Offering a helping hand not only pleases the people we are helping feeling good, but also makes us feel good about ourselves.
Making it all the more fortunate that generosity can be so easily taken advantage of.
Sadly, sometimes helping someone once might lead that person to expect this help on a regular basis.
Even in some rare circumstances, when they don’t even need the help being offered.
Redditor MinPinMeg had been offering a helping hand to their neighbors on a fairly regular basis.
Eventually, however, the original poster (OP) had grown somewhat tired of doing these various favors and eventually decided to stop.
A decision that did not sit well at all with their neighbors, who had come to expect the OP’s help.
Having some doubts about their decision, the OP took to the subReddit “Am I The A**hole” (AITA), where they asked fellow Redditors:
“AITA for not playing unpaid courier for my neighbors?”
The OP explained why they found themselves at odds with their neighbors:
“I’ve lived in my apartment (a standard duplex) for about a year.”
“Since the day I moved in, my upstairs neighbors, and now more recently, the tenant in a detached building behind the main house have been getting their packages and food deliveries dropped at my front door.”
“Not once in a while.”
“Every. Other. Day. Amazon, Instacart, McDonald’s…apparently my porch is the delivery hub.”
‘For months, I played unpaid courier and walked everything to the right spot.”
“Eventually, I stopped.”
“Cold turkey.”
“Now I leave deliveries exactly where the driver leaves them: my front door.”
“Now, here’s where I might be the a**hole.”
“This morning, the tenant from the detached building confronted me (at 530 am, no less.) and said: ‘You left my groceries outside until 10 p.m’.”
“Me: ‘No. You left your groceries outside until 10 p.m’.”
“T: ‘It’s not a big deal! Just bring them back next time’.”
“Me: ‘Leave a note for your delivery driver in the app. Or you can start tipping me for delivering your sh*t’.”
“That’s when they stormed off calling me names and losing their mind over all of this.”
“I’ve already contacted my landlord, so I’m not taking this any further.”
“I’m done being the delivery person for the house, and the person from this morning.”
“Happy 2026.”
“I’ve never tampered with, stole, or hid any deliveries.”
“I’m just now leaving them out front until they are grabbed by whomever ordered.”
“Yes, the neighbors are aware I have dropped off their deliveries.”
“The daughter of the tenant upstairs thanked me once.”
“We have the whole Ring set up here, they can quite literally see me hoofing their things around the house, and up the back steps or to the detached building.”
“So, am I really the a**hole for refusing to deliver everyone’s packages and food deliveries?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation, by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
The Reddit community unanimously agreed that the OP was not the a**hole for refusing to bring their neighbors their deliveries.
Everyone agreed that the OP was providing their neighbors an unnecessary courtesy that they had all taken advantage of, though there were some who gave the OP suggestions on how to deal with this going forward:
“NTA.”
“Grocery dude was being incredibly rude.”
“He knew damn well his groceries were delivered.”
“He just wanted you to deal with them for him.”- Humble_Pen_7216
“NTA.”
“The groceries story got me guffawing….your retort was gold.”- OC6chick
“NTA.”
“It is their responsibility, not yours, to either get the items where they are dropped off or check their delivery app.”
“Every time I have items delivered, the vendor texts me that the delivery is complete.”
“Every. Single. Time.”
“Your neighbors need to inform whoever is delivering of where the items should be delivered.”-PutPretty647
“NTA.”
“What, if a package gets delivered, but you’re not home?”
“Like on vacation?”
“Ooops, your groceries were lying 2 weeks in the summer sun, because you were too lazy to collect them.”- Z4-Driver
“NTA.”
“You have terribly entitled neighbors.”
“It’s not your responsibility to play delivery for them.”- No_Thought_7776
“NTA.”
“Come on. How could you possibly be TA here?”
“Neighbors are pissed that the easy ride is over.”
“But they can shove off.”- your-mom04605
“NTA.”
“It’s not your job, and if it isn’t a big dea,l then it also isn’t a big deal for them to come and get their crap.”- SnooChipmunks770
“Lmao, the entitlement of your neighbors.”
“NTA.”- Aesperacchius
“NTA!”
“Not your responsibility in any way.”
“To add another perspective, though, I lived in a basement/backdoor suite for a year.”
“I had a note on delivery apps/amazon/etc that I continued to edit and add to as I could to be clearer, ‘please deliver to back door/basement suite’.”
“Some did, most didn’t.”
“Now we are in an apartment building.”
“I have a paragraph explaining which parking lot to go to (North lot with access off of X street, NOT Y Street, NOT the main lobby).”
“I have changed the PIN location.”
“I explain that I am 8 months pregnant and delivery anywhere but the requested door – which is right beside our apartment – is not really a great option for me.”
“They go to the opposite side of the building or the lobby.”
“Every. Single. Time.”
“I get the same drivers sometimes and explain this all to them and STILL they go to the wrong door.”
“I’m very frustrated by this, obviously, but I still go get my food even if it takes a little longer or whatever, I don’t expect a neighbor to buzz them in or take the delivery for me.”
“Your neighbors may have similar notes that are similarly ignored, but that still doesn’t mean it’s your responsibility to fix the delivery driver’s mistake.”- curiousr_nd_curiousr
“Clearly NTA.”
“I don’t get why you kept doing it in the first place.”
“But, yeah, screw them.”- Bistec-Chef
“NTA.”
“I’d try putting a sign on my porch saying ‘Deliveries Only for [either your last name or your apt number, or both]’.”
“I’d add a Ring camera to catch your entitled neighbor taking the sign.”- waterstone55
“NTA.”
“If they can’t come get their own deliveries, they shouldn’t be placing any.”
“Good on you for letting them know.”- Gattina1
“You were too kind for too long.”
“Your NTA, they are for expecting you to do it.”
“They know when their sh*t arrives within a couple mins.”
“So they know when to get off their lazy a**es to come and retrieve it.”- Mikey74Evil
“NTA, they get a notification via text or email when deliveries arrive.”
“Why should you be the ‘last mile’?”- sbinjax
“NTA at all.”
“They need to get it together and come get their stuff.”
“It’s absolutely not your job to take things back to them.”- StrategyAncient6770
“Pretty clearly NTA.”- stupidb*tchphd
“They would have lost any grace in my eyes when they said and at me like that.”
“NTA!”- BlueMangoTango
“LOL … NTA.”
“Inform everyone they are responsible for their own orders; anything left over an hour will be disposed of!”
“Happy 2026!”- QL58
“NTA.”
“I live in a guest house behind the main house and would never dream of having anything delivered to their door (sometimes it happens and I just go get it).”- UselessPustule
“NTA.”
“You’re only mistake… and that’s a strong word… was to continue to do it after the first time, at most the second time.”
“After the first or second time, you should’ve let them know that you wouldn’t do it again or just leave their stuff there.”
“You’re neighbors are AHs, took you for granted with no appreciation, then to yell at you for their own fault.”- WhatDaHeck55
“NTA.”
“No need to reward habitual laziness.”- frogmuffins
“NTA.”
“I would be embarrassed if it were me.”
“If it were only a couple of times here and there, no problem.”
“But 24/7/365?”
“Nope.”
“I want my stuff.”
“I don’t want others getting my stuff, especially if it’s groceries/food delivery.”
“The only reason I would even consider doing that for others is bad weather.”
“Even still, it’s not your responsibility.”
“They can track packages and monitor delivery like everyone else.”- ChaiHai
“NTA.”
“Should have done that a while ago.”- Lactating-almonds
“NTA.”
“Immature neighbors.”- hatfieldmichael
“NTA.”
“I recently accidentally ordered something to be delivered to my sister’s place instead of my own.”
“I texted her, apologized, told her what happened, requested she text me when it arrives, and I will come collect it as soon as I can.”
“I never would’ve asked her to bring it to me.”- Crusoe15
It seems the OP’s complex is laid out in such a way that delivery people might get confused, hence why their doorstep became the main delivery hub.
That being said, we live in a day and age where we can easily give delivery people explicit instructions on where to leave packages.
Even if the OP could leave a note for deliveries to end this confusion, that is not their responsibility.
Nor is bringing their neighbors their packages.