Parcelfarce, the petition

Another angry customer - villainously angry, even - is petitioning the PM to make Parcelforce accountable to its customers. Now, I'm no great believer in the power of petitions, but I am very impressed that he's making the effort to pursue the bastards. I too am very angry, and I would really like to believe that it might be possible to change things through the power of Righteous Wrath.

Please, if you live in the UK, go and sign this. Even if through some miracle you haven't had the appalling experiences that so many Parcelforce customers victims have had. We're just asking for accountability - I'm sure you can agree that should be a given. But it's not, since Parcelforce - despite being a branch of Royal Mail Group - is "not a licensed operator" and so not accountable to Postcomm. Or, apparently, anyone.

[A loud, long, lingering scream, echoing into the void] goes here

Parcelforce.

Parcelforceparcelforceparcelforce.

*sob*

Edit: Mirabile dictu! Parcelforce has delivered to me, quite unexpectedly, the very same box that they still claim is sitting in their Coventry hub with "address problems" (since 30 April), and that they assured me they couldn't possibly do anything about without a query being raised by the US sender. Of course, they had previously lied to the USPS and told them the package was delivered on 1 May, so the sender was unable to raise a query. Oh what a tangled web they weave. Seriously, the delivery of this box in no way absolves them of their previous screw-ups - in fact it adds an interesting new layer of deceit and incompetence - but hey: I have my box. I don't have to take it all quite so personally any more.

In other news, apparently Parcelforce is "not a licensed postal operator" and hence doesn't fall under Postwatch's remit. How does that work? Parcelforce is the national carrier, inasmuch as they work hand-in-glove with Royal Mail and the Post Office, their websites and call centres are closely interlinked, and, well, when you post a package overseas using your country's national carrier, it gets handed over to Parcelforce on arrival in the UK. How can it not be a licensed operator? It seems we have the worst of both worlds: the inefficiency of a monopoly, with the lack of accountability of a private company.

Parcelforce just almost made me cry...

...from which we can deduce two things.

1. The world still turns, gravity is still operational, chocolate is still fattening and Parcelforce is still The Devil.

2. I am either premenstrual or getting a cold. Possibly both.

Meanwhile, in a part of the internet that I love very, very much, bad things are happening. Which is making trouble for the incredibly cool people who made this incredibly cool site, and is sullying the incredible coolness. (Not an awful lot. Just a bit. But still.) Which also makes me want to cry, a bit, although I am not personally involved in the spat. (Although I could be if I wanted to, and do have very strong opinions on the matter.)

I think I need to go and get me some hot chocolate and other adiposity enhancers. It's the only way.