Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Local Police issue advice after a rise in doorstep parcel theft in the area
Local police dropped me a line recently via their Met Engage initiative regarding a spate of doorstep thefts in the area.
Having recently had a vegetable delivery stolen sometime between 5.30 am and 8.00am, I'm guessing that these particular thieves are early risers, and I hope they enjoyed a hearty winter veg stew. I didn't report it to the police as I got a refund but I suppose I should have done.
Yesterday, a neighbour came searching for a lost parcel and seemed surprised that doorstep parcel theft was a thing, which somewhat surprised me.
Anyway, in case this type of crime is a revelation to anyone else, here's the Met's wholly sensible advice (in future I will be diligent in doing the last one. I imagine that, as very often you can get a refund for non-delivery, this is an under-reported crime and one that I suspect the criminals think is "victimless")
- Where possible, arrange for parcels to be delivered when someone is at home.
- Consider using trusted neighbour, local shops, or secure locker as a delivery point.
- Request “signed for” delivery options where available.
- Avoid leaving delivery instructions that state parcels can be left in visible locations.
- If you are expecting a delivery, try to track it and collect it promptly.
- Consider installing doorbell cameras, CCTV, or motion-activated lightning as a deterrent
- Report any suspicious behaviour in your area as soon as possible.
Tags for Forum Posts: doorstep theft, parcel theft
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Justin Guest on
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This would not even be an issue if delivery companies had not switched to dumping packages on door steps as opposed to doing what they did until recently which is ringing a door bell, waiting, leaving it with a neighbour if you were not in and attempting redelivery if needed. This should not be yet another drain on public and police resources and is totally the problem of companies like Amazon etc forcing delivery companies into a pricing race for the bottom.
The way to stop this is claim a refund from the supplier company. Only when it hurts their bottom line with this ridiculous nonsense stop.
I walked up my road the other day to retrieve a parcel a neighbour just had notification had been left outside her front door. As I did so I watched a delivery driver drop a parcel on another neighbours doorstep. He took a photo and walked away. Did not bother with the doorbell. I knew that neighbour was away. So I walked past him, picked up the parcel and walked down the road. No challenge what so ever. Turned out when I got it home he had delivered it to the wrong doorstep so I managed to unite it with the right owner….beggars belief
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson
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There is always some at home in my house but I’ve found parcels left behind flower pots, on the doorstep and on one notable occasion in the recycling bin. Delivery companies need to take some responsibility.
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Permalink Reply by Rich
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I mean I guess the Delivery companies do take responsibility as AndrewAW1's point below. I'm assuming the calculate the total lost of packages for this reasons is < the cost of redelivery. (Although pretty annoying if the thing been delivered is irreplaceable)
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Another one last night. Bell rang, got to the door within 10 seconds and a parcel was on my doorstep in full view of passers by. Thank you Evri. 😡
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Permalink Reply by Sarah
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I found one in my garden waste once! I guess that was a very safe place as the bin men would have refused to empty a bin contaminated with a parcel.
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Permalink Reply by Linda Davies
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Quite a few years ago now my daughter was expecting a delivery of a pair of Jeans and the Courier placed it in the waste bin and it was collection day so the waste and the Jeans were emptied into the dust cart. She got a replacement, eventually.
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Unfortunately Justin any losses are more than likely added onto the prices the consumer pays rather than hurting the supplying company's bottom line. Many years ago I remember hearing/reading that 4% of the price you pay for something in a shop is to cover for store theft. Hate to think what it is now.
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Worth bearing in mind that unless you've explicitly agreed for parcels to be left then they don't count as delivered until handed into your possession.
Don't bother dealing with the delivery company. One, you're not the delivery company's customer, the retailer you purchased from is. Your contract is with the retailer. Two, they're useless.
Section 29 of the Consumer Rights Act is the specific legislation to quote:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/section/29
Retailers are aware that these delivery companies fail delivery but they have pushed delivery fees as low as they can go which means you end up with drivers having to make an unrealistic number of deliveries meaning the current service.
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Just before Christmas I read on BBC News that £666 million pounds worth of parcels were stolen from doorsteps in 2024. My husband and I are both retired so there is always someone home but still Amazon continue to leave parcels on the doorstep, don't knock, take a photo of where they have left it and walk away. I order lots on line, in fact it is my main way of shopping, but I track everything from start to finish so know the day, and time slot, that my package will be delivered. Two years ago in December I was expecting a package via Evri between 5.30 p.m. - 7.30 p.m. so I stayed in my Lounge which is at front of house and waited to listen out but there was no knock on the door and I assumed that the driver wasn't coming after all so at around 8.00 p.m. I looked up my Evri delivery on line to check for further updates only to find that it had been delivered and a photo taken to show it had been left on the doorstep. I immediately ran to the front door but my package had already been stolen. I am pleased to say that our current Evri courier always knocks.
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Did it really surprise you? People will take anything not nailed down around here.
Once a parcel was stolen from outside my flat. I am in a ground floor flat set back from the street, I keep my garden waste bin out front and close to my door so there is somewhere to put deliveries so they can't be seen from the street.
But on this occasion there was a woman sitting on the external stairs to the upstairs flats next door. My camera showed her l turning her head and spotting the parcel, before grabbing it and making off down the street with it.
She would have been very disappointed to open it and find it was full of bokashi bran - unless she is also very keen on turning her food scraps into compost!
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Hi,
Great, have also had my veggies stolen this Wed during those hours.
Agree that parcel delivery companies in general, do not even bother to ring doorbells and if they do, they disappear if you do not immediately open.
I was greeted once with the words "I don't have time" and I rushed to the door while WFH.
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Actually this might be a good place to ask - not stolen, but missing: does anyone else here subscribe to the Big Issue?
I no longer pass a Big Issue seller on my way to work, so during the pandemic I started subscribing. Over the past year though the deliveries have become less and less reliable. I only received two copies in November, one in December. I thought things were sorted now that Christmas is over but this week's copy has not arrived. I don't know whether to blame Royal Mail or Big Issue. Is anyone else having problems?
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