't arrived.

[Kit-Fox]

Its not really a fail, as you'd be communicating with the seller not RM.

Your contract would be with the seller, who would no doubt put RM's ass in a sling upon finding out you didnt get your parcel.

Remember RM want the business retailers provide, so I doubt Amazon, Ebuyer etc et all have to wait 15 (or 30) days before objecting like the rest of us do.

[TeeCee]

Er, surely if your neighbour is on holiday for a week, they won't be in to accept the package?

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't worry..

it'll be a matter of months if not weeks before all major online retailers abandon RM as a result.

Whoever in the courier companies was lobbying around this has done a fantastic job...

[NightFox]

What's New?

I don't understand this, am I missing something? For as long as I can remember and wherever I've lived, the postie has ALWAYS left stuff with my neighbours if I've been out - the standard card they stick through your letterbox even has always had a tick box to show that it's been left with a neighbor, so what's different with this 'new' scheme?

[AndrueC]

Re: What's New?

They won't if it requires a signature ;)

[Andrew Lobban]

Re: What's New?

I depends where you live. I am in a relatively small (3-4000 pop) village. I know the postie well and he often signs the delivery for me and leaves the parcel somewhere safe with a note through the door to tell me he's done that. He does the same for everyone I know and i suspect everyone that he delivers too. Now in my mind, thats a great service. Although I fully accept that this is not possible in large citys and probably totally against the rules.

[Bod]

Re: What's New?

"They won't if it requires a signature ;)"

Hasn't stopped the postie ripping off the recorded section and popping letter/package through the letterbox or dumped on the doorstep before. As has happened to me (knowing full well it was sent recorded and can even see the evidence where it's been torn off).

[tkioz]

Oh... yeah... these stickers wont cause drama... not at all...

My neighbour is a giant nosey cow, always sticking her beak into other people's business, head always over the fence, always coming over "for a chat" when you've got visitors... but I'd think twice before putting up such a sticker because she is also a vindictive so and so who would take it as a challenge...

[Lee Dowling]

Personally, I would order ten thousand empty boxes and ask for them to be delivered, 8 per day, to my house.

Or order an enormous sex toy (the most outrageous one I could find) and ask for it to be delivered in the most OBVIOUS packaging ever (i.e. wrap it in paper and then pop it in the post, assuming you have labels that will stick to the uneven cylindrical shape).

Hell, play a tape of a donkey braying quietly in the bedroom every night. When she accuses you of something, ask her how she knows. Because she stuck her oar in where it wasn't wanted?

And when she sticks her nose in, tell her where to go.

If she wants to see who my visitors are - sorry, you weren't invited and I have guests - BYE!

I'd also build a slightly larger fence and then, hopefully, they'd get the idea.

If people annoy you, don't deal with them. Screw with their heads instead. If they want to know what's going on, deny them even the knowledge you'd usually give people and act even more mysterious.

"This?! Oh, it's just my... erm... parcel. For... erm. You know." (then stare, giggle and go inside).

[S_B]

And if you work from home, you could order a load of these stickers to attach to your neighbours houses to prevent you being the local sorting office of unclaimed parcels.

[Anonymous Coward]

Business opportunity

Nothing to stop me charging a handling fee as far as I can see?

[Crazy Operations Guy]

Just don't accept them

Since its not your stuff, you have every right to just tell the Postman that you aren't taking it. If they leave the package on your porch, just leave the thing there and never touch it.

[Joseph Lord]

Did they consult on the stickers proposal?

Delivery to neighbours with an opt out option? Fine no problem go ahead.

I don't trust my neighbours stickers to opt-out? Feck off!!!

It saves them money not to deal with collections and redelivery they really should manage the opt-out process without requiring you to put stickers up outside indicating that you don't trust/like your neighbours. I don't want to or need to opt out but I'm offended that they think this is a reasonable approach and suspect that they intend it as a type of social pressure not to opt out.

[Dahak]

Re: Did they consult on the stickers proposal?

This should have been an Opt-in scheme.

Then those people who want it could order the stickers and the sorting machines could print a deliver to neighbour note on the envelope.

While we are at it, other delivery companies could be forced to do the same., or even to pay for access to the leave with neighbour database.

[Anonymous Coward]

Hoi polloi

Oh for heaven's sake! Why can't these whinging people just employ house staff like the rest of us, so that there's always someone to answer the door and accept parcels?

Obviously I'm not suggesting everyone can afford a full compliment of staff (cook, valet, cleaning maids, waiters, page boys, gardener, etc), especially in the middle of a recession. But surely you can afford a basic butler or house porter?

[TRT]

Re: Hoi polloi

Robot monkey butlers. That is all.

[Cyclist]

Re: Hoi polloi

Full compliment eh? Does that include the 'oh what a lovely haircut sir.?

I give mine the day off sometimes; be just my luck that their day off coincides with damn tradesmen arriving with parcels that need to be dealt with.

[Stevie]

Re: Hoi polloi

House porter? My modest abode is far too heavy and valuable to be toted around by the working classes, which is why it is fitted with the latest in hoverskirts. One can often spot Duncodin as she traverses various bodies of water on the way to one of her seasonal estates. She's easily recognizable by the Solarium at what is during transit her stern but upon docking at, say, St Moritz is the East Wing.

Of course, one is always faced with the problem of where to have one's parcels sent when one is a-travelling the high seas or soaking up the sun in Johnny Foreigner Land. I just have them sent to the appropriate groundskeepers lodge.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Hoi polloi

"I'm not suggesting everyone can afford a full compliment of staff (cook, valet, cleaning maids, waiters, page boys, gardener, etc), especially in the middle of a recession. But surely you can afford a basic butler or house porter?"

Add a complimentary proofreader to that complement please.

[thejackle]

Other delivery services.

So I put up a RM sign saying I don't trust my neighbour but the rest of the delivery companies ignore this sign (because they are not RM) and deliver to the psychonutterbastard anyway. Can't see any problems there!

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Other delivery services.

Why did Research Machines issue you with a neighbours sign?

[Matt Bucknall]

Not always about trust

What about those of us who live next to elderly people? I have no problem trusting my elderly neighbours but I don't want them being harassed every time I miss a delivery. I once missed a delivery of a 25kg micro lathe which ended up going to my neighbours (both in their 70s). The courier didn't bother leaving a card saying what they had done with the package, so two days later, my wife opens the front door to find the lady from next door struggling with the damn thing. I can't tell you how immensely guilty I felt about that.

Now I have to put a sticker on my door implying that I hate my neighbours when I don't? I can't even put up a sign of my own explaining that they are elderly because I don't want to be responsible for them being targeted by some charlatan salesman (like that prick selling alarms shown on Watchdog this week) because I have advertised that they are potentially vulnerable.

[TeeCee]

Re: Not always about trust

"..my wife opens the front door to find the lady from next door struggling with the damn thing."

I'm sorry, but I can't muster any sympathy for someone to whom the concept of nipping next door to ask the bloke there to come and collect his lathe did not occur.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Not always about trust @TeeCee

Old people aren't always logical. Also they come from an age in which people were more courteous so even if they were in charge of a full compliment of marbles it may not have crossed their minds not to be as helpful as possible.

[Matt Bucknall]

Re: Not always about trust

I agree, that is what I wished she had done. But having not experienced being 70 yet, I can't say for sure that I, in her position, would have the clarity of mind for that solution to occur to me.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Not always about trust

I had something similar, I bought a painting on-line that was huge. An elderly neighbour who I'd never met and who couldn't handle it accepted it. She went to another neighbour she knew and asked him to bring it over for me... Mad!

[mark1978]

Could be worse

Amazon 'delivered' some books to us by pushing them through the back gate but didn't leave a note. So they got rained on for two days before we discovered them.

[Horridbloke]

Re: Could be worse

Who actually delivered it? From my personal experience that sounds like standard shCitylink service.

[Boris the Cockroach]

Re: Could be worse

Yeah.

Having a load of Open university stuff delivered including the returnable experiment kit , the w***er put a card through the door saying he'd put it in the recyling bin for me out of the rain.

The time read 9.30am, I got home at 5pm and you can guess what happened between those 2 times....

[deviAnt Ostrich]

Re: Could be worse

Had a v. expensive book bought for me for a present (so I wasn't expecting it) - sent from Amazon - RM put it by the back door on a windy autumn day and thus it got covered in leaves! I found it 2 months later (ok - i should have dealt with the leaves sooner). Wasn't in the best of nick by then...

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Could be worse

Parcelforce once delivered a Brabantia touchbin to us by thowing over the back gate ... needless to say it acquired a sizeable dent when it landed and we had to send it back for a replacement.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Could be worse

"Parcelforce once delivered a Brabantia touchbin to us by thowing over the back gate "

You mean tossed over the gate? Good thing it wasn't a mail order of nitroglycerine.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Could be worse

Parcel force once threw a parcel over my back fence, I have no idea how long it was there before I found it, and at that time I rarely used the back garden!

I was not happy!

[Red Bren]

If re-deliveries are so costly

Why don't Royal Mail make their domestic deliveries in the evening when most people are not at work? They could pay their staff a shift allowance or a bonus based on successful first deliveries and still save money overall.

[Lee Dowling]

Re: If re-deliveries are so costly

"They could pay their staff a ... a bonus based on successful first deliveries and still save money overall."

Possibly the worst idea in the history of the world.

But evening deliveries? Yeah, it's not hard to work out. Royal Mail should have been doing it since the invention of the light bulb let people stay up in the evening after work. Amazon already do, I often get a little random guy pull up in a car at 7pm who's been paid to bring me my Amazon parcels at a sensible time. Work for him, convenient for me, better for Amazon, only people who lose out are the Royal Mail because they're too daft to do it themselves.

[Peter Fox]

And the other sticker

No unaddressed mail - This means you too Royal Mail.

Actually you can harass the RM management and EVENTUALLY (after they've whinged on about the mailing preference opt-out scheme - which bit do they not understand! That's addressed mail Duh!) they put a note on the sorting rack and the postie gets to know.

[Ray Gratis]

Re: And the other sticker

Just give unaddressed junk back to RM - in those red boxes.

[Daniel Bower]

Re: And the other sticker

There is a link on the RM website that allows you to opt out of unaddressed mail. Use that in conjunction with the MPS and you get very little junk,...

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: And the other sticker

So far as junk goes, anything addressed "the householder, occupier etc" isnt opted out from so we get shedloads of junk from Felicity J(unkmail) Lord, Foc(con)tons, Virgin(on ridiculous) etc, along with the Pizza stuff, and we're MPS and Post Office opted out

[Why Not?]

Re: And the other sticker

Except of course the Electoral roll is unaddressed so it doesn't get delivered, along with planning notices and other such things.

RM used to make most of their money from junk mail. don't believe they do anymore.

the Pizza and estate agents stuff is normally delivered by other people who are paid directly by the advertisers or their agents.

[Andy Livingstone]

Re: And the other sticker

........ usually just in time for the registration to expire. Worst part of Royal Mail service, by far.

[Pete 2]

PO's been doing this for years

> other delivery companies, with whom it is required to compete these days, already have the right to leave stuff with the house next door, while it has been bound to wait for the householder or keep the parcel at the post office for collection

I must say, round here this has been normal practice since the post orifice was invented. Posties always seem to leave anything larger than a letter either with a random neighbour (with or without a card through the door, depending on how hard it's raining) or at an undisclosed location around the property - including inside the wheelie-bin/recycling container of their choice. In that respect, they're no different from any of the couriers - except they tend not to toss it at the house from yards out, or from parcelfarce who play the same games of hide-and-seek.

Personally, I'm very pleased they do this, as the local PO office is only open from 9 - 1pm, which makes it impossible for Mon-Fri workers to pick up anything, until Saturday.

[Anonymous Coward]

What it needs....

Dear RM,

If i'm not in please leave with neighbour on the left cos they're just swell.

Do not, under any circumstance whatsoever, leave with neighbour on right because s/he/they is/are [a] massive cock(s)

Love and kisses,

The Occupier

[Anonymous Coward]

blimey... the responses on the ofcom site..

they don't paint a picture of happy people. I'm bored, so I've got through random 50 so far. 49 have been "no", with 1 "yes - but only if it's an opt-in service".

Best comment so far :

"Question 1:Do you agree that Ofcom should grant approval to Royal Mail for the Delivery to Neighbour service? If not please explain your answer. :

No. Our next door neighbours (number 3) are dishonest.

Question 2:Are there other consequences following the roll out of the service across the UK that we have not included in our assessment? If so, please explain.:

Yes. Our next door neighbours (number 3) are dishonest.

Question 3:Do you have any comments on the scope and wording of the proposed Notification and approval:

Our next door neighbours (number 3) are dishonest"

I think their next door neighbours (number 3) might be a little dishonest.

[Andy Livingstone]

Re: blimey... the responses on the ofcom site..

What Ofcom consultation? How well publicized was that?

[Anonymous Coward]

What if...?

So, what happens if your new, shiny, very expensive electronic gadget is delivered to, and signed for, by your neighbour (maybe even signed as 'Daffy Duck') and they decide to keep it, claiming it was never delivered to them?

Could you argue with the goods supplier that it was not your signature on the delivery receipt and you are therefore not liable for payment? What;'s the score here? I'm sure it'll happen quite a bit.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: What if...?

The key point is going to be whether leaving with a neighbour (after getting their signature) constitutes completion of delivery. In the past when things like this have happened I've read advice that the person who has not got the goods still has a claim against the supplier for non-receipt of goods and the supplier in turn would have a claim against the courier for not performing the delivery they were contracted to do. If the rules now allow the PostOffice to deem the delivery complete when it is signed fo by a neighbour then you could have the situation where the person waiting for the goods is told that as it has been delivered to the neighbour then they only have a claim against their neighbour.

[Davidoff]

Re: What if...?

"If the rules now allow the PostOffice to deem the delivery complete when it is signed fo by a neighbour then you could have the situation where the person waiting for the goods is told that as it has been delivered to the neighbour then they only have a claim against their neighbour."

Nope. This would only affect the contract between the supplier and RM, the person who ordered the item still has a contract with the supplier for delivery to the address given at the time of ordering. Which rarely is the address of the neighbor. So it's the supplier who will have a claim against the neigbor.

[Stevie]

Bah!

Short of a two-door lockbox bolted to the house I don't see how the Post Office can deal with the issue other than warehousing people's tat (and charging for the privilege).

Here in the US there's a concerted movement to scrap the Post Office, but those doing the pushing are shills for the private couriers. The people listening hardest seem to be smartphone internet-age fans who haven't thought things through.

After all, if you get rid of the Post office, who will deliver all your Amazon crap for a song (and it *is* a song compared to UPS - who it turns out rubbed salt in the wound by double-dipping customs charges for years on parcels I sent to my mum and dad, dunning me at this end and them at the other for the same fees - and FedEx who have always given me reasonable service but it don't come cheap).

[Rampant Spaniel]

I ****ing hate this.

It just doesn't work. I needed to rent a camera recently (a phase one 645df+ with the iq180 back and 3 cs lenses) and had them rushed via courier. The total value was around 60k usd give or take. Needless to say they didn't arrive and the tracking said they had. I called the courier who informed me it had been delivered. I asked the the signature / name etc and they said they couldn't read it (fair game, they're usually unreadable). They called the driver and he said I was out (utter horlicks, I was sat outside with the kids waiting and playing) so he delivered it to a neighbour but couldn't remember which? Turns out he delivered it 3/4 of a mile away. Nothing to do with my place being his furthest delivery on a Friday afternoon at all, no not at all.

The concept of delivering to a neighbour is fine when the postie knows his route and the people on it, its fine when you live with nice people who can be trusted and its fine when the postie isn't a workshy berkshire hunt. The problem is you can't guarantee all that. The sender should be able to put a sticker or notice on the parcel or letter stating 'address only', that way no nutters get offended, no my neighbours are twats stickers are needed etc. Some couriers allow this, I thought the one the rental company used did also but obviously not or it was ignored.

[imanidiot]

Re: I ****ing hate this.

I've had parcels delivered with that wording on it. (Delivery to posted address only, in big bold letters) Both times the parcels were delivered to neighbours anyway. All well and good on if you can trust the neighbours, but not if you're living on a university campus. (I've had a case where it turned out they delivered a pricey bit of kit 2 flats down on a different floor. The person receiving it had signed for it, put it in his room and then gone on vacation. And I only found that out because I actually caught him red-handed throwing it into a dumpster when I happened to walk by)

Stickers on the parcel would always be the best option IMHO. That way, you can even decide certain packages CAN and others CAN'T be delivered to the neighbours.

[Powelly]

Re: I ****ing hate this.

I see your lazy postman story and raise you a very lazy postman story: I remember paying for express delivery on an audio interface delivered from the US to UK a few years ago. I got it delivered to my parents' as I knew they'd be in and the Post Office is three doors down from their house, but still their post turned up with a 'We Tried to Deliver and You Were Out' card. My Dad went to collect it and was told 'we left the card because you weren't in', at which point he was forced to point out that they are a Newsagents, they open at 4:30 in a morning and close at 19:00 at night and that the postman had left the letters (and card) on the shop counter. The guy delivering was too lazy to walk to the end of the terrace with a parcel. I always tried to support my local Post Office, but that was the point when I stopped.

[Lockwood]

Our temp postman delivered my post, and all my neighbour's post to me for a week.

Noone was impressed by that.

My regular postman will sign for me.

A few years back, one handed me a "Missed you" card, after I waited in for hours for him. "You're never in, so I usually leave your stuff at the sorting office and card you". I see the logic there, but it sucks when I am not running to plan.

[probedb]

Blocks of flats?

So how will this work then?

Ring every flat in a building until someone answers? ;)

[Pete 2]

Re: Blocks of flats?

I foresee the ground floor flat getting an awful lot of post

[Anonymous Coward]

RM Delivery Policy........

http://tinyurl.com/6cocyts [NSFW pic! - Mod]

[Eddie Edwards]

Can you put which neighbours you like?

My next-door neighbour is fine and we accept stuff for each other all the time. A quick pop next door around 7pm and job done.

But my neighbour across the street accepted a camera on our behalf four days before Xmas, never told us, I was running around the streets Xmas Eve trying to find it, finally their kid heard about it and said "oh we've got it, mum & dad were going to send it back". Like, WTF?

Kind of looking forward to putting one up that says don't trust them across the street, if I'm honest.

[Daniel Bower]

I'm opting out but

It all seems a bit inflexible. I live in a terrace. The people in the house next door but one up the road are nice enough and the immediate neighbours over the wall are nice but the most likely guy to get our mail, the immediate neighbour whose house we need to walk passed to get to ours is a bunt (Monty Python letter C sketch). On this basis my sticker is on its way...

[Anonymous Coward]

Fantastic

I really can't wait to go next door and interrupt my neighbour as he beats his wife once again, to ask for my Amazon parcel, or queue next to the junkies at my other neighbour who're in buying their drugs from the dealer that lives there.

[David Pollard]

Big Drop Surf Shop

It's a pity that the Royal Mail can't do something like Amazon's 'Big Drop Surf Shop'. Presumably it's because most of the Post Offices have been closed.

[mickey mouse the fith]

Why not have this opt-in? , i.e. only people who want their neighbour`s to get their post have a sticker, or better yet have an entry in a database that indicates this, thus eliminating stickers altogether.

Avoids all the `chap in house on left is ok, but people on the right are cnuts, i do hope postie doesnt choose them` scenarios.

Although everywhere I have lived the postie gives things to neighbour`s if Im not in anyway, which is dodgy as hell if the item isnt signed for, thus theres no proof it was ever delivered.

I must confess, a few years ago a neighbour`s post was delivered to mine and I subsequently forgot all about it.

3 years later I found it, but they had already moved house by then. Wonder how often this happens?

[Anonymous Coward]

Its a huge non-story for brits to get their knickers in a twist about!

If every other company (bar royal mail) can deliver to a neighbour, the point is moot!

[mamsey]

What's new?

Our post has been delivered to random houses down our street for ages now, maybe at last we'll know it's only our direct neighbours who we need to visit.

N.B. sarcastic thumb.

[Wolfclaw]

It Works

Unlike most things the Royal Mail rollout, the posties are using it now and not just them, other carriers are following the stickers request and not leaving my parcels with the neighbours from hell.

[Anonymous Coward]

After some consideration, I conclude this is "a good thing"

If your parcels go to a neighbour, and you don't receive them, you complain to the sender, who sends another and retrieves the cost from the PO for failure to deliver. Bit annoying, introduces a delay, but ultimately you should still get your stuff.

If your parcels DON'T go to a neighbour, and you DO receive them, you sell them on ebay (or for preference at a car boot sale.. you know, less traceable) complain to the sender anyway, who sends another and retrieves the cost from the PO for failure to deliver.

If a neighbour's parcel comes to you, you disavow all knowledge of it, and again sell it on ebay/carboot. They complain to the sender, who dispatches another and retrieves the cost from the PO for failure to delivery. Bit annoying for them, but hey - ultimately they get their stuff.

And all you have to do is be a complete bastard. It's like i'm pissing in the plant pot at that party all over again.

Hey presto, 6 months down the line and no-one users RM for anything but postcards any more, and our evil overlords get their wish and privatise the whole business. HURRAH FOR PROGRESS!!

[Burch]

How about

...if the postie would ring my bell instead of making a meek knock then immediately sticking a card through?

[Anonymous Coward]

Poorly thought out option

My electronics were given to my neighbor at my apt. complex. That was after I finally deciphered what passed as writing which had the apt. the idiot had left it at. I'd never met this neighbor beccause she'd just moved in. She was nice enough to drive around with it sitting in her front passenger seat all day in the city. I would never agreed to this type of arrangement due to all the shootings and drugs in the area... which is why I ended up moving at the end of my lease.

[chris lively]

It's a bit backwards

This isn't nearly complicated enough. There should be more options such as:

1. Don't leave my stuff with others

2. Don't leave other peoples stuff with me.

3. All deliveries go to number 7.

4. I never order anything, send it back.

5. I'm out for a holiday, please invite yourself in to take whatever you want.

[Tom 35]

can I stick my sticker next door?

So I don't get their shopping channel crap at my house?

[Anonymous Coward]

i pay a small child to stand at my door and guard my mail

he's imported from one of the other countries

[Chloe Cresswell]

I have one of the "Do not deliver next door" stickers from the post office.

Stuck it to the door the day it arrived.

It's already faded by around 40%...

[JaitcH]

Evening deliveries ... most people are in then.

Day deliveries are bound to disadvantage the two-people working families.

The P.O. could either have evening deliveries; or have a truck parked in a market square for pick-up..

In VietNam, if you include the addressees cell number behind their name, they will send them an SMS!

[Anonymous Coward]

How about

Delivering to two addresses involves this.

Attempt to deliver to first address, knock on door, ring broken bell, dozy member of public is too lazy to answer, you have around 1,000 houses to visit in 4 hours or 15 seconds for each address. Lazy, dozy member of public cannot get up from chair. Takes 120 seconds

Go to neighbours, knock on door, ring broken bell, get hassle for interrupting them from sex, sleep, eating, cooking, cleaning and they do (or do not) accept to take package lazy bastard in first address is not in for. Takes 120 seconds

Go back to first address, write out card with their full address, the time, the date, the tracking number (or not) of their package, your initials and duty number, the full name on the package, the time it will take before they can collect, tick the type of package, the reason why you can't deliver, where their item is, the number of items and how long they have to wait to collect it.

Post card, if neighbour was not in, write on package the date, duty number and reason for failed delivery and take package back to depot for collection by lazy bastard.

Royal Mail, (not sure how the Post Office are doing on their deliveries) leave it up to discretion, so no I won't be knocking on your neighbours door and doubling the time it takes to attempt a delivery.

[Bod]

Re: How about

You actually have the parcel with you? I'd swear sometimes I've seen the card left and clearly no package even in the bag. It's already at the depot! ;)

[Anonymous Coward]

Also it isn't " Come Monday" their are over 130,000 delivery postal workers and and an unimaginable number of depos, areas and sections. We are not doing the delivery to nieghbour nor are most areas come Monday.

[Bod]

And then we have ParcelForce's recent "not in" system

ParcelForce delivery and you're not in because you are of course working between 9 and 5.30...

Great idea, we'll deliver it to your nearest Post Office (not depot) which is of course only open... 9 to 5.30 ! (at least mine are).

Had several parcels recently this way and had to wait until Saturday to pick them up. Oh, and once delivered to a PO you can't get PF to redeliver.

I'm looking for an opt-out of that one. Leave a bloody card and I'll pick it up from the depot if I'm lucky enough to get there in time (think they close a bit later but not much). In the past I'd go for redlivery to another address, but they charge £5 for this now!! (and yeah, sometimes things can only be delivered to the cardholder's address).

[Triggerfish]

Troll the neighbourhood

One bunch of stickers and a quick trip out and you could really ruin a neighbourhoods relationships.

[The Alpha Klutz]

Re: Troll the neighbourhood

where is downing street again?

[stu 4]

the secret

is to be such an uber-geek that you get deliveries of gadgets on a daily basis and know ever courier company driver personally.

Sometimes I've been out at the corner shop or driving my car to work or summit and a courier will be coming the other way flashing his lights for me to stop and take my 'daily' parcel.

My posty signs for my recorded/special deliveries too and hides them in my 'secret place'*

yes... I know I am sad.

stu

*this is not a euphemism

[Joe 37]

Re: the secret

You too? They know me by name at the local PO - which I go past 4x a day on my way to and from work. The guy usually in there used to be my postie and would sign for anything that he could stuff through my letterbox. I was last asked for ID at the PO some time in the nineties.

Which isn't as bad as their making coffee for me at the local crematorium. Just don't ask.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: the secret

"Which isn't as bad as their making coffee for me at the local crematorium. Just don't ask."

Ambulance driver.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: the secret

"is to be such an uber-geek that you get deliveries of gadgets on a daily basis and know ever courier company driver personally."

Nah, the secret is to live in a small village. Even if you receive a letter once every other year, everyone knows who you are and where to find you.

[Arachnoid]

If Im not in take it to the nearest shop for collection Im sure they would welcome the extra buisness.............

Oh I forgot Amazon have started doing that if your not in OH WELL.............

[Flakey]

Dear Delivery Driver

.."if you have a parcel for me and theres no reply when you knock at the door,take your pick from the following:

you can leave it next door at No3, the woman is nice,bit of a cougar but Ive been there and I'd vouch for her,

leave it at No5 altho you may not get an answer,the guy there grows some of the most wicked weed this side of the pennines and is usually comatose most of the day but if he does answer, mention my name and you can probably score (if thats you thing of course)

dont leave it at No7,they have a rabid dog that roams the garden freely and eats delivery drivers at any opportunity and dont bother with No9, they are foreign and english is not their first language. take ya pick"...is that too long a message to put in a window?

[C. P. Cosgrove]

Stand and deliver . . .

I was retired from RM five years ago, and had spent the previous five years as the Delivery Office shop steward. I don't know where this 'new' policy has come from but it was standard practice to try the neighbours here, and then put the card through the door saying where you had left the packet. I will admit that I was flummoxed once:

'Will you take a parcel in for so and so?' 'No, we don't talk' !

However I will apologise to the commentard above who works night shift. I always had the policy that when I knocked on a door the response was 'Ah, there's somebody at the door.' not 'Did I hear something' - sorry !

Chris Cosgrove

PS 'Here' is Central Scotland

[steogede]

Obvious Failures

1. The sender should be able to decide on a package by package basis whether to allow it to be delivered to a neighbour.

2. In this day and age, you should be able to designate a trusted neighbour. Postie can then look it up on their PDA.

3. You should be able to get a sticker saying 'Do not disturb'.

4. There is little point to this with Royal Mail, most people live within a few miles of their sorting office, unlike courier depots who can sometimes be 60 (or more) mile round trip. What would be useful is if the collections office was open longer (currently mine is open 10.15 till 10.20 every fifth Tuesday of the month).

5. You shouldn't need stickers, postie carries a PDA.

6. RM should be campaigning to prevent couriers from being able to do this, not joining in with them.

7. Whenever possible, I choose to get stuff delivered by Royal Mail, because the sorting office is nearby and they don't leave stuff with the neighbours or in the greenhouse or on the door step or in an unlocked porch.

With regard to the phantom cardings - I used to have a real problem with Amtrak 'carding' me when I was in and waiting for the delivery. It was probably the work of one lazy driver, it happened every time for months, most of the time they didn't even have the courtesy to pretend and leave a card. I'd be sat by the front window, refreshing the tracking page and all of a sudden it would pop up 'delivery attempted' - no sign of any card or van in the vicinity.

[DanceMan]

Postal vs.courier in Canada

Here in Canada, postal delivery beats courier. Postal also has tracking available, and if you're out, it will be left at the local postal outlet. These days that's in a nearby drug or convenience store open 7 days a week and evenings. Courier is much further away and hours are much shorter.

I had to change from [Avenue] Street North (postal preference) to North [Avenue] Street for Newegg deliveries so the moron Purolater drivers could find it. The North addresses exist in several bubbles close to the harbour. and evidently some of the drivers were unaware of the N/S dividing line. I've seen "Querying Address" on the tracking site as they drove by the South addresses trying to find the number. Even when they find the house I've had them often leave the card when I'm home.

There are lots of knee-jerk idiots here eager to get rid of the PO who don't realize what they will be losing. I live in a big city and won't suffer as much, but those in the remote areas will be hurt.

[Anonymous Coward]

They're closing my local sorting office...

...So now, if RM card me, I'll have to drive a 16 mile round-trip which takes over an hour on Saturdays. Good job the Wife works from home, but it's going to be hell for lots of people.

And another thing... recently we've only been getting deliveries every few days and some recent purchases have taken longer than expected to arrive. (like first class recorded taking 4-days?!?)

[Anonymous Coward]

data analysis of the stats ??

Is there a downloadable printable image, so I can poster bomb the neighbourhood and start WorldWar III ?

why do they need to harvest my email address, to snail me a sticker - they could let me / everyone just download and print it directly..

especially as they apparently fade quickly..

given my neighbours have opened bank statements etc addressed to me, and wrongly delivered to them, with my same address as usual on them - I do wonder about some people who seem normal..

a sticker saying "I don't trust my neighbours" would seem to be a bit "not politically correct"?

there is an implication there is no database of whom has requested a sticker - but ...

a government survey could draw some conclusion about how we all trust our neighbours... or not...

if someone could scan the image, then I can just have a sticker - please, without being flagged in another data collection scam..

[Mr. Nobby]

I like this new sticker thing

I hope they stick to it. My neighbour on the left is very trustworthy but also very elderly, I'd hate for him to be bothered by my missed parcels. My neighbour on the right is hardly ever in so there's no point trying to deliver my stuff there.

Of course, the real answer for most people is to get your stuff delivered to you at work.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: I like this new sticker thing

That's what I was thinking.

Why does everybody not just get stuff delivered to work?

I've had computer equipment, books, christmas gifts, even car doors and exhausts delivered to my work.

They know the company is open (other than a Saturday) so someone to sign for it. You know you're going to receive it and not chase after it to some depot by the airport that closes 1 minute after 5pm and your parcel is likely to be "in the van".

The courier / postie doesn't have to bother with "you are out" or neighbours etc.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: I like this new sticker thing

I chose my neighbours but is still dont trust them, why on earth would i trust the buffoons that i have to work with?

anon as i know a few of the buffoons read this site.

ps, yup its me! the bloke who regularly uses the word buffoon!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: I like this new sticker thing

Because if, like me, you work in a building in Central London with 4,000 other people it gets the mail room and security people arsed having car doors delivered here

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: I like this new sticker thing

Fair dos then to the people who can't get mail to their work. Good point.

My work is in a small office block in a regional city, the car door was brought up to the office.

(It turned out to be buckled and dented from the courier after someone had signed for it, but that's another story...).

Seems like a nice free perk for any company to do. So long as your mail does not distract you (eg. new gadget).

[Bod]

Re: Why does everybody not just get stuff delivered to work?

I've worked in companies where they dislike people getting stuff delivered to work, and one which had intense security on their goods-in which made it near impossible to get something delivered without a serious amount of hassle. Others the package goes into the system at work and takes a week to get it into your hands or gets given to the wrong person.

Also a lot of orders these days come with no definite delivery day (even if you order next day, it can be unknown if they'll actually ship it out the door that day). Get it delivered to work but you're planning some days off, and no idea when the parcel will arrive. It could end up at work and you're at home those days, but you can't be sure.

If you're temporary staff, part time or freelance, etc. You may not be sure if you'll be in or out of the office.

Just give us an option when ordering things to pick 'deliver to depot' or a handy collection point. Postie/courier doesn't have to attempt a first delivery wasting time and money, we pick up the parcels at our leisure. Just staff a collection point out of office hours.

But currently they won't do this, they'll insist they have to attempt a delivery first, which wastes everyone's time.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: I like this new sticker thing

This assumes your work allow you to do this.

My current work does although they prefer it not to be a regular occurence whereas a previous employer didn't and got quite aggro about it.

Fortunately for me I know our postie and if we are not in he already leaves stuff with a neighbour (as do a couple of the couriers) and leaves a card.

Stuff only goes back to the depot if the neighbour is out.

As for opening hours at the sorting office ours tried late opening once a week (until about 8pm from memory) but stopped it after about 6 wks as no one was taking advantage of the extra hours.

Yes RM can be shonky at times but, in my experience, they are paragons of virtue compared to Yodel and HDNL!!!

[Mark Reed]

3 Requests and still...

3 Requests to the Royal Mail site and still no opt-out sticker. Its not that I hate my neighbours but I live in an area of rented properties and my neighbours change frequently. Was going to try the central post office for a sticker but have read in previous comments that you can't get one from there. How irritating.

[gaz 7]

I want some of these stickers

To put on the bloody neighbours doors to stop us being bothered!

We get several deliveries left with us a week. Either the drivers lie about leaving a note, or the neighbours ignore it, and my money's on the former!

Constantly have to keep an eye out, especially for the one who works odd hours in IT and often doesnt come home until really late. once came home to find the wife had accepted a 12U wall mount rack for him...

Yes, I know Im a grumpy fucker! Also need local shop drop off for my deliveries I dont want the missus to know about.

[Anonymous Coward]

Print your own

http://neighbourhoods.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341ce56753ef017615de44c2970c-800wi

Or alternatively.

http://shepherdsbush.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/royal-mail.gif

[Andy Livingstone]

Hyacinth Bucket says

Well that was such fun, boys and girls.

I'm having no vulgar stickers at my home.

My postman gives true quality service. Would he dare do other?

[Anonymous Coward]

Like adverts on Sky

Now they're going to be doing this, I don't suppose they'll stop delivering literally tonnes of unsolicited junk mail onto our floors for us to collectively pick up and fill the wastepaper baskets we only just emptied of the last day or two's worth of shit they so kindly passed off onto us with?

I don't know about you lot, but my recycling bins are accessible from the front. I reckon we ought to get together and compel the useless organisation to put the waste of pulp Postie delivers straight into them instead of requiring us to do it. Fucking spam merchants.

[PLAzmA]

Is it legal

Ive had my sticker on for weeks, I would love someone to investigate the legality of the post office doing this, essentially if they are contracted to deliver to X address and they deliver to another address that is surely a breach of contract. I dont want to have to explain to a customer that their consignment of parts has gone missing because the idiots next door signed for it.

[ReefMSX]

My problem with this is that RM are paid to deliver to the ADDRESSEE. If I live at No10, Nos 8 & 12 are NOT the addressee. Plus the fact that RM are PAID to deliver to the correct recipient. Why should I take in Nos 8 & 12's parcels, store them and then have to interact with them to complete the delivery? Are RM going to pay me a handling & storage fee, like the ones they currently charge if you go to the depot to pick up an item ?

RM are paid to deliver and if they cannot it should be on them to deal with, not dump it on the nearest available neighbour.

[terlan]

Dont delivery here

Forget a sticker saying dont deliver to my neighbour, how about one that says "I dont want my neighbours crap delivered to me and cluttering my house" Though I suppose a "I do not accept other peoples mail" sign might be a little more tactful.

Although I do forsee some interesting pranks using this system. A pranskster could have some fun and start a war or two between neighbours with the post offices stickers. Pop along grab a pile of "I dont trust my neighbour" stickers. Then pick a few random houses in a street and pop those stickers on them and then sit back and watch the lovely feeling of neighbourly love that has just been created.

[terlan]

This should opt out at the senders end

As the operatr of a small scale onlien shop, this strikes me as a nightmare for us should it go ahead. There should be the option of having packages ONLY delivered to the adressee, and it shouldnt be the addressee who decides if the mail can be dropped at a neighbour, it should also be within the rights of the sender to decide if its allowed.

I pay extra when sending packages to ensure they are tracked and signed for by the recipient. I pay to have them delivered to a specific address. Not some arbitary house nearby.

Fraudulant delivery addresses are one of the largest concearns we have and the thought that RM will now simply post to a neigbour and allow them to sign for secure or recorded packages is absurd and is going to make it worse.