The answer to that question is debatable!

The Royal Mail offer a recorded signed for deliver service

The say:

If you have an important item to deliver, our recorded signed for service gives you complete peace of mind with proof of posting and an electronic copy of the signature available online

They say:

Excellent value.  You just pay for recorded signed for plus the cost of a first or second class postage

They say:

We make sure we get a signature from whoever receives the item, but bear in mind that this may not be the person named on the address label.  If there's nobody available to sign for the item and the item is not collected or redelivery rearranged within 7 calendar days, we return your mail free, with a note saying why we can't deliver it.  On the rare occasions that we don't get a signature for any other reasons, we'll refund your money

Sounds great doesn't it?  Then how come we have received FIVE recorded delivery items in the last year, which have either been left in our outbuilding and a note popped through the door, or just pushed through the letterbox - and NO SIGNATURE REQUIRED ON ANY OF THEM!  Does that sound rare to you?

Do we receive thousands of recorded delivery items a year, meaning this would be a small percentage?  NO WE DON'T!  We have received possibly 20 recorded delivery items in the last year at the very most

One of the items we purchased was via ebay, my partner purchased it and being honest people, we contacted the seller and informed them that we had received the item but had not had to sign for it.  But for a dishonest buyer, this would be a wonderful opportunity to get something free!

So my question to you is - are you really getting the service you are paying for?  Maybe you want to start doing a few 'spot checks' if you use recorded delivery to find out!

I hope that you find this useful, and if so, please remember to vote yes!