I got an email in response to ordering something on-line that told me "Your order has been shipped and will be delivered to you within the next few days. You can check on the status of your order 9999 at any time by clicking on http:link."

So, eager to find out where it had got to in this fiendish weather, I clicked on the link and up came a Royal Mail page saying "Recorded signed for items are only tracked after the item has been delivered........Please try again later."

Are they serious?