Registered letters have become extortionately costly in Belgium (around €10). So to save money I make hand-deliveries and request recipients sign for it. I have no idea if this ad hoc proof of delivery would meet courtroom standards of evidence. But I’m fine with the risk.

The recipients are not natural people. It’s always companies, orgs, and gov agencies. It mostly works as far as getting the signature. Most receptions treat me like bPost.

But there are exceptions. A gov agency refused to sign for a letter. Since I was not wearing bPost swag, they were alienated and said “we don’t do that… that is not how we work… send an e-mail”. I said “what if I send this by bPost registered letter? Would you accept it or refuse it?” They said they would accept that because I have to pay bPost. That’s bizarre, is it not?

I realise some people are like robots. They want every task to be in their job description. They want everything scripted. And if an unfamiliar request or situation arises, they’re like “nope, can’t do it… that job is not on my list so I cannot handle it”. Because of this, I sometimes have to go through a few people. But in the case at hand 3 different staff independently confidently refused to sign for the letter.

So the question is, is this legal? The sketchy legal theory I am envisioning is that this is kind of like bundling. That is, they are imposing a 3rd-party purchase on their otherwise free reception service. I wonder if anti-competition law can be stretched in this way. So I also wonder if there are any more direct laws that require gov offices and companies to sign for deliveries when asked.