Yesterday, Evri said it was investigating after sackfuls of parcels were found dumped... but there was a time not so long ago when next-day delivery was a far-fetched concept.

Columnist Chris Britcher looks back at life when the high street thrived and his Mexico 1986 World Cup postcard collection took a month to turn up.

I placed an order with a company recently which promised delivery in "one to three days". As I stood empty-handed on day seven, I was on the verge of notifying my lawyers.

Had I become a victim of an elaborate scam? Had I been duped? No. I was merely impatient. It arrived on day eight.

A terse email from me the day before had been met with a reassuring response that the company in question had just been incredibly busy and they apologised for the delay. Fair enough. But still... eight days?

Now, had I told my 15-year-old self that eight day delivery was now perceived as shocking customer service worthy of losing several stars off any review, he would have scoffed.

Because it wasn't so long ago (well, it seems that way to me) that anything purchased via mail order (online ordering was a mere flight of sci-fi fancy back in the late 1980s) would take, so the small print informed you, 28 days.

That's four weeks.

When you're young and sending your postal order (a somewhat archaic paper version of PayPal... Google informs me they still exist) or cheque into the mail system, it normally represented the sum of saved up pocket money or cash you received for your birthday. In short, it was a big investment.

And the thought of four agonising weeks waiting for the goods to return was hard to stomach.

'How long could a man wait for his T'Pau fan club membership pack, or Mexico 1986 World Cup postcard and stamp collection, for goodness sake?'

How long could a man wait for his T'Pau fan club membership pack, or Mexico 1986 World Cup postcard and stamp collection, for goodness sake?

It should be said, too, that mail order firms didn't think to themselves - 'oh, we'll cash this the day we get it and get the goods in the post pronto'... no... they would wait it out until almost day 28. If not a couple after just to really hammer home the agony.

Which meant weeks of excitedly running when the letter box flapped signifying the postman had visited, only to stare at a door mat boasting a selection of bills for my parents.

When the package finally did arrive it was, invariably, somewhat disappointing and not quite what the glossy adverts had promised. And I'm not just talking about that fan club pack.

Because during those four weeks you built up the excitement to near vein-popping intensity. Reality so rarely delivers on high expectations. It was a valuable lesson learned.

No wonder, then, the high street reigned supreme.

Get on your bike and you could snap up that book or album you wanted and have it back home as quick as your little legs could carry you.

All of which may explain why, for so many of us, the concept of next-day delivery for online purchases still retains a level of magic which will be lost on the younger generation.

My son ordered something at 7.30pm the other night. By noon it was on our doorstep. That almost beats the cycling method in terms of efficient delivery.

No wonder, then, the high street has undergone such dramatic changes. It simply can no longer compete when it comes to pure ease and convenience (however good for my health a four-mile cycle round trip would be).

And, of course, after years of getting used to such speedy service, we come to expect - nay, demand - it.

What's more, we now, as consumers, have an almighty amount of power to wield when it comes to voicing our displeasure.

From an easy email complaining, to rating a company on Google, to leaving scathing reviews or spreading social media distrust in a business.

It's rarely very fair (how often do you see people on a community Facebook site slating a takeaway for not being on time or a shop for having a surly assistant? Don't tell us people, just sort it out between yourselves/don't be so sensitive, perhaps they were just having a bad day) but we now have mechanisms in our own hands with which we can escalate issues.

As for my eight day wait? On reflection, I felt a little bad, if truth be told. I've been spoiled.

Not to mention the fact that ruddy T'Pau membership pack took forever to arrive and it was rubbish.