Proof of delivery photo

[Arty1973]

I received a parcel from an online music retailer and it was delivered by Royal Mail from the postman. The service was excellent. However, I have an issue with the proof of delivery photo. The postman took a photo while he handed the parcel over to me and a part of my face is on the photo. I thought customers faces weren’t allowed on proof of delivery photos due to The General Data Protection Regulations. I was very unhappy to see a part of my face on the photo due to being a person who cares for my privacy. Please advise.

[qwerty2]

He’s a idiot - we’ve been told not to do that
Should take the photo of the parcel in his hand or on the doorstep then give it to you
Put a complaint in - they’ll check the pic and give him a slap

[yellowbelly]

Yes, it's a definite no no. However someone would either need to hack into the Royal Mail tracking system to get your picture or
know/randomly generate the tracking number of your parcel to input into the tracking search engine to get the photo you're
referring to.

I've had plenty of pet dogs leaping up at garden gates or bearing their fangs in photos I've taken!

[Arty1973]

Thanks for the replies.

I’ve filed a complaint to the Royal Mail. I mentioned this to a neighbour and he told me that the posties are working to a tight timescale and he was probably in a rush and took the photo quickly and didn’t realise my part of my face was in the photo.

[BenacreNick]

Sometimes these things happen Arty.

Generally my photos are shoulders down but just as I've clicked the button for the photo, the recipient moves themselves or the parcel, or a dog has run through to the front door area, sometimes they are slightly blurred because we are all moving so fast.

There's not enough hours in the day anymore with our enormous workload.

[clashcityrocker]

You put the parcel down in the open doorway.
Take the photo.
It isn't rocket engineering.

[Arty1973]

You put the parcel down in the open doorway.
Take the photo.
It isn't rocket engineering.

Yeah, thats what the posties and couriers usually do. Maybe I was very quick in answering the door for him to do that but he could of at least asked me to go behind the door while he lays parcel next to door for to take photo but he didn’t. Instead he had me holding parcel while he took photo.

[Hyrrokkin]

Chill out - it was a mistake nothing more

[yellowbelly]

You put the parcel down in the open doorway.
Take the photo.
It isn't rocket engineering.

Yeah, thats what the posties and couriers usually do. Maybe I was very quick in answering the door for him to do that but he could of at least asked me to go behind the door while he lays parcel next to door for to take photo but he didn’t. Instead he had me holding parcel while he took photo.

Can understand your POV, but from a posties POV each delivery is not as cut and dried as you may think it is, we have multiple situations that we have to contend with, for example:

Person can't find their door keys so asks for it to just put down on the doorstep and 'I'll get it later' - again a no no according to the rules as a dodgy recipient could then claim they didn't receive the parcel because the door wasn't open, but does the postie stand his ground discussing through the locked/closed door with the recipient that they have to have the door open, which the recipient gets cheesed off about because they've got to go and find the keys that their partner has possibly taken to work (good job there's not a fire), getting irate about it. Wasting time.

Same situation - but the recipient opens a front garden window instead and you have to faff about trying to get a photo while juggling the parcel and passing the parcel through the slightly open window because it's raining/cold and trying not to knock over the ornaments on the window ledge or tread in the dog poo below the window or tread on the daffodils and still not get them in the picture.

Same situation - but they've also got a babe in arms whilst trying to open the window and the hound of the baskervilles leaping up and down behind them.

Door is opened but again the Hound Of the Baskervilles is trying to say hello so you don't want to be anywhere near the door or bending down to place the parcel on the doorstep (recipients often see you coming and open the door trying to restrain the dog - it's all right it won't bite...)

Person is sat in their car on the driveway about to drive off, winds their window down and say's pass it here mate - you're trying to get a photo of the parcel and a hand without getting their face!

With all these situations the postie could stick rigidly to the rules and say 'No - you've got to find your keys/go back to your door/open it, make sure the dog is away and then I'll take a photo or else you're not getting your parcel, I'll write a card and attempt to re-deliver it tomorrow.'

There would be some very cheesed off customers and posties who would face harassment and abuse for doing the job correctly. We deliver to the whole strata of society and not all of our parcel recipients are as understanding and amiable as we would like them to be. I've been followed down the street by irate customers and had someone park their car diagonally across the front of my van to stop me moving off before to get a parcel and it's not a thing I expect when going to work. Even though the postie would be 'in the right' we're only human and don't want the hassle - often this means (as in your situation) we don't quite do things as we should do!

[Arty1973]

It’s been a week since I filed a complaint and I still haven’t had a reply back.

Does anyone know what the rules and policies are of proof of delivery photos? Are they permanently on file or is there a set time before the photos are removed and deleted?

I mentioned this to someone and he told me that proof of delivery photos are deleted after a few weeks with some courier companies but he wasn't sure about Royal Mail.

[Stinkycat22]

It’s been a week since I filed a complaint and I still haven’t had a reply back.

Does anyone know what the rules and policies are of proof of delivery photos? Are they permanently on file or is there a set time before the photos are removed and deleted?

I mentioned this to someone and he told me that proof of delivery photos are deleted after a few weeks with some courier companies but he wasn't sure about Royal Mail.

You won't know the outcome of any disciplinary action etc they might take. Just forget about the picture. No one is gonna be looking for it anyway. It's happened to me as well that I was photographed from behind whilst walking with the postie to the lift. You can see my whole body from behind in the pic. Didn't like it but was it worth me possibly causing serious problems to the postie? I didn't think so. No one will go and look at your pic. I suggest you just forget about it now.

[yellowbelly]

It’s been a week since I filed a complaint and I still haven’t had a reply back.

Does anyone know what the rules and policies are of proof of delivery photos? Are they permanently on file or is there a set time before the photos are removed and deleted?

I mentioned this to someone and he told me that proof of delivery photos are deleted after a few weeks with some courier companies but he wasn't sure about Royal Mail.

If you wish to pursue this, rather than going down the 'normal' complaint route I'd email the RM Data Protection Office directly (no phone number given):

For support relating to your personal-data rights, please contact our Information Rights and Governance Team at information.rights@royalmail.com

Information Rights and Governance Team
Royal Mail Group
Pond Street
SHEFFIELD
S98 6HR

[Aries91]

Apologies - I can see this post is old but felt relevant to my position and wondered if there was anything you can look for online to check your rights, a postmen delivered a parcel to me yesterday (I wasn’t expecting anything) and he pushed through my back garden (the bolt on my gate is dodgy so I out my large bin there do keep it closed) - I would’ve been ok with this as my safe place is to throw the parcel behind the gate or leave at the gate, however he ignored this and walked right through my years - which isn’t small, is enclosed and anywhere in there would be a safe place, he then approached my back door, went into my kitchen (I had no idea he was there as I was home alone upstairs) then out the parcel in my kitchen side then took a photo out the parcel isn’t the only thing in the photo, he had taken a forward scaring picture which has captured most of my kitchen to the other side where you can see my living room partially, it contains a lot of the area including personal things and personal things like my laundry that’s in a basket (which obviously has underwear which I don’t expect someone to see) and uploaded that to the tracking site - I was so disturbed that I was casually upstairs and there was a stranger in the kitchen and taking a photo and I had no idea/ I can’t see this being ok?

[yellowbelly]

Apologies - I can see this post is old but felt relevant to my position and wondered if there was anything you can look for online to check your rights, a postmen delivered a parcel to me yesterday (I wasn’t expecting anything) and he pushed through my back garden (the bolt on my gate is dodgy so I out my large bin there do keep it closed) - I would’ve been ok with this as my safe place is to throw the parcel behind the gate or leave at the gate, however he ignored this and walked right through my years - which isn’t small, is enclosed and anywhere in there would be a safe place, he then approached my back door, went into my kitchen (I had no idea he was there as I was home alone upstairs) then out the parcel in my kitchen side then took a photo out the parcel isn’t the only thing in the photo, he had taken a forward scaring picture which has captured most of my kitchen to the other side where you can see my living room partially, it contains a lot of the area including personal things and personal things like my laundry that’s in a basket (which obviously has underwear which I don’t expect someone to see) and uploaded that to the tracking site - I was so disturbed that I was casually upstairs and there was a stranger in the kitchen and taking a photo and I had no idea/ I can’t see this being ok?

Minor point - above you say you were alone in the house upstairs. In another post you say your daughter was in the living room but with headphones on?

From memory - when we take photos we are told not to capture the recipients face/kids or house/name.

Again IIRC we are told to make our own assessment to enter a private residence WHEN INVITED to assist when there is a heavy parcel/infirm person who needs help with a parcel. However I don't recall anything specifically that says don't enter a customers property - primarily because it's a given/common sense that you don't enter a customers house!


1. I believe if you contact RM with the tracking number of the item, date of delivery etc. the picture can be deleted - as it stands the only people that would be able to see it would have to have the tracking number and the delivery postcode to view it.

2. About the postie entering the house to take the picture - did the postie actually have to cross the threshold to place the parcel where they did and take the photo? I have frequently been able to place letters and packets on 'sides' where there's been an open door (when it's summer and people leave their doors open), without crossing the threshold rather than just dropping the items on the doormat (older folks are particularly bad at leaving their doors open with keys, wallet and phones on the side and they rarely hear me).

As you describe the situation, the postie has made a mistake if they crossed your threshold and/or included too much of the interior of your property in a photograph.

As to the question about 'your rights' - everybody has a right to privacy, but wouldn't think this was done with nefarious intentions, just bad judgement. It's up to you whether you want to take it beyond raising the issue beyond Royal Mail with getting lawyers involved with potential invasion of privacy, proving it etc.

[Aries91]

Hi thank you so much for the response, apologies for the confusion my meaning was I was the only adult home alone as it’s just me and my daughter.
The back door was open very slightly bit enough to enable the amount of detail taken in the photo / it’s a wide photo that’s captures a lot of my kitchen in which you would need to be behind the door to capture the inside as much as he had otherwise the door and wall would be in the photo - you are able to see my stove which is in the kitchen round to the right and not visible from the door step, I had not heard the front door and I had bolted the back gate, however the bit can be dodgy so I place my large recycling bin in front to prevent it opening. He would have not been able to just open the gate easily and it had been moved completely out of the way of the gate rather than behind it from being pushed away, I have my safe place in the app which has been in there a long time as I don’t change to it to leave by the gate or throw over the gate. He would then have had to by pass the rest of the yard and walk the Kieth to get to my back door. There was no knock at the back or any voice to acknowledge he was there so we were both completely unaware he was present in the house at the time. I was aware when I saw the door open wider and the parcel in the side.