Excited at the propect of receiving my new camera yesterday, I worked through lunch and rushed home an hour early. My delight was shortlived, as on arriving at my house no parcel was found. "Well, maybe they delayed sending it... or something", I thought.

So I rang the depot to check. According to their records it had been delivered and signed for.
Then I checked my neighbours, all of them, even the ones I've never spoken to before - none of them had it. So... who was this mystery person who'd signed for my stuff?
The depot could not tell me who signed for it, as the cards were in a locked cupboard, however if I cared to call back tomorrow, they should be able to tell me.

So, last night, I firstly attempted to submit a signature request for my parcel on the Royal Mail website - only the form submission didn't work, so I then submitted a complaint form, telling them the form did not work - and that (at least) seemed to go through.

Then this morning I called the complaint line at Royal Mail only to be told that the sender has to issue a request for a signature and that the sender has to put in for a claim for compensation.
Fine.... annoying, but fine as I could have told the sender this yesterday. However it still does not answer my question.... "Who signed for the damned thing?" Umm? and why on earth was it given to someone who clearly does not know me in favour of sending it back to the depot, where I would have happily gone to collect it last night? Why the rush to deliver it? Where's the fire?

After my call to the complaint department on the main number I then rang the depot back. The lady I spoke to had no idea what the guy was on about to me last night, but would look into it for me, she did however say a number of times that no one had told her about this missing parcel. "Great.... oh just great", I thought. So I asked her to find the postman that did the round yeaterday and find out exactly where this parcel got delivered to. She said she would try, and call me later.

So... it's now a couple of minutes to 9am and then I will relay the happy news to the sender and take it from there.

You can probably tell I am less than impressed by the turn of events.
Watch this space.

EDIT: As of 10am
I spoke to someone else at the depot and aparently on the "track & trace" website a status of "Delivered before 12pm and signed for" doesn't always actually mean "Delivered to recipient before 12pm and signed for" . I'm told it's entirely possible that the depot received it after the postman had left for his round and that actually the "Delivered before 12pm and signed for" means that the depot are in receipt of it. So bascially "Track & Trace" means diddly....

As of 10:20
Ok, as I was typing this I've just heard back from the depot and my hopes have been dashed again. It was delivered "somewhere" yesterday, so he's going to collar the postman when he returns, which will be around lunchtime and find out what he did with it. *sigh*

And here's a scary statistic that just accured to me, that you may wish to ponder on for a moment... We get to find out only about the items that have to be signed for, because we are expecting them, but how much of our standard, non-trackable mail suffers a similar fate?

Update:
A nice chap from the depot called and gave me the details of the signature as best as he could. (Nope, no one I know). It's unlikely he'll get to speak to the postman until tomorrow (Though, I also have his name now). He's just as intrigued as I am as to why it was given out instead of it being brought back. I'm being sent a photocopy of the signature, though what use that will be I fail to see, I've never even heard of the person. My gut felling is that it went to the right number, but wrong street. Now I have to play "the waiting game" again.

As of 9:30am 7th March:
The manager had a word with the postman and found out that it was delivered to the correct street but for reasons which I still haven't fathomed out, it was given to No. 7 instead of No. 8. Now that wouldn't be so bad if 7 & 8 were actually close to one another, but they aren't. No.7 is at the other end of the road. If the Post Office haven't managed to retrieve it by the time I get home I'm going 'round there myself.