People keep ringing my doorbell because I live in the first flat of the building, is this normal?

7 comments

1. This is not normal and would annoy the absolute fuck out of me. Do your flat buzzers have the ability to put names next to them? If not, I’d ask your building management if they could put up a sign saying to ONLY buzz the flat required, or put one up yourself but make it look formal. Good luck!

2. Most delivery men will always try the buzzers from bottom to top. I did this as the bottom flats tend to be older people or those with disabilities so are more likely to be in and in a lot of cases the flat that’s happy to take parcels. As for guests to other flats they are just being a holes. As another comment said, put a sign up asking to press the flat that they are going to.

3. It can be somewhat normal but annoying as fuck and is largely the result of lazy people, or delivery drivers being so rushed they don’t have time to properly check addresses, they’ll just buzz all the flats in the hope someone answers so they can offload the parcel and get on with the next one.

   A note on the door might help, especially for visitors. I’d also try ignoring the buzzer completely when working, if you’re not expecting anything. Just because you get buzzed doesn’t mean you have to answer the door, and regular delivery drivers might start to cotton on that you won’t answer.

   I have a similar issue – the number flat I live in is the same as the number of the building in the street (I.e. I’m in flat 23, the building is 23 Street name) and the amount of delivery drivers who only see 23 Street name and then assume it’s for flat 23 drives me up the wall. Luckily we have an intercom so if we’re not expecting a delivery we’ll ask the delivery drivers to check the number/who it’s addressed to before we go down.

   Best one was a takeaway driver who insisted we take in the Chinese order he was delivering. We’d explained it wasn’t ours, but he incessantly pressed the buzzer until my partner went down to talk to him. Came back upstairs with a bag of Chinese food – figured at that point any complaints from the actual customer would be their problem to solve.

4. Make a little label saying ‘Flat 1 only, I WORK NIGHTS’

5. I’d guess that one or more of your neighbour’s buzzers isn’t working, they can’t hear it, actually aren’t in, or they can’t be bothered answering. So the visitors start ringing the other flats hoping to be let in and since yours is first you get most of it.

   Are all of the buzzers labelled properly? If not you can label them.

   I live in a flat in a pretty good area so we just leave the main door unlocked all the time which solves almost all of these types of problems- you could try that.

   Maybe ask them over the intercom which flat they are looking for and when they say something other than yours you tell them they have the wrong flat and you can’t let them in. If you feel like you need to give a reason say something like because of security/vandalism/insurance/landlord says so.

   But really, you shouldn’t be buzzing in people you don’t know or aren’t for you. They could be anybody and defeats the purpose of having a door entry system.

6. Disconnect your buzzer and get your mates to call you up.
   Or, next time someones just leans on the buzzer, open the door and lamp them

7. I would never buzz them in, no matter what. They will only come back and use you number again next time.