How to Opt Out of the Royal Mail Delivery to Neighbour Scheme
The Royal Mail are to roll out their Delivery to Neighbour scheme across the UK. This means your important post and parcels will be left with a neighbour if you’re not in to sign for them. If you're not happy with this here’s how to opt-out of the scheme.
Following a successful trial, the Royal Mail has announced plans to expand its Delivery to Neighbour scheme nationwide.
Once it's rolled out in your area your 'posty' will be allowed to leave parcels and 'signed for' letters with one of your neighbours if you're not in to accept them.
This change will save you trecking to your nearest Royal Mail depot each time you miss a postman calling to deliver a parcel.
However, if you're not too fond of your neighbours entrusting them with your important post could seem unappealing to say the least.
You can opt out now if you don’t want to participate in the new Royal Mail Delivery to Neighbour scheme, here’s how:
How to opt out of Delivery to Neighbour
To opt out of the Delivery to Neighbour scheme you will need to complete a short form on the Royal Mail website.
The Royal Mail will then send you an ‘Opt-Out’ sticker which you’ll need to display near your letterbox so it’s clearly visible to your postman – if you don’t display your sticker, your postman may leave your parcels with a neighbour.
Once you’ve done this you’ll have successfully opted out of the scheme and should be able to collect parcels from your nearest Post Office collection office as normal if no one is at your address when the postman calls.
By doing this you will opt out of receiving your neighbour’s parcels when they're out too.
Can I opt out when sending a parcel?
No, at the moment there is no option to opt-out of the Delivery to a Neighbour scheme when sending a parcel.
This means that when you send someone an important package it could get left with their neighbour if they haven't opted out of the scheme themselves.
Can I find out more about the scheme before I opt out?
Yes, if you would like to know more about the Royal Mail Delivery to a Neighbour scheme simply visit the Royal Mail website.
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Responses (28)
My postie's already been doing this for years!
I have just opted out of delivery to a neighbour. Last year a parcel went to a neighbour and it took me two weeks to track him down to get it back (neighbours dont open for a fixed time each day, nor do they give cover for holidays!). Don't forget YOU can't specify which neighbour gets your mail or boxes AND all signed for letters are included in this delivery to neighbour set up.
Far easier to pop round to the local delivery office and collect something.
Special Delivery items are not supposed to be delivered to neighbours, nor are tracked international items. Recorded signed for items can be delivered to neighbours. I hate the scheme.
If you have transport and/or live near your local delivery office it might be easier....otherwise not necessarily. Especially if it's only open in the mornings like mine. My neighbour's in most evenings so it's much more convenient!
Many local delivery offices are now open longer hours simply because staffing has been reduced and they start later in the morning. My local delivery office is now open until 4pm, but the sign still indicates it closed at 12.30pm. Remember, there is no guarantee which neighbour your post will be delivered to!
I don't want the post man disturbing me with other people's post. Nor do I want people disturbing me to collect post at unearthly hours.
Nosey neighbours would have a 'field day' speculating the content of people's parcels, and gossiping.
Then items could be lost, stolen, broken, or go missing. Which could cause neighbourly friction.
I am going to opt out.
I agree!
I agree too. I believe under common law that if you agree to hold people's property but fail to take proper care of that property you could be liable for the FULL cost of the item; your liability will NOT be limited to Royal Mail's compensation limits
Why do we have to opt out. I could understand if we had the option to 'opt in.'
I agree the scheme should be opt-in but this is just a Royal Mail cost-cutting measure.so opt-out is better for them
My postie does this already & I'm more than happy to continue as I have lovely neighbours!
It can be good if you know all your neighbours, but very few people know all their neighbours and you have no choice to which neighbour your post is delivered.
I have good neighbours and bad neighbours - one of which grew cannabis in the loft and killed someone with a gun
I dont have lovely neighbours so will opt out.This scheme will fail when lots of parcels go "missing" and customers start putting in claims
I for one am not prepared to take on, or have a 3rd party responsible for deliveries to myself or others where the Royal Mail have received payment and are the legal provider of the goods and services and any contractual obligations to the provider and recipient.
I totally agree - the Royal Mail are now going to rely heavily on the goodwill of its customers to complete that final stage of delivery that we the public have paid them to carry out.It may work in some areas of the country but neighbours and postmen change. It will fail and the public will still have to contend with rising postal charges
my postmans like walking doom he acts like he hates me as i dont bother getting dressed at the crack of dawn i presume its that or maybe he thinks i should be at work.Im a bit torn as some neighbours are lovely some are dodgy and quite a few i dont even know i just hope im not the one to take in all the mail because im there because that means il have to see my postman more often.Cant we get post boxes made that we can purchase for a reasonable rate from the royal mail it could actualy provide jobs to make and fit them.
You can buy letter boxes (the heavy type) from garden centres, etc. That's the only place I've seen them but you are looking at at least £20/£30. They are probably on the Internet but I haven't looked yet.
Thats a good tip Sabre they do sell almost anything in garden centers they are great for presents but as you say can be a bit pricey i would probably pay it so i dont have to see mr missery i couldnt think of a word that rymes with pat thats not offensieve.
We know our regular postman and long ago agreed that if we were not in to leave large parcels with a neighbour, or if small enough, put through the cat flap, or if neither the previous options were available to leave in re-cycling bin.
It is not only a problem for Royal Mail, but also independent courieurs. At least they leave a note in the letterbox of the intended receipient stating where it has been left. Royal Mail should operate a designated neighbour service, not open to any neighbour. Otherwise who knows who would get whose mail, especially if the postman/(woman) cannot remember where the mail was left?
My son is autistic and does not answer the door to strangers which include his neighbours. He is very worried a parcel may be left with his near neighbour who he has had numerous problems with. The royal mail are not thinking of disabled people
The Royal Mail want a cheap option for NOT having to take back items to their delivery office so will be putting responsibility onto its customers goodwill to accept such items.In your case you should OPTOUT as it would be wrong for your son to accept that responsibility.I opted out via the Royal Mail website,or you can phone,and the opt out sticker arrived within a few days. It sits proudly on my letterbox!!!!
I agree with your son i have severe epilepsy so im not working right now but because you cant see these disabilitys people assume your a lazy scrounger and its sressfull being responsable for other peoples things,Also i know with Autism can cause one not to deal with change at all so its a lot to deal with.I hope that they can come up with a solution for your son.
@janet 56
I entirely agree that the Royal Mail aren't thinking of disabled people, like your son, and like me. I read the proposals very carefully and wrote to the Regulator objecting to the scheme, and itemising the bits that have the potential to discriminate, and stating my belief that the scheme's illegal.
I live in a quiet little village and have a box in the porch where the postie can leave anything that won't go through the letterbox, it's worked fine so far. I don't know what I'd do if I lived on a busy street or in a tower block.
Caecilia
I agree Caecilia. Royal Mail are reducing the number of sorting offices to cut costs, so the nearest one may be several miles away. Where I live there will be one distribution centre for two counties more than seventy miles away. Watch out for earlier last collection times as well. Their customers are the last people to be considered, let alone those with special requirements such as the elderly and disabled.
I hope the scheme will be judged illegal, Caecillia. The Information Commissioners Office were not consulted over this scheme despite there being clear Data Protection issues.
I'm definitely opting out. Although it feels very rude to display a sticker which basically says "I don't trust my neighbours". It's impossible for them not to see it.
Guest129305. Hopefully most people will realise that it is not a case of "I do not trust my neighbours", but that people are not always able to take in mail for others.
What a lot of very interesting postings on this subject. Many of which I hadn't even thought of such as the disabled. They won't want to be taking everyone's post in just because some of them are at home.
If the scheme is successful, and few people opt out, what is to stop Royal Mail delivering to just one house per street sometime in the future? My neighbours have dogs (which are seldom out in the garden), but the various posties we have tend to leave me next-door's mail - whether the dogs are out or not - it's easier.
That is my worry too. It takes time to deliver to a neighbour. The postie then has to return to the house where the item could not be delivered and put a card through the door. Much easier and quicker for the postie to take the item back to the delivery office.
Earlier this year, Posties per property delivery times were shortened, now they are being given longer rounds and starting later in the day.
In some areas there are informal arrangements for mail to be taken to the Post Office instead of the Delivery Office. But to roll out such a scheme nationally would mean Royal Mail having to pay the Post Office for handling items. They don't have to pay neighbours to do that!
If they delivered parcels in the evenings, people wouldn't be at work and this problem wouldn't occur
Lots of people work in the evenings, or have busy lives and do other things other than sit at home.
Posties are now delivering later in the day - because they start later and have longer rounds. According to my local delivery office this has resulted in more items being returned to the delivery office as undeliverable.
Basically a thieves charter..
It certainly is and Royal Mail has no obligation to vet any neighbour it delivers to! Ofocm was given powers to choose "alternative delivery points". It has chosen every singe residential address as an alternative delivery point.
Another carelessly thought through idea that gives yet another excuse not to do what they are paid to do. No wonder the Royal Mail is failing. When are we going to get a decent efficient mail delivery service?
by Fed up
Update. Opt out ? huh! I've sent 2 emails through their own website form intended for opting out. Still haven't received the opt out card, sooo, rang them up spoke to a very nice man who apologised and said it would be with me in 2 days. A week later still no card so I've made my own! Customer service - what a joke. I suppose next they will say no one has requested the cards, because they haven't had to send any out!!!
Same here; 2 emails sent via the appropriate contact form. It's been 6 weeks since I sent the first one, 3 weeks since the second and I still haven't received a sticker.
As a last resort, I found an image of the sticker on google and will print it and stick it up. Does anyone know what size the stickers are? Just so I can make it look like it's meant to!
I have just completed my second opt out form, 4 weeks after the first was ignored.
I have been requesting this sticker every few days since 28 September. A promise was made on 17 October by Royal Mail's Postal Review Panel to send me one by Special Delivery but still no sticker has been received.
Today, I spoke with Rachel Hufton at Royal Mail's branding team who can be contacted on 0800 917 0640 and has the power to grant a limited licence (by phone) for you to produce your own sticker bearing the Royal Mail logo until Royal Mail send out these stickers.
Unfortunately, Royal Mail does not have a copy of the sticker on its website but you can download a copy from the following website and print it on your own PC...
http://www.blogs.stopjunkmail.org.uk/diary/_images/royal_mail_neighbours_not_trusted_sign.png
I am not sure of the exact size of the sticker, but reports suggest is is about 5" wide.
Update from Rezza. Just received in the post today 26 Oct 2 stickers about 3 inches wide! This, after I sent 2 emails requesting, 2 telephone calls requesting and one complaint letter. The complaint response was the most laughable! I sent the complaint via their own website complaint form and received an email response saying their complaint form was no longer in use and not to respond to this response as their was no one their. And gave me another number to ring to complain. I'd already done that in the second phone call. Royal Mail is just unbelievable.
we the public pay the Royal Mail to deliver to the address listed on the front of said package, so please do it
Totally agree but despite objections being raised by roughly 800 people plus Age Concern, RNIB, Consumer Focus etc , through the OFCOM Website, the scheme has been authorised by OFCOM and takes immediate effect.So everyone who objects to taking in other peoples parcels OPT OUT NOW!!
Yup! I'm going to do just that - hope everyone else does too!
Unfortunately, 2post, Age Concern, RNIB and Consumer Focus are broadly in favour of the scheme.
It is a silly idea, not everyone lives in a nice neighbourhood where you actually know your neighbours - what happens if your neighbour denies having your parcel - do the police have to get involved?
That's why there's the option to opt out.
It should be done on an "opt in" basis not opt out!
Excellent idea, Loopy!
People can only opt out if they know of the existence of the scheme. Many who want to opt out cannot do so because they are in a multi-occupancy property and/or they are not allowed to put stickers on their door because their lease agreement prevents it. That is why the scheme should be opt-in.
I'm opting out because I live in a rural area where houses are few and far between. It would take the postie much more time to go to other houses and back to mine and I can imagine the hassles that would be caused by getting in touch with the neighbours and arranging convenient times to pick up mail. We pay for the postal service and I think it should remain as a service to it's customers.
My regular postie has a safe place to leave mail if I'm not up or out and failing that I just have to go to the nearest town and pick up at the appropriate time. A bit of a fiddle sometimes but less hassle than than the new scheme.
If you opt-out I think your postie may well feel obliged to return the item to the depot. rather than using the safe place that you approve of. But if you can speak to your postie and make him aware I guess he will fit in with your request. The existence of the sticker may well make a thief think there are no packages lurking in a 'safe place'
I get on very well with my neighbours on both sides and we have often taken parcels in for each other, but we always ask first. As in, 'I'm going to be out tomorrow so would you mind receiving my parcel if it arrives?' Then we leave a note saying, 'Please deliver to No XX'.
But I wouldn't be very keen if this just happened by default. As has been said, we have paid for the stuff to be delivered to us so that is what we want unless we say otherwise.
It might be helpful though if some of them didn't knock on the door with a feather then run away before Usain Bolt could get there to answer it! I've lost count of the number of times I've found a card in the letterbox saying 'Tried to deliver but you were out' when I haven't left the house all day.
Your final paragraph really made me *lol* :D
Channel 4 showed a programme about a year ago with undercover cameras from one of the sorting offices in London. It is standard practice for Royal Mail to treat all customers as liars if they say that the postman didn't ring the bell or knock the door. Customer service has been non existent in this organisation for a number of years.
I agree, Loopy!
Posties who carry mail from their van by hand will, sometimes, just put a card through your door without attempting delivery because they don't want to carry the package from where they park the van, to your house!
Not happy with this. My postman never leaves the card to tell you where post has been left. I have post going missing regularly. Royal Mail haven't sent a sticker despite my two requests over the last six weeks.
It's patently obvious this should be an opt-in service and not an opt-out one.
1. Your postal service should be between you and the Royal Mail - and not include all and sundry who live around you by default.
2. You shouldn't have to announce to all around you that you do want them to receive your post nor do you wish to accept theirs.
3. What legal responsibility does one incur if accepting someone elses post?
4. What legal rights have you if you cannot retrieve your post from a neighbour?
5. I always understood that a postman isn't even allowed to hand your post to you in the street even if he knows you, put has to post it through your door to ensure correct delivery. What happend to that premise?
Some very good points there, Readbull.
I agree Redbull and would add that it was only this year that Royal Mail inflicted its heaviest Postal rises ever.
Seems quite a dodgy idea for some areas where you aren't on speaking and friendly terms with your neighbours. Where I live we all take in each others and the delivery man puts a note through the door of the person who is out and then you can collect your parcel from the house he has left it out when you return home. I see no wrong whatsoever in that as at least you get your parcel but I can see some great problems where the style of living is different and you don't know your neighbours at all.
Very valid comments Readbull.
For those who want to print their own sticker...
http://www.blogs.stopjunkmail.org.uk/diary/_images/royal_mail_neighbours_not_trusted_sign.png
Strictly speaking, you will need to get a licence to print your own sticker and Rachel Hufton at Royal Mail's branding team who can be contacted on 0800 917 0640 has the power to grant a limited licence over the phone.
This opt out thing is a total joke. I have TWICE sent a request via the RM website to opt out - once in June this year, again last month, and I am STILL waiting for the opt out sticker to arrive. It is a total joke. I do not want items I have purchased going to neighbours I don't even know, not to mention the fact they keep changing every 5 minutes as it is a rental property. I have now had to write a note to my postman about my having opted out, and stuck it to my door. Royal Mail are totally useless, and as always with them this 'scheme', it is just about cutting costs for them and providing an even more crap service to the public, with prices also rising, and standards getting lower. Laughable.
Postman up and down the country are now being given longer rounds, this means they now have to be paid overtime just to complete normal deliveries and we are all paying for that of course!
I've requested a sticker three times, and been ignored each time. I used RM's complaint form about their failure, and that was ignored too. I've sent another complaint via their website, and if that doesn't get a response within the 72 hours I specified (which it won't of course) I'm going to bother Ofcom, my MP (a Tory hack, it's worth an email but not the cost of a stamp), and my BBC TV journalist friend when she's back from family leave. I'm retired and have the time to get bolshie with prats like Royal Mail.
Excellent stuff, Caecilia!
Good on you Caecilia! I wish you lots of luck.
Go for it , Caecilia!
Please contact Ofcom now, Caecilia. I am contacting RM and Ofcom on a daily basis since the scheme launched on October 1st. On 17 October a promise was made by Royal Mail's Postal Review Panel to send me a sticker my Special Delivery, but this has not been received yet! Ofcom have agreed today to chase Royal Mail on my behalf!
Just spoken to Joanne at Royal Mail's Postal Review Panel who has made yet another promise to send a sticker out by Special Delivery. Just one problem, her request for a sticker (via three different routes) has not yet been fulfilled, so she cannot send any yet!
Ofcom have just told me that Royal Mail sent me a sticker two days ago, Let's see if it arrives....
Dammit! I've had a response from a Carole Preston at Royal Mail grovelling about the non-receipt of the stickers, their not replying to my previous email, and their new email system not transferring posts from the previous system over the new one so my three posts are now untraceable. Ms Preston promised that my sticker will be here within five days. It was a really grovelling post, and inside the time limit I specified, too. You can't rely on anyone these days. :-) Sigh...
Oh, dear.....
Finally, exactly 4 weeks to the day after requesting my first sticker, eight of the stickers arrived today! If anyone wants a sticker I am happy to forward to you as re-addressed mail, which means at no cost.
It appears that the sticker is a littler bigger than those used in the trials and the writing had been changed from red to black. I am unsure if the quality of the sticker has improved - will have to wait and see!
My worry is that the stickers themselves will become signs for thieves that you might not be home, therefore a target for robbery (or that you might be elderly, have a disability, etc - also a target for crime).
Obviously there are people who are home who for many reasons posted here (disability, nosey or unkind neighbours, insurance issues with broken parcels, etc) might want to opt out too.
But those people who aren't at home and, like some people have already pointed out, have trouble retrieving parcels from neighbours because the neighbour isn't home when you get back, you want to opt out. I don't take parcels for neighbours now because I might not be home for them!
How can we do this without displaying a sticker that in so many words says "I'm not home - please come and rob my house"???
Some may see them that way. but any thief would still be taking a big chance that someone actually wasn't at home on that particular day. Just because the sticker is there, doesn't necessarily mean the homeowner is out, otherwise it could be interpreted as 'I'm not home every single day', because the sticker is there all the time. It would still be a big gamble for a thief. My reason for wanting a sticker is that our parcel deliveries come at a ridiculous hour of the morning, which is ok during the week most of the time, but at the weekend, 7am is a joke frankly, and invariably, we are deep asleep and miss it. As I already said, I also don't know my neighbours most of the time (rental property) I frankly think the whole thing is a waste of money. People can not opt out, but the neighbour still not take their post, and RM will have to take it anyway, the same as they would if people opt in. My guess would be that most will choose to opt out, so what have RM gained? They will still be taking parcels back for collection depot (just perhaps marginally fewer) They constantly whine about having to raise prices of stamps, etc. because of rising costs, and then they waste money on these stickers (that people don't receive) If you are concerned about opportunistic thieves, the only answer I would think is to not have one. If the neighbour isn't there, they will have to take it back to the depot.
I understand what you are saying definitely. But I think a lot of this depends on where you live - more homeowners, more rentals, big city, reasonably rural..... I live in a residential area where a lot of people have someone at home most days (nice for "neighbourhood watch" full stop), but I am not home most days during the day. So most people will be in the programme, but if I put a sticker on my door, that is unusual where I am, thus a potential sign that I'm someone who is not home!
What a good point, WightSun.
Ans a warm welcome to the Forum.
Well, one would hope that if the vast majority of your neighbourhood are home, that thieves would be deterred from breaking into your property. I see your point about the sticker, but I don't think there is a solution to that really, bar speaking directly to your postman (if you are familiar with them) and expressing your wishes.
I do that, enfermera, but I' lucky to live in a rural area where we know our postie.
Nice to have you on board, BTW!
I think it's too late for Royal Mail. Courier firms have been leaving packages with neighbours for the last decade already and some have now moved on to leaving at local shops like the excellent Collect Plus scheme so RM are still behind the times. I hate having to collect from sorting offices (mine is 7 miles away) and we live in a street where we have made a point of getting to know people and we all help each other out so I won't opt out. But as I say, I never use Royal Mail to send packages these days because they are 10 years behind (unionisation I'm afraid)
I work from home and knowing I would be away, got an important parcel addressed to my neighbour who is great at taking stuff in and very trustworthy. The package I was waiting for (signed for Fed Ex) arrived when she was out, so the delivery man left it with their neighbour.
I got back hoping the parcel had arrived. It hadn't. I waited and it began to become a problem because its contents were really crucial for a business meeting. The meeting came and went so that blew that.
Eventually my neighbour came round with the parcel and said her neighbour had taken it in and given it to her. Suspicious I was able to track the date the neighbour signed for it. Turned out the neighbour had held it in their house for 10 days. Quite why I don't know because it was a very large parcel that must have been in the way.
This action has really caused me a great deal of trouble and could impact very negatively on me.
It is taking every ounce of restraint not to go round there and scream at them, but my good neighbour is begging me not to. So be aware that if you don't opt out of this, you too could find your job is comprised through the selfish actions and stupidity of a neighbour.
