parcel delivery

roses_babe

my door does look like a front door not a porch lol i spoke to the company earlier and they apologised

Sponge

Mark_Hewitt wrote: »

In a word, yes.

Legal stuff comes into play now. You know that you didn't order the goods, so you have no right to keep them. It's your responsibility now if there is a return address / telephone number to contact the company that sent the items and inform them that they have mis-delivered them.

They should then arrange to have the items collected, at *your* convenience, as long as it reasonable.

You are not responsible for any return costs.

After a period of time (not sure how long) if they have not collected the goods, they become your property.

You sound knowledgeable on the matter - could they not be classed as unsolicited goods and kept?

Unsolicited Items

Under the Unsolicited Goods and Services Act 1971, (as amended) it is an offence to demand payment for goods known to be unsolicited, in other words, they were sent to a person without any prior request made by them or on their behalf.

Someone who receives goods in these circumstances may retain them as an unconditional gift, and does not have to pay for or return any unwanted goods. Anyone who receives a demand for payment for unsolicited goods should report the matter to their local Trading Standards Department.

However, in the case of unsolicited goods received before 1 November 2000, the recipient is required to give notice to the sender to collect them within 30 days, or otherwise to wait for 6 months, before being able to treat the goods as their own property.

http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/consumers/buying-selling/unsolicited/index.html

The incident did not occur before 1 Nov '00, so paragraph #2 applies?

I genuinely do not know, I'm just curious as to how the unsolicited goods act can actually be applied.

debs2327

shes not complaining about the goods they have been taken care of they have picked or picking them back up she is complaining and rightly so about the delivery person / postman opening her door and leaving them inside her house without her consent or knowedge or permission to enter her home , no delivery or postman has the right to open a door to a home to enable him / her to leave a parcel inside her home without the owner knowing , yes theres the porch question she has stated her front door looks like a front door not a porch , he is completely in the wrong !!!!!!

Sponge

I don't know what your front door looks like, it may look like a porch door, it may not. (If you say it doesn't, then it doesn't. I have no reason to disbelieve you.) If it does, then I can understand why a courier may have tried the handle: to open the porch door and gain access to the main door with a view to knocking again. I was a courier for over 4 years and have done this in the past.

Maybe they also had it in mind to leave the parcel in the porch. But that would then raise questions on whether the goods should have been left in an unsecure area (unless by prior arrangement), or without a signature.

Maybe the courier opened what he genuinely believed to be a porch door and was surprised to find it wasn't. He then decided to leave the parcel, regardless of his mistake. Plausible, if it didn't require handing directly to the occupant or signing for.

If the door looks like a normal front door, then the courier should not have tried the handle, tried to gain access, irrespective of any intentions to leave the parcel without receipt. In this instance I too would be angered and probably make a complaint.

I don't know if any laws have been broken, but gaining (uninvited) access to someones home, whether the door be open or not, cannot be right.

In my 4 years as a courier I don't remember ever coming across a residential door where I thought to myself, 'Is this a porch or a front door?' It's always been obvious.

Either way, I'm sure you now know to always lock your front door. Even when you're home! :money:

janninew

I agree that a courier should not let himself in to your home, if you want to keep your door unlocked thats up to you, doesn't give him the right to open it!! What if you'd been walking around naked?!! Not likely but some people probably do!

If this happened at my house he would get a nasty shock as he'd have several large dogs to contend with who would not be happy to see a strange man in their house!

Surely you ring the doorbell or knock, if no answer than post a card through the door? Can't believe people think its acceptable to have a stranger open your front door!