Ah, more of the fine print.

Earlier this week, I receive an email notice that a package would be delivered via UPS the following day. The notice said it would be delivered in the afternoon between 12:30 and 4:30.

Thinking that I might have a scheduling conflict, I applied online for a shorter, two-hour delivery window. There’s an $8 charge.

After entering your payment info, it appeared to be locked in. According to the UPS website, I now had a “confirmed delivery window.”

Well, the window came and went. I went back to the website, and it still says “confirmed.”

Then I noticed the little blue question mark. I clicked it.

Surprise! Fine print.

“Your payment card will be charged upon successfully delivery of your package.”

Ah. In other words, there’s nothing confirmed about your delivery window. If we happen to get it there during the front half of the original window, we’ll charge you eight bucks. If we don’t, is there still an $8 fee? Don’t know. But what’s clear is that there’s really no guarantee of that “confirmed” delivery time.

Oh. The package was delivered about 7:30 p.m. That was about five hours after the end of the “confirmed” delivery window.

Live and learn.