Is This Trespass?

[Bigbad]

A few days ago I phoned and paid for a delivery of domestic heating oil.
The company were supposed to text me the day before delivery, so that I could unbolt one of the side gates.
I didn’t get a text, but today I got the delivery.

I have two side gates with bolts at the top and the bottom, and 2 electric gates leading on to the property from the road. All gates are tall and solid wood and you cannot see into the back of the property from the road.
The top bolt on one gate has been opened, obviously by someone reaching over the top, but wouldn’t open because of the unreachable bottom bolt.

I have absolutely no idea how he got himself (and his hose) onto my property, but this has rather spooked me knowing that there was someone in my garden whilst I was indoors, and I didn’t know that he was there, nor how he got there. (I’m very rural with only one near neighbour, but not near enough to bother about).

I intend phoning the company in the morning, and really, all I want is to make them understand how wrong I think this is, but if I could mention any legal reasons why it shouldn’t have happened, then they may take me seriously.

Thanks.

[naomi24]

Frankly, if you have high gates, short of putting something like barbed wire across the top of them - which could be cut anyway - anyone who wants to climb over will climb over. Very few homes are 100% secure.

[Bigbad]

O.K.
Broken glass and razor wire on top of the gates it is then!

[SnookerPlayer]

Good luck with the postman or any other delivery service, lol.

[Smowball]

Ah sorry I didn't see that. That explains it.

[Buenchico]

https://www.askthe.police.uk/content/Q78.htm

;-)

[Bigbad]

Snooker-Player, just in case you hadn’t noticed, the postie or couriers don’t need to go any further than the front door.

Divebuddy and Buenchico, I was being facetious: Naomi is correct at 17:11 about few homes being 100% secure.

Had there been a ’person sized’ gap to squeeze through, and knowing a delivery was due this week, then I wouldn’t have minded, but I did. So if folks are happy for this to happen to them, then that’s their choice, but to me climbing to get on private property is wrong. (Emergency situations excepted, of course).

[naomi24]

Bigbad, so if you discover that it is actually 'trespass', what do you intend to do about it? Sue the oil company, or just create bad feeling by moaning at them because their man assumed he was helping you by getting your oil tank filled in the middle of January? Either way, you won't be top of their list of delivery priorities in future. I think you should think about this a bit more.

[Bigbad]

Divebuddy.
What would stop it then?
CCTV only shows what happened, it doesn’t stop it happening.

Besides which, just because one person climbed over the gate, I’m not gonna start panicking and think it’ll become a regular occurrence.

Naomi, please don’t be so patronising.
I stated this morning that I wouldn’t be contacting the company after all, and what on earth makes you think I would sue someone for such a minor offence?
We can’t be sure the delivery guy was being ‘helpful’ and if a company chose not to take my money any more, then I would be happy to go elsewhere.

Jeez, am I supposed to apologise for not being happy about not knowing there was a stranger in the garden?

[naomi24]

Bigbad, I didn’t see your post this morning. I know we can’t be sure that the man was trying to be helpful but I can't think of another reason he'd take the trouble of climbing over your gate to deliver your oil. I’m willing to guess he’d rather not climb over gates to access oil tanks. It wasn’t my intention to patronise you but since I live in the country and know how important it is to maintain good relations with suppliers I was simply trying to help you. My mistake.

[Canary42]

CCTV would show how he got in. And if it includes an alarm, it would alert you so you could call the police. It is also a deterrent in many cases.

[Tilly2]

Bigbad, if that had happened to me, I would ring the company and ask how the delivery man got access to my property. I would want to know,so that I could do something about it.

Give them a ring. It might ease your fears.

[Bigbad]

Fair enough, naomi, but good relations cut both ways, and with the oil industry in free fall and alternative energies on the rise, can they afford to lose a customer?
Not that it’s likely to happen on this occasion, but if it happened again, I would go elsewhere.

Canary, as I said earlier, this isn’t going to send me into a paranoid frenzy of installing state-of-the-art technology, getting a couple of Rottweilers and taking kung-fu lessons. (No need - I have a baseball bat somewhere)! But thanks anyway.