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

gben

Have a friendly word with the neighbour, and come to a mutual arrangement without money involved.  Surely since he runs a business, he ought to be more efficient.  It puts me in mind of someone who sells a house and does not inform utility companies, does not inform his business contacts about the move, and does not arrange with Royal Mail to have a forwarding address.  This sort of person leaves it to the purchaser, after he moves in, to sort out the cut-off date for bills and forward all mail to the vendor's new address.  The purchaser may offer to send on some stray mail as a favour but does not expect to spoon-feed the previous occupant.  I was at the purchaser end years ago, when junk mail was common via the letterbox instead of nowadays by email!

Milocooper16

I would speak to your neighbour & ask them to collect all parcels that you take in for them, or you will have to stop accepting their parcels, as it is unfair that you are expected to take them round. It works both ways, you collect your parcels from them, so you want them to collect their parcels from you. Otherwise, both of you don't accept each others parcels, especially as they have so many. It sounds like you are fed up with it, so rather than asking them to pay, stop accepting their parcels as it has now got out of hand.

Rocketdogroya

if you are on nice enough terms to take in each others parcels surely telling him it is an inconvenience that he doesnt collect promptly should be enough. Most people are nice but also self absorbed. he has probably never even considered that it maybe an issue. you have enabled this lack of thought by taking them round to him in the past. I would have a polite word and explain it is disrupting you.
However I know some people dont like to rock the boat like that so you could always make up an excuse like a bad knee or back to explain why you cant take the round anymore.

hereswhatithink

I would be tempted to say to your neighbour that whilst you are willing to continue accepting the parcels on his behalf, you will in future expect him to come and collect them from you in a timely manner...as you do when he accepts your parcels...but that if he cannot agree to this, then your unofficial parcel accepting service will have to come to an end 

Scottman

My Dad had this situation with his next door neighbour for more years than I care to think.  At nearly 90 he was constantly answering the door to the postie and couriers with parcels for next door.  The were not large parcels,  as he was buying and selling coins (I gather),  but there were a lot of parcels.  And yes he had to totter round next door to deliver them, often as not.

He put up with it,  until one Christmas the neighbour came and gave him a present as a thank you - a single fancily-wrapped and decorated chocolate.  My mum died a week later and he summoned the courage to say 'no more'.  They never spoke to him again.

Some people are just users.

CatsRule71

I have a very similar situation in that I largely work from home now so I am usually always in to take parcels etc.
I have one neighbour who never comes to collect them despite receiving the delivery card saying where it is and we would end up taking them over there (clearly not our job to do that in my opinion) but I think if your neighbour has done you the courtesy of accepting a parcel on your behalf you should at least go and ask for it and say Thankyou, as you have after all been saved a trip to the collection point. I stopped accepting them for a while as it got so annoying and the parcel would sit there for weeks until my husband got so sick of it he would cave in and take it over. Surely if you have ordered something you do actually want to get it.
Anyhow, I now have a personal policy that if I accept a parcel for a neighbour I will not take it over to them, it is up to them to come and collect it, and if not picked up from me within 14 days I will take it back to the post office. This is how long the post office would keep it before returning it to the sender I believe, so the onus is on the neighbour to come and ask for it. You have done them the favour after all.

JayD

Why is charging him your first thought as a resolution to your frustration? Do you really think that would resolve anything? Or do you think it would merely cause bad neighbourly relations?

How about some communication?

If you have his phone number, call and let him know when parcels are ready for HIM to collect from you.

If you don't, try popping a note into his letterbox, telling him when parcels await HIS collection from you - or if you are going to be out yourself when he is back home, tell him (via answerphone call or note in his postbox), where you will be leaving them for him to collect. And just STOP taking them over to him.

Naturally, you will continue to collect your own parcels from him when he takes them in for you - but that seems a much less frequent event.

If this doesn't work, just leave them outside your house, in his full view, or as long as it takes for him to realise that he has to collect them if he wants them.

cici71

Of course you can’t charge him!! It’s simple, surely you just mention that he needs to come and get his parcels within a day or so or you’ll just have to refrain from taking them in anymore for him. If said politely and in a friendly manner, he shouldn’t have an issue and if he did, immediately just stop accepting them. 

Claddagh_Noir

I would personally be annoyed if the door was constantly being knocked because of next door's parcels.  I would be even more annoyed if I wasn't thanked for doing this especially during Christmas or something.

From now on, if I were you, I would claim ignorance and not answer the door unless I was personally expecting someone or something.   Maybe invest in a doorbell camera so that you can monitor movement and avoid the door! 

gloriouslyhappy

Don't charge him, but next time take his parcel over and tell him this is the last time as he gets many parcels delivered and it's eating into your time. Tell him you will keep accepting them for now but you have limited space, and he needs him to collect them on the day of delivery. 

See how that works out, and if he doesn't come to collect them, then put a refusal notice on your door for delivery people - only deliver parcels for this address.