Postman urged to blacklist resident over parking mistake

A postman has been encouraged to blacklist a customer after an “aggressive” parking blunder unfolded.

Parking is a contentious issue, especially when it comes to driveways being used against the owner’s will, access to spaces being blocked, or parking bays being used by those they don’t belong to.

A postman, new to the job, got a shock though when he arrived at a block of flats to deliver a parcel and “stopped in the nearest available parking space” only to find his red Royal Mail van blocked in by a Tesla when he came back out.

He ended up having to wait half an hour for the Tesla owner to come out and move his car so the Royal Mail worker could get on with the rest of his shift.

Per Section 86 of the Postal Services Act 2000, it’s an offense to intentionally obstruct a postal worker, like a Royal Mail postman for example, in the execution of their duties.

In a twist, the parcel he was delivering actually belonged to the Tesla driver. The Royal Mail worker took to Reddit to ask whether being “blocked by a car while delivering” was “normal”.

He explained: “I was delivering a parcel to a block of flats and. I initially went to the wrong flat, and when I came back to the van, I noticed a Tesla driver had blocked me in.

“I honked a few times and one of the residents came out. He said it was his neighbour’s car, and that he does this because non-residents park there. I asked if I could speak to him directly. He refused at first, but it turned out he was the parcel recipient, so he let me in.”

The postman explained the Tesla driver “didn’t want to come out at first” but “after about 30 minutes”, he finally came out and moved his car.

According to the Royal Mail worker, he asked the Tesla driver why he got blocked in but was just “ignored”.

He added: “Apparently, there was a sign saying it was residents’ parking, which I missed, but there were plenty of free bays near the entrance.”

In the comments section, fellow Reddit users were keen to share their thoughts on the situation. One person said: “30 minutes? All his parcels are RTS [return to sender]. He can come pick them up if he wants them.

Another agreed: “And his mail, blacklist his address for aggressive behaviour”.

A third replied: “This exactly!! Your address goes in my mental black book, and you’d better get used to delayed deliveries or coming to collect your mail from the office – EVERYBODY benefits from the service Royal Mail provides, regardless of whether they make any direct payments to us or not.

“That Tesla guy (‘Tesla guy’ – first red flag) is the personification of our fraying society – nobody cares about the bigger picture, just their lil corner of the jigsaw.”

Offering another perspective, someone else said: “It’s an absolute pain when you live in a flat with shared parking. When I used to live in a flat there was constant arguments about parking spaces. However, blocking in a RM van which is clearly delivering to the block of flats, goes too far.”

One person said: “I understand why people can get funny about ‘outsiders’ taking limited private parking slots. But to do that to the postman is insane”.

While another shared: “I deliver for a supermarket and you wouldn’t believe some of the abuse I get. It’s insane. People are unhinged.”

The Royal Mail postman added: “I never got issues with residential parking in other areas, and the residents were nice and grateful.”