Who Is That Stranger Going Into Your Home?

Would you let a total and complete stranger, who you knew absolutely nothing about, someone that not only you didn’t know, but you don’t know anybody who knows this stranger, into your home? The answer to that question is probably no. And yet, when it comes to deliveries or services from large companies, we do and allow this all the time.

The Fallacy of Big Companies and Security

In part we allow this because of the sense of security that we tend to have for big companies.

We assume that if Comcast or City Furniture are delivering something that they know the delivery people, review who they are, have a history with them, and that these large companies would only work with delivery people who they knew to be safe.

But that is hardly how it works. What you may not realize is that those reputable, big box companies, actually are not the ones delivering whatever you bought from them. Many of these companies contract out with third party delivery companies.

These big box retailers often do little or no investigation into the companies that make their deliveries, and the delivery companies themselves may be small, fly by night, or unreliable. They may not do background checks on the people that they are putting in your home to make a delivery or do an installation.

Injuries and Fatalities

Catastrophe does happen. In 2018, in Florida, an elderly woman was burned alive by a driver delivering from electronics store Best Buy. Turns out the driver delivering goods was not actually a Best Buy employee, but rather, an employee of a smaller company. He was on cocaine when he murdered the woman, and had a criminal record which Best Buy contends it knew nothing about.

In Chicago, an installer installing Comcast Cable, was charged with the sexual assault and murder of multiple people whose homes the killer had entered, while installing the cable. Later it was learned that the killer was not actually a Comcast employee, but rather an employee of a smaller company, Premier Cable Communications, which had a contract with Comcast to do installations.

Staying Safe

When having an in-home delivery, you may want to ask what company is actually doing the deliveries, to see if it is a company that you trust. If you can avoid it, try not to be alone, by yourself, when a delivery or installation happens, and try to remain in an area of your home that you could escape, if necessary.

Big Companies are Still Liable

Although many big companies use smaller, third party delivery companies, that doesn’t mean the big box companies that use these delivery companies can’t be sued or liable—they certainly can. Large companies that are placing installers or delivery drivers in their homes, do have a legal obligation to take measures to avoid putting customers at risk.

Call the Knoxville personal injury lawyers at Fox Farley Willis & Burnette, PLLC, today if you have been injured by someone from a large company, or by someone you have allowed into your home.

Sources:

chicago.suntimes.com/2016/5/4/18392071/former-comcast-worker-guilty-of-killing-second-woman#:~:text=The%20body%20of%20Ordidge%2C%2039,detectives%20for%20the%20Ordidge%20murder.

wpbf.com/article/florida-jorge-lachazo-murder-trial-interrogation-video/42657986