Small situation, might be nothing...
Discussion
Mods, please could you move this topic to General Gassing or Speed, Plod & The Law. I'm posting from a throwaway account because I didn't want this topic linked to my normal account/traceable to me personally.
The issue:
Had plans to go out this afternoon at about 12.30, while getting ready at about 12.00 I noticed that the drive was blocked by a Royal Mail delivery van. No worries I thought, he'll be gone by the time we need to go, however I had a hunch it might still be there for reasons which I will explain later.
12.30 rolls around and the van is still there, partially blocking my drive. I couldn't leave. Suspected the driver was in the neighbours house. So I pop round and knock with the intention of asking the driver to move his man so I could leave. Knock, no answer. Wait a bit, knock again and still no answer. I'm getting a bit wound up now because there's no sign of the driver and I need to leave. For some reason I decided to snap a couple of pictures of the van on my phone (to get the reg and show its positioning as it blocked my drive).
As soon as I've snapped my last picture and am heading inside the driver pops out from the neighbours house, he ignores me completely and starts making for the van. No apology, nothing. So, possibly a little kurtly, I say to him "In future, could you not park like that please" or words to that effect if not exactly (no swearing and no intention of getting into one with him).
He fires back with something like "Why not? Dont start" etc...by this stage I'm a bit annoyed and his retort pushed me. I replied with "Because I need to go out and you're blocking the drive". He then goes off on one about how he's only been there 15 or 20mins etc and starts with the effin and jeffin. This ticks me off and I start to get defensive and respond in kind. He then goes on to say how I'm only having a go because he's working for Royal Mail etc (???) and says:
"how about I come back after hours when I've changed clothes and dropped the van off?".
I take this as a threat on me, my family and my property and ask him "excuse me?", he repeats himself and I offer him his chance "why wait? what's wrong with right now?". This, in hindsight, was a little bold of me as I'm in no position to go toe to toe with anyone however he threatened me and my defensive stance turned into offence at this point.
He then seems to cool off, says he got annoyed with the way I spoke to him (which might be understandable, I can be quite direct and I was a bit annoyed after knocking and getting no response etc) and that he wasn't threatening me. I ask him why he's so angry, that I only asked him to not park like that etc. And he cools off further, he says he's sorry and that he wont park there again that he's had a bad day etc. I say it's no issue if he's delivering etc but this wasnt a couple of minutes and I needed to go out etc. I'm not unreasonable, if he's delivering to the neighbours and he's a minute or two (or a few) then no worries. He reiterates that he wont park there again and then (possibly after a bit more retort/apology) shoots off.
So my concerns:
1. This guy knows where I live (together with my wife).
2. He openly threatened me (even if he did later retract).
3. He works for RM, he could mess with my deliveries/post.
What do the great PH collective think? I've thought about reporting the incident to the police and RM, but I don't want the guy to lose his job or get in trouble generally (which could just escalate the entire situation way out of proportion). However, I am concerned that he's made a threat and he might have just been apologetic to diffuse the immediate situation with a view to coming back when I'm not expecting it?
Going back to the neighbour/postie. There's some kind of relationship there, either they're friends and he was in there having a cuppa or something else is going on as I see no other reason for him to be IN the house at all let alone for 20mins when he's in uniform and with a company van?? He's the regular RM parcel delivery guy and I see him regularly. He's quite often at the neighbours place and has delivered to my place before too.
What do you all think? I'm a bit worried for myself, my wife, my propery and my car (the P&J is parked on the drive). Would greatly appreciate any advice.
Cheers.
The issue:
Had plans to go out this afternoon at about 12.30, while getting ready at about 12.00 I noticed that the drive was blocked by a Royal Mail delivery van. No worries I thought, he'll be gone by the time we need to go, however I had a hunch it might still be there for reasons which I will explain later.
12.30 rolls around and the van is still there, partially blocking my drive. I couldn't leave. Suspected the driver was in the neighbours house. So I pop round and knock with the intention of asking the driver to move his man so I could leave. Knock, no answer. Wait a bit, knock again and still no answer. I'm getting a bit wound up now because there's no sign of the driver and I need to leave. For some reason I decided to snap a couple of pictures of the van on my phone (to get the reg and show its positioning as it blocked my drive).
As soon as I've snapped my last picture and am heading inside the driver pops out from the neighbours house, he ignores me completely and starts making for the van. No apology, nothing. So, possibly a little kurtly, I say to him "In future, could you not park like that please" or words to that effect if not exactly (no swearing and no intention of getting into one with him).
He fires back with something like "Why not? Dont start" etc...by this stage I'm a bit annoyed and his retort pushed me. I replied with "Because I need to go out and you're blocking the drive". He then goes off on one about how he's only been there 15 or 20mins etc and starts with the effin and jeffin. This ticks me off and I start to get defensive and respond in kind. He then goes on to say how I'm only having a go because he's working for Royal Mail etc (???) and says:
"how about I come back after hours when I've changed clothes and dropped the van off?".
I take this as a threat on me, my family and my property and ask him "excuse me?", he repeats himself and I offer him his chance "why wait? what's wrong with right now?". This, in hindsight, was a little bold of me as I'm in no position to go toe to toe with anyone however he threatened me and my defensive stance turned into offence at this point.
He then seems to cool off, says he got annoyed with the way I spoke to him (which might be understandable, I can be quite direct and I was a bit annoyed after knocking and getting no response etc) and that he wasn't threatening me. I ask him why he's so angry, that I only asked him to not park like that etc. And he cools off further, he says he's sorry and that he wont park there again that he's had a bad day etc. I say it's no issue if he's delivering etc but this wasnt a couple of minutes and I needed to go out etc. I'm not unreasonable, if he's delivering to the neighbours and he's a minute or two (or a few) then no worries. He reiterates that he wont park there again and then (possibly after a bit more retort/apology) shoots off.
So my concerns:
1. This guy knows where I live (together with my wife).
2. He openly threatened me (even if he did later retract).
3. He works for RM, he could mess with my deliveries/post.
What do the great PH collective think? I've thought about reporting the incident to the police and RM, but I don't want the guy to lose his job or get in trouble generally (which could just escalate the entire situation way out of proportion). However, I am concerned that he's made a threat and he might have just been apologetic to diffuse the immediate situation with a view to coming back when I'm not expecting it?
Going back to the neighbour/postie. There's some kind of relationship there, either they're friends and he was in there having a cuppa or something else is going on as I see no other reason for him to be IN the house at all let alone for 20mins when he's in uniform and with a company van?? He's the regular RM parcel delivery guy and I see him regularly. He's quite often at the neighbours place and has delivered to my place before too.
What do you all think? I'm a bit worried for myself, my wife, my propery and my car (the P&J is parked on the drive). Would greatly appreciate any advice.
Cheers.
Report it to the RM, but not to the police.
The police will be required to listen to complaints on both sides, and if you make an allegation against him, he will inevitably make one against you and you'll both end up in the mire, in fact I'd almost 100% guarantee it. It would likely mean you both being interviewed about low-level public order offences and either getting a fine for it (worst case) and waiting around for weeks while someone decides to NFA it (best case). Given that the police won't retrospectively ticket him for the driveway obstruction, you've little to gain and a bit to lose.
At least if you complain to the RM they've got their own internal procedures to use and also their public image to think about. You're more likely to get some joy that way and less risk to you.
Edit: grammar
The police will be required to listen to complaints on both sides, and if you make an allegation against him, he will inevitably make one against you and you'll both end up in the mire, in fact I'd almost 100% guarantee it. It would likely mean you both being interviewed about low-level public order offences and either getting a fine for it (worst case) and waiting around for weeks while someone decides to NFA it (best case). Given that the police won't retrospectively ticket him for the driveway obstruction, you've little to gain and a bit to lose.
At least if you complain to the RM they've got their own internal procedures to use and also their public image to think about. You're more likely to get some joy that way and less risk to you.
Edit: grammar
dontfollowme said:
Sounds like you both got het up and nothing will come of it.
Yeah I did get a bit wound up because of his smart arse replies and I guess I must have triggered that with my delivery of my opening comment. BDZ said:
Report it to the RM, but not to the police.
The police will be required to listen to complaints on both sides, and if you make an allegation against him, he will inevitably make one against you and you'll both end up in the mire, in fact I'd almost 100% guarantee it. It would likely mean you both being interviewed about low-level public order offences and either getting a fine for it (worst case) and waiting around for weeks while someone decides to NFA it (best case). Given that the police won't retrospectively ticket him for the driveway obstruction, you little to gain and a bit to lose.
At least if you complain to the RM they've got their own internal procedures to use and also their public image to think about. You're more likely to get some joy that way and less risk to you.
Well this is it, he works for RM and he knows where I live. If I report the incident and he gets a bThe police will be required to listen to complaints on both sides, and if you make an allegation against him, he will inevitably make one against you and you'll both end up in the mire, in fact I'd almost 100% guarantee it. It would likely mean you both being interviewed about low-level public order offences and either getting a fine for it (worst case) and waiting around for weeks while someone decides to NFA it (best case). Given that the police won't retrospectively ticket him for the driveway obstruction, you little to gain and a bit to lose.
At least if you complain to the RM they've got their own internal procedures to use and also their public image to think about. You're more likely to get some joy that way and less risk to you.
king or whatever then surely that's likely to cause further grief for all involved? The main thing I'm concerned about is the house/car and him getting petty and vandalising something.What should have been a case of "hey mate, could you just move the van forward a little bit please" turned into this.
Edited by postmanswrath on Saturday 5th February 22:31
Wouldn't worry about it, plenty worse will have seen your P+J. He's probably knobbing the woman next door, possibly married/in relationship (and on works time) so when he saw you taking pics he probably got riled, you were also riled which made things boil up a bit.
However, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.
However, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.
Maybe jot down the details of what happened (Oh, you did!) and forget it!
He was feeling guilty (as said, most likely knobbing your neighbour on work time) and overreacted. Then, realised that he was being very dumb as it would quite clearly get reported to RM, and he would lose his job (and maybe his missus finds out), so backs off.
I doubt you will hear any more. Don't expect your "do not fold" mail to stay flat though
He was feeling guilty (as said, most likely knobbing your neighbour on work time) and overreacted. Then, realised that he was being very dumb as it would quite clearly get reported to RM, and he would lose his job (and maybe his missus finds out), so backs off.
I doubt you will hear any more. Don't expect your "do not fold" mail to stay flat though
Hang on a minute, though. Does he work for Parcelforce, or the Post Office? I know they're all red vans, but Parcelforce drivers are far more vindictive and resourceful than the RM/PO ones. And they stick together - no point complaining to his boss.
TBH, if you've riled a Parcelforce driver, your best bet would be to move house. If it's an RM/PO driver, you'll be fine. As long as he's still getting his oats with your neighbour, he'll be putty in your hands. As you've discovered, they can be a bit stroppy immediately afterwards, but on the whole, they're fairly amiable.
Unfortunately, no amount of illicit loving can ever pacify a Parcelforce driver. Do your pictures of the van give you any clue?
TBH, if you've riled a Parcelforce driver, your best bet would be to move house. If it's an RM/PO driver, you'll be fine. As long as he's still getting his oats with your neighbour, he'll be putty in your hands. As you've discovered, they can be a bit stroppy immediately afterwards, but on the whole, they're fairly amiable.
Unfortunately, no amount of illicit loving can ever pacify a Parcelforce driver. Do your pictures of the van give you any clue?
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