parcel stolen from doorstep

upferret

Hi, I live in a flat with a communal hallway with an intercom system. today the postman buzzed on and said he had a parcel for me. I buzzed him in, he left this parcel in my communal hallway before I got there. I wasnt dressed but I usually lean round the door and take the parcel off him., but he'd already left it. I went to get dressed and in that time, it had been stolen. I think my neighbour has taken it but I have no proof and when quizzed about it she said she'd left the back door open and anyone could have walked in and she was sorry. This parcel is worth £35, I bought it from america through ebay. Can I claim the value back from royal mail? as the postman left it in the hallway and couldnt wait two seconds for me to get to the door, they have done this before and I was in then too. I dont know what to do.

neilmcl

Do you have letter boxes in the hallway or does the Postie normally deliver to the door?

If the communal hallway is the normal, designated place for delivering mail then I don't see that your Postman has done anything wrong.

upferret

we have letter boxes on our front door, the hallway is not designated for any mail, the postman buzzes on, we answer and let them in, they either push through letter box or knock on and give us the parcel. He didnt even need to knock on my door, I was on my way to open it as I had just spoken to him on the intercom and let him in. Its on a council estate and nothing is safe until its in my flat.

Ivory_Tinkler

Report your neighbour to royal mail for mail theft. Try and catch your postie tomorrow and he might remember your neighbour lurking about. Then tell your neighbour that you have reported the matter to royal mail and that they are going to investigate. She might just "find" the parcel then and return it to you!

Blacksheep1979

claim from the ebay seller - the item wasn't delivered and you didn't sign for it...

ChrisCobra

And its the sellers fault in what way !???

Andy_L

because their courier didn't do their job properly

winnie_y

If the postman left in in the hallway and it was signed for claim from royal mail or report it to the post office as he should hand it to you or at least make sure you get it. Its not the ebay sellers fault so dont claim back the money from them. Tell the neighbour you think took it you have reported it to the police so they may come to her door to ask if she saw anything it may rattle them enough to "find" it.

oldagetraveller

Surely the postie should deliver to your flat and not leave anything in a "communal hallway"? I thought mail had to be delivered to the exact address which means "Flat number xxx" at your building.
My father in law lives in retirement flats with an intercom access system and a communal lounge directly inside the main doors. All mail is delivered to each individual flat and never left anywhere else.
My grouse would be with RM for not delivering correctly!

juliescot

oldagetraveller wrote: »

Surely the postie should deliver to your flat and not leave anything in a "communal hallway"? I thought mail had to be delivered to the exact address which means "Flat number xxx" at your building.
My father in law lives in retirement flats with an intercom access system and a communal lounge directly inside the main doors. All mail is delivered to each individual flat and never left anywhere else.
My grouse would be with RM for not delivering correctly!

We get lots of stuff with no flat number on it so it all sits in the communal hallway until it is picked up by the recipient

Haven't had stuff nicked for ages - but then it was being stolen before it got through the letter box - another story

upferret

thanks everyone, I wouldnt dream of claiming from the seller, it's not his fault. I will try claiming from royal mail as it is correct that I did not recieve the item , I never even got to touch it! All our flats have numbers on and usually our mail is delivered correctly, the odd time it as been left outside in the hallway, usually because the postman cant be bothered to go up the stairs so he shoves it through the railings from the floor below! He might have actually done that as when I got to my front door he was on his way out, he wouldnt have had enough time to get to our door yet, as I went straight from the intercom, to my front door, which is about 4 steps away. My neighbour probably thought I wasnt in, God knows if she's done this before when I actually wasnt in. Will I be able to claim for this from royal mail even if the item came from america? (through ebay)