However, there is one practice the mail carriers must stop. If there is a package larger than the mail slot and no one is home to take it, they deliver it to another house. I am not comfortable with this policy at all, but it seems to be standard practice here. The carriers don't ask if I know or trust my neighbors, they just give my package to anyone who answers the door and says "okay, I'll take it." Firstly, it's rude to impose upon a neighbor without asking. More importantly, it's rude to assume I'm okay with imposing upon a neighbor without asking me. This isn't unique to the Royal Mail. UPS does the same thing, but they've given me the extra pleasure of calling me during delivery, discovering that I am strangely at work at noon, hearing me tell them explicitly not to give my package to any neighbor, then ignoring me and doing it anyway. I called that person's boss and complained on that one, and the boss thought I was weird for not wanting my package delivered to a stranger.
If they cannot find a neighbor, they put it in a delivery center for me to come pick up. That is perfectly understandable and acceptable. Why that isn't the default is a mystery to me. Perhaps the British are such friendly people that they can't imagine why anyone would not be great friends with his/her neighbors. Maybe I'm a schmuck for having no desire to knock on every door nearby to make sure it's okay for them to hold onto my brand new electronics. Maybe it makes a lot more sense now why so many of my colleagues have mail delivered to work.
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