well that's the thing, I'm using strict & warnings, and I've tested it extensively using localhost, dumping the messages to the browser instead of using $msg->send. There's absolutely no difference in the output if I play around with the addresses in this environment.

Now that it's on the real server, I pass the email address to send to in the form, so by changing the address I can see it working (for my email address) and not working (for my hotmail address and the address I want to send to).

The script thinks everything is hunkydory, but then, my only check is this: $msg->send   || do { $error ='unsent'; return; };

it looks like I shall have to pester Frankfurt Dirk for the sendmail configuration, because (hubris/a yet worse sin) I'm damned if it's my script. This time.