A woman has shared her experience of a sudden and unexpected change in her relationship with her neighbours.
Telling her story on Mumsnet, she recalled that for eight years they had maintained a cordial relationship, engaging in polite chats over the fence and exchanging morning greetings.
The woman revealed the two households would occasionally take in parcels for each other, especially during the busy Christmas period, and on one occasion her partner even apologised to the neighbour for the inconvenience.
She wrote: “In the lead up to Christmas, they had taken a couple for us (obviously, we were ordering more than usual at this point), and my partner apologised for this and said, ‘You’re like a sorting office for us. I’m really sorry!'”
However, things took an unexpected turn when their neighbours began acting oddly. She recounted an incident where an Amazon parcel was left next door, but despite knocking several times, there was no response even though the neighbours were clearly home.
The following day, the neighbour came around with their parcel and banged on the door in an unpleasant manner. He aggressively stated: “When you came round last night, you woke up our poorly two-year-old, so can you please take us off your preference list?”.
Despite the woman’s partner apologising, the man had already turned his back and stormed off. The couple were shocked by the encounter, and a few days later, despite updating their preferences, Amazon again attempted to deliver a package to the same neighbours – which was refused.
Since then, the neighbours have not spoken to the couple or even acknowledged their presence. The woman shared one example that highlighted just how angry her neighbours were. One day, she was struggling to reverse off the drive due to snow, her partner was trying to dig out the car with a sweeping brush, and their scared six-year-old was crying in the back seat.
All the while their neighbour was casually de-icing his car and didn’t offer any help or lend them his shovel. This, she felt, showed just how upset he was. She expressed sadness over the situation, stating that after eight years of peaceful coexistence, it suddenly felt like they had a significant problem over what she believed was an innocent mistake.
In the comments, one person suggested a peace offering: “Present an apology, tell them you have changed preferences with Amazon, hope we can put this behind us as we have always valued you as neighbours. Kill them with kindness, and don’t let it get to you if it doesn’t work! You have done your best. You weren’t to know the little one was poorly, but I’d probably have taken the hint if they were in.”
Another advised understanding the neighbours’ perspective: “I think your neighbour was probably snappy and exhausted after a difficult night with a poorly child, and it made them overreact. They are probably a bit embarrassed but stubborn and have decided to stick to their guns as it was annoying to take in your parcels. As you weren’t friends anyway, it is unlikely to feel like a loss to them. I wouldn’t have knocked at 7.30pm if I knew the person had a 2 year old. It’s not their problem that you had an urgent parcel delivered to them.”
A third Mumsnet user recommended a note of apology: “Wait a while then drop a note through the door saying you are sorry for waking their child, obviously you wouldn’t have knocked if you’d known. Reassure them that your preferences are set to leave parcels elsewhere and tell them you are fine with them refusing them if any slip through the net. Then forget about it.”