Imagine helping a neighbor only for them to start rudely demanding things from you.

In this man’s case, he helped his neighbor with a heavy parcel once, and now she is demanding he drop his own responsibilities to carry her parcels to her house whenever she asks.

He refused and now everyone thinks he is being unneighborly.

Let’s analyze the situation.

AITA for not taking neighbor’s parcel?

Background: I (33, M) have one child (5, M), for whom I share custody with my ex.

I currently live in a 2-bed rental on a quiet street with a row of only 5 other houses along our road.

I live on the end of the row.

About 6 months ago, I took in a package delivered for the house at the other end of the row.

He was being a good neighbor.

The package was a heavy box, containing a bag of dog food.

Later that evening, the neighbor (38, F) came to pick it up.

I know she lives alone and offered to carry it for her.

She accepted the offer and thanked me, and as I carried it to hers she kept commenting on the fact that I was being a ‘gentleman’ and it was good to see a ‘big strong man’ in action.

Wow. He wasn’t impressed, though.

Bit weird but meh, whatever – I’m not that big/strong, although I do go to the gym a few times a week to keep myself in shape.

When I got it to hers, she insisted I come in for a glass of water and kept me there for an hour, just chattering on.

The same delivery has come (to me) every month since then.

In the evening, she comes to collect, and I carry it over to hers.

Each time, she will try to chatter away at me (inside the house, if she can coax me in; or on the doorstep if I can find an excuse not to go in).

Basically, a ‘he fed the cat once and now the cat wants to move in’ type of situation.

Then last month, when she came to collect the package, my son was home with me.

I couldn’t take the box up to her as I was making his dinner.

She complained that it was too heavy to carry herself and that it would only take a few minutes.

I refused, but offered to bring it up later that evening.

She pouted and huffed and went home.

They sound like a couple already.

Half hour later she posted a note through the door with her mobile number on it and asked me to message when I could bring it.

I had to feed my son, give him his bath, play with him, put him to bed…

Once I’d done all that, I finally messaged her.

She didn’t reply until the next day, telling me she had been tired and fallen asleep.

But it wasn’t over…

Then a few hours later she sent through a long, rambling TIRADE.

She told me I should have helped, that I was selfish.

That I obviously hadn’t wanted to help her as I could have asked her to stay with my son while I carried it (fair point, though it just didn’t occur to me in that moment).

She also said that if I really wanted to help her I would have messaged her earlier.

This was all sprinkled with some very colorful language.

His help was now seen as an obligation.

I was in complete shock.

I apologized and said I would bring it to her that evening, which I then did.

Last week, the day came again for that parcel to arrive.

And this time I refused to take it.

She came banging on the door later in the evening and screamed at me for not taking the package, that she now had to find a way to get it from the company depot and that it was going to cost her a fortune.

And it soon became gossip.

Now everyone along the street knows about it.

Another neighbor (58, M) has made it clear that he thinks I’m in the wrong and has threatened to complain to my landlord about my “un-neighborly behaviour”.

I really don’t think I’m in the wrong here.

AITA?

Just because he could, it doesn’t mean it’s his obligation to pick up her package every single time.

Let’s see how Reddit feels about this.

A reader shares their thoughts.

Yup.

Someone makes a suggestion.

Another reader chimes in.

Exactly.

What happened to being upfront about things?

“No good deed goes unpunished” is a popular saying for a reason.

She is taking advantage of him and possibly has ulterior motives.

If you enjoyed that story, read this one about a mom who was forced to bring her three kids with her to apply for government benefits, but ended up getting the job of her dreams.