Please use Royal Mail

Sod's law and poor observational comedians say that the second you step out of your house a parcel will be delivered. Nine times out of 10 this seems to be the case. The problem is getting worse as the number of packages we have delivered from online shopping increases.

The biggest problem is that online stores typically look for the cheapest delivery option and often end up using a courier company. Now, it may seem that anyone can stick a parcel in the back of a van and drive it to its destination, but it's what happens when you're out that counts.

Your typical courier company will tend to do one of three things. First, it might leave your parcel, which could contain expensive things, out in the open for anyone to steal. Secondly, it could leave it with a random neighbour that you've spoken to and then forget to tell you this has happened. Thirdly, and most commonly, it'll take your parcel away to a depot and ask you to phone to rearrange delivery.

This would be fine, but the courier company won't deliver on a Saturday and if it's during the week it could be any time on the day of delivery. More usually, it'll be anytime on the day after you've arranged delivery, so that you have to go through the whole process again.

You can ask it to redeliver somewhere else, but that's beyond the scope of its thinking and it will just return the parcel to the sender. Sometimes the courier company will let you come and pick the parcel up, provided you don't mind driving miles and miles to the middle of an industrial estate.

All-in-all, it's a pretty poor experience. So, why don't more online stores use Royal Mail? Say what you like about the Post Office, if you miss a delivery you can pick the parcel up in person from a nearby sorting office, pay 50p to have the parcel delivered to your nearest post office or have it redelivered on a day that suits you. Either way you look at it, it's a more flexible and less-annoying way to get stuff that you've bought delivered.