Money Moral Dilemma: Should our neighbour pay us for taking in his parcels when he's out?

MSE_Kelvin

This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks...

Our neighbour runs a business buying and selling online. He gets deliveries every day and when he's out, we take them in. Yet he never comes and picks them up, so I always end up taking them over. When we're out, he takes in parcels for us, but never drops them round. The last delivery for him was four big parcels that sat by our door all weekend, waiting for me to take them over. Should I tell him that if he wants to keep using our house as a delivery depot for his business, he's going to have to pay us?

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El_Torro

There is such a thing as being a nice neighbour. A dying art, I know. 

I think it depends on your relationship with your neighbour. If you think that asking him to pay is going to lead to a falling out then I wouldn't bother bringing it up. If you are currently on good terms then maybe it's worth a discussion. 

If what bothers you is that he never comes to collect the parcels then it might be worth having a conversation about that rather than jumping straight to asking for money for the service you provide.

BridgetTheCat

Is it about money or about nuisance? Because if the latter you can always stop taking the parcels.

I ran a bookkeeping business from home for several years before Covid. I was the only resident in the street who was regularly at home during the day. Needless to say I got a lot of parcels for my neighbours, and they hardly ever took anything for me because I was usually in for deliveries. It was mildly annoying to be disturbed so often and to be the street’s parcel drop.

I used the excuse of Covid to stop - saying I didn’t want people coming to the house. People generally accepted it and now I only take in for my immediate neighbours either side.

FlorayG

Don't take them round, just leave them until he collects

itsthelittlethings

I wouldn’t take the parcels in personally. If he’s running a business such that he gets parcels every day, he shouldn’t really be going out regularly during delivery hours. That is very inconsiderate and would definitely start to grate on me.

TELLIT01

My sister-in-law has a broadly similar problem.  Her neighbour never answers her door for deliveries and has given my s-i-l's address as the 'safe place'.  She also never comes to get them, expecting them to be taken to her by my s-i-l.  My s-i-l has said she is going to stop taking them round, but as in the situation the OP finds themself in, many of the parcels are large.  I've told her just to stop accepting them, saying she must have been out when they were delivered.  The neighbour will soon get the message.

CapeTown

So basically you take his parcels and he takes yours.....is that correct.  How is this a dilemma 

Marcon

Our neighbour runs a business buying and selling online. He gets deliveries every day and when he's out, we take them in. Yet he never comes and picks them up, so I always end up taking them over. When we're out, he takes in parcels for us, but never drops them round. The last delivery for him was four big parcels that sat by our door all weekend, waiting for me to take them over. Should I tell him that if he wants to keep using our house as a delivery depot for his business, he's going to have to pay us?

Have you actually spoken to him and explained how you feel? I suspect not. You certainly need to make it clear that he has to come and pick up his parcels from you, rather than reinforcing his behaviour by giving in every time and taking the parcels to him. 

Dizzycap

Personally, there is a limit on how many times you take in parcels. Once in a blue moon is the usual.

The simple solution would be to:

1) Get yourself an outside lidded parcel bin for your deliveries and designate it as your safe place.

2) Don't take in your neighbours deliveries - Just tell the courier you're no longer taking parcel deliveries. They'll soon stop dumping your neighbours parcels onto you:-)

That way, there really is no argument.

Androids

Speak to the neighbour and tell him that its getting to be a burden and needs to stop. He can buy his own 'safe place storage box' and claim it back as a tax deduction if he is running the business from home. (What's the betting he would purchase it online and it would be delivered to you!)

Katecooks

Like others on this page, I worked from home (in the days before it became 'normal' so was the only resident in the street who was in all day. I ended up taking in parcels every day (so was disturbed twice - once with delivery and once when the person came to collect their package). Eventually left a sign on my door saying I'd only take parcels for immediate neighbours. For goodness sake, we should all be neighbourly but if you make an order for your address make sure you are at home to receive it (many companies now send email notification when parcels are due to be delivered). No-one should expect you to store large parcels on a regular basis. Your neighbour should be at home to receive his parcels. If he's running a business he needs to buy a storage box which locks when the parcels have been placed there by the delivery driver and you need to tell him this and refuse further parcels.