Royal Mail postman told to 'blacklist' Tesla driver after 'aggressive' move

[TrueBlueTerrier]

https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/mot ... t-11038138

A Royal Mail postman was told to "blacklist" a customer from getting deliveries after an awkward parking dispute that kicked off when the postal worker parked in the Tesla driver's spot

A postman has been urged to blacklist a customer following an "aggressive" parking incident.

Parking remains a divisive matter, particularly when driveways are used without permission, access to spaces is blocked, or parking bays are occupied by unauthorised users.

However, a postman, recently appointed to the role, received quite a surprise when he arrived at a block of flats to deliver a parcel and "stopped in the nearest available parking space", only to discover his red Royal Mail van trapped by a Tesla upon his return.

He was forced to wait half an hour for the Tesla owner to emerge and move his vehicle so the Royal Mail employee could continue with the remainder of his shift.

Under Section 86 of the Postal Services Act 2000, it's an offence to deliberately obstruct a postal worker, such as a Royal Mail postman, while carrying out their duties.

In an ironic turn of events, the parcel being delivered actually belonged to the Tesla driver. The Royal Mail employee turned to Reddit to enquire whether being "blocked by a car while delivering" was "normal".

He elaborated: "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 described how the Tesla driver "didn't want to come out at first" but "after about 30 minutes", he eventually emerged and moved his car.

According to the Royal Mail worker, he questioned the Tesla driver about why he'd been blocked in but received no response and was simply "ignored".

He continued: "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 eager to share their views on the incident. One person commented: "30 minutes? All his parcels are RTS [return to sender]. He can come pick them up if he wants them."

Another concurred: "And his mail, blacklist his address for aggressive behaviour".

A third responded: "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 an alternative view, one person commented: "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."

And another said: "I understand why people can get funny about 'outsiders' taking limited private parking slots. But to do that to the postman is insane".

Meanwhile, 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 concluded: "I never got issues with residential parking in other areas, and the residents were nice and grateful."

[Mr Rush]

Ah, another fantastic reprint-comments-from-online article. MBE's in the post for the author.

a postman, recently appointed to the role

Who was that by, His Majesty himself? Dan, I mean.