Dave Plowman (News) says...
Or bother ringing the bell to check if anyone is in.


Unfortunately that is common practice here in France with
the state postal service "La Poste". If I ever get anything
that needs signing for or is too big to fit in the mail box
at the end of our drive, the postman just leaves a card
with a tick against "you were out". Idle sods. Too much
trouble to walk a few yards up the drive and ring the
doorbell. So I have a five mile drive into town to pick the
items up. I tried reporting this laziness but just get the
Gallic shrug and "It's normal". Nobody could care less as
it's state run.
--
David in Normandy