Oh FFS, not another one!

I take in theirs and they take in mine so it really is not a problem!!

I don't mind doing it either, we're retired and often in. My immediate neighbours often take parcels in for me too. Certainly worth the effort when compared with having to trawl off the the sorting office to pick up Royal Mail undelivered items.
We also once had a delivery thrown over the back wall by a courier, it hit the side door and set off the burglar alarm. By the time we returned there was a crowd of concerned neighbours milling around outside! Nice to know they care though, certainly wouldn't have happened when we lived in London, unless they wanted to complain about the noise!

I used to work from home in an upstairs room and live in a small cul de sac so often had my doorbell rung to take in parcels.

As my mobility is bad I couldn't just run up and down stairs so used to have to open the upstairs window and yell out !!

Many a bemused delivery driver would be looking all round for the source of the voice !!

I don't mind taking parcels in but I draw the line at delivering. We have a reasonably good Yodel driver who does leave cards but I've heard some real nightmare stories about some Yodel drivers. ( My DD1 is one and she has some stories too !!

Well said mollie - it is so easy to misread the written word. That's
the risk we all take - not worth an argument xx

If you mind that much (FFS being a clue) you could simply refuse to take any parcels in, say you are leaving in half an hour for a 6 week holiday in Australia/a cruise/a major operation in hospital/moving house.
Remember the drugs advice of our childhood?
Just say No.

Perhaps FFS was a bit 'angry' for the rest of the post edmontonkitty but I think you and I have just demonstrated how easy it is to misread the written word. I wondered if you were also being 'tongue in cheek' but couldn't decide for certain. I don't think any of us on this thread are that cross about our neighbours but it makes for a good conversation...pax?

We are lucky in that round here we all take in parcels for each other. I suppose things are more often left with us as we are around more often and our porch has become a good drop off point. Our nearest sorting office is nearly ten miles away so it saves a trek.
It is handy being able to get parcels delivered to work addresses but our DD was texted the weekend before Christmas to be told that her parcel would "be delivered tomorrow", a Sunday. Oops!
(It is cold callers that we find very annoying, really must get one of those door stickers).

Clearly I don't understand the semantics of this forum: FFS, an acronym for extreme vulgarity, is somehow acceptable but my post was hostile and rude??? Mollie - I got that the post was tongue in cheek. My first post was also tongue in cheek hence putting OP's words in quotes, the ludicrous suggestion that I would wake someone up at 5am to ask for a parcel and the use of an exclamation mark. I truly believe that a neighbour coming to ask me about their parcel while I was washing the car would be such a minor thing that I would not dream of venting on a forum about it. (Come to think of it, it wouldn't even count as a "thing" at all - just a chat with a neighbour.) It would not occur to me that this would be a problem for anyone. But apparently it was such a big deal for the OP that she needs to use a profanity to introduce the subject.

It must be nice to have neighbours that appreciate you! We, and several other neighbours, have taken in parcels for my next-door neighbour only to find out that either she, or her teenage son were at home, refusing to answer the door. I think that she was wary of anyone coming to her door, one postman knocked only to hear her scream, yes, I do mean scream, "who is it?" in an aggressive way. The other side asked us to look after their cat time after time, even when they went off to Australia for three weeks, we took it in turns with her mum, who came to stay for the second week, we did weeks one and three. And were they grateful, no they blooming well were not. Mum came to pick up the key, couldn't be bothered to even say thank you and just scowled and walked off. We also had their parcels, which took them three or four days to come round for. I did ask why she had left it for so long once and she told me that we were out when she came round! Really, out for three days, I don't think so. I don't mind taking in parcels but I'm not delivering them as well, cheek. Sorry, but we have a weird lot on people round here.

I'm sure that Indinana is a lovely neighbour, just as we are!!

It's ok to have a tongue in cheek whinge (as I said, we are renaming our house with a PO Box number )

it is all part and parcel see what i did there?
and [groan] Gill

I don't think it's a case of the neighbours not asking; I think the delivery person looks around to see if there is a house with a car in the drive, a light on or signs of life and brings the parcel there in the hope it will be taken in and collected by the addressee later.

Well, I had a nice smile and a thank you from my (fairly) new neighbour this evening when she came in the driving rain to collect her box!
And I don't want anything other than a thank you as I may need them to do the same for me one day.

I don't mind doing it for our neighbours - to be fair, I'm the one relying on them much more often than they do on me! When we mind DGS2 at his house we have at least 2 drop-offs a day for their neighbours, and I can imagine it's distracting for DSIL on the days we're not there to field them, as he works from home. I do think it's only considerate to leave details of a "safe place" if possible with suppliers you use a lot. Saying that, our "safe place" is in our bin 'oil and I sometimes wonder just how safe it is (though fingers crossed it's worked so far). Not to mention the parcels that have nearly disintegrated in the rain (the roof leaks) and the last one that was left on the ground instead of on the bin and was hefted in by DH covered in baby slugs (the package, not DH).

Anything's better than the card through the letterbox though, telling you to collect the item from the convenient depot 9 miles away....

I take in lots of parcels for neighbours and it doesn't bother me as long as the driver puts a card through their letterbox telling them where the parcel is. It's nice to be nice!

Just like Anno- I believe it is about being good neighbours. We have retired neighbours in our block of flats in the UK who are always taking things in for us, and also check our letter box and forward things. But we have discussed this with them and asked for permission. wouldn't dream of doing so without permission- and we always thank them and take presents with us when we visit, like chocolates and champagne, flowers, plants.

I would be very annoyed if people did this without asking- or if they didn't say thank you afterwards (and a little gesture from time to time if it happened often).

Oh Indinana I thought you were truly feeling very put upon!

I also take in parcels for neighbours but have no objection because I get on well with them and I really want to keep it that way. The postman and couriers know of my 'safe place' where my packages can be left, so neighbours don't get lumbered with mine - anyway, they're the ones who are out at work.

Thank you mollie - good to see someone at least understood me. edmontonkitty would you prefer that we all only post nice happy clappy threads in future? I'll see what I can do

It is called being neighbourly, and although it can be a bit irritating, it is all part and parcel ( see what i did there? ) of being part of a small community. You never know when you may need the help of any of these people when your car wont start or there is water pouring out of a burst pipe........

I think the original OP was written a bit 'tongue in cheek' edmontonkitty. At least, that was how I read it. I'm another one who seems to be the collection point - I grumble, we all grumble, but we know we have the answer in our own hands - don't say yes! - but we always do. Because we are nice people. And yes, you sounded hostile and rude.

We take in a few parcels too, but my feeling is our neighbours are so nice that I don't begrudge doing it. Surely it's not that big a deal?

The title of the post "FFS" and your comment "Oh don't worry, I'll just stop what I'm doing, turn the hose off, don't mind me " - was what made it sound like a burden to you! And I wasn't being hostile or rude, just pointing out that it probably made sense to them to collect the parcel if they know that the neighbour who has kindly taken it in for them is at home - I fail to see what your neighbour has done wrong in coming to see you when you are outside, carwashing or not. If you don't want to take in parcels just say no. If you have taken them in and it's not convenient to get them just say so. A lot of fuss about very little imho.

It doesn't bother me (I work from home too) because I know it will be reciprocated by my lovely neighbours.

Jalima

The large box which arrived today was for our newish neighbours across the road (who are lovely): word must be getting around about the PO Box.