A man has revealed how he has been taking in a neighbour’s parcels for her for the past six months – but after her ‘unhinged’ reaction, he’s decided he’s no longer going to do it
A man has ignited a debate after he decided to stop accepting his neighbour’s parcels, despite having done so without issue for several months. The 33-year-old dad, who shares custody of his five-year-old son and lives in a two-bedroom rental on a quiet street, is well-acquainted with his neighbours, often stopping for a chat when they run into each other.
But he’s reached his limit with one neighbour, who he feels has been overstepping the mark. Sharing his story on Reddit, he said: “About six months ago, I took in a package delivered for the house at the other end of the row. The package was a heavy box, containing a bag of dog food. Later that evening, the neighbour, 38, came to pick it up. I know she lives alone and offered to carry it for her.
“She accepted the offer and thanked me, and as I carried to hers she kept commenting on the fact that I was being a ‘gentleman’ and it was good to see a ‘big strong man’ in action.
“When I got it to hers, she insisted I come in for a glass of water and kept me there for an hour, just chattering on.”
This scenario has played out similarly every month since, with the neighbour arriving each evening to retrieve her delivery.
He continued: “I carry it over to hers. Each time, she will try to chatter away at me.”
But last month, he found himself unable to deliver the parcel when she knocked, as he was busy putting his son to bed.
He mentioned he would drop it off later that evening, but she wasn’t pleased with this and “huffed” away.
He recounted: “Half hour later she posted a note through the door with her mobile number on it and asked me to message when I could bring it.
“I had to feed my son, give him his bath, play with him, put him to bed… Once I’d done all that, I finally messaged her.
“She didn’t reply until the next day, telling me she had been tired and fallen asleep. Then a few hours later she sent through a long, rambling tirade.
“She told me I should have helped, that I was selfish, that I obviously hadn’t wanted to help her as I could have asked her to stay with my son while I carried it (fair point, though it just didn’t occur to me in that moment), and that if I really wanted to help her I would have messaged her earlier. This was all sprinkled with some very colourful language.”
Taken aback, he apologised for any upset caused and said he would bring it over shortly after, which he did.
However, when a parcel arrived this month, he outright refused to accept it – wanting nothing more to do with his troublesome neighbour.
He continued: “She came banging on the door later in the evening and screamed at me for not taking the package, that she now had to find a way to get it from the company depot and that it was going to cost her a fortune.
“Now everyone along the street knows about it. Another neighbour, 58, has made it clear that he thinks I’m the AH and has threatened to complain to my landlord about my ‘un-neighbourly behaviour’. I really don’t think I’m in the wrong here.”
One user responded to his post, saying: “She purposely is having the package delivered to you. You don’t work for her.
“At first, I thought she was trying to date you. You should never leave a stranger with your child or in your house. To be honest, she sounds unhinged. Also any neighbours complaining are free to come and bring the package to her.”
Another chimed in: “The audacity of this person to demand that you help her every time because you were kind enough to do it once.
“She’s acting like an entitled brat. If she wants to buy the dog food she can carry it herself. Just goes to show you that sometimes no good deed goes unpunished.”
