I don't think that Royal Mail would have left the package with a neighbor, because there was 11.79 GBP in fees/VAT due. (That's about 18 USD.)
We learned years ago not to use FedEx or UPS for international shipments, because if the customer refused to pay the fees, WE would get stuck with it. And their fees are higher. Yes, you do get great package tracking, but at quite a cost.
Trouble is... we had to pay our mailman $13.45 when he brought the package back to us!