I have memories, clouded by sorrow

Latest twist in the postal saga: my package arrived today. The woman downstairs signed for it, apparently, but made no mention of having to pay any fee. Said fee is marked on the package but there is no sign of anyone having paid it. Bizarre.

I asked my 'good friends' at PostWatch if they had an opinion on ParcelForce's 'clearance fees', and was told that they 'could not provide' me with that information. Hmmm.

Apparently that package I ordered from the USA had a 'delivery attempt' at 12:10am today. That is obviously untrue so I don't know what it actually means. I see no calling card. Nor do I know where the item is being kept, or if they'll attempt a redelivery. I emailed USPS but they emailed right back saying I had to phone them. It's an 1-800 number, which may well be free over there, but certainly will not be free from here. I have no idea if the USPS operates here or if they contract out the delivery to someone else, and if so, who. Also, this delivery took at least 11 days, when the delivery type I paid for should have been 4-6 days. What's the point of paying £20/$38 if it's going to take 8 days to cross the Atlantic?

In related news, I finally got some sort of apology out of Royal Mail, but that's an update for another time.