Plus £43m postage! New row over delivery rip-offs
SCOTS shoppers are spending more than ever on rip- off delivery fees despite efforts to end them.
Surcharges for deliveries to the more remote parts of the country totalled £43million this year, up from £40million last year, research shows.
The rise comes despite dozens of enforcement notices being issued by the Advertising Standards Authority on surcharges to areas such as parts of the Highlands.
Research by the Scottish parliament found that companies often advertise free delivery to customers in areas such as Moray, Aberdeenshire and the islands but add extra costs to deliver to some postcodes.
Similar research by Citizens Advice Scotland also found that residents of rural postcodes pay at least 30 per cent more on average for delivery.
Figures released earlier this year show that over the past three years Scots have been charged more than £100million in rural delivery fees.
The Scottish Daily Mail’s End the Delivery Rip- Offs campaign has long called for an end to exorbitant delivery prices for rural areas such as the Highlands and Islands. In July we revealed that a furniture retailer in Coventry justified its £1,000 delivery charge for a £76 chair to parts of northern Scotland, claiming it was there to put people off.
Now the Advertising Standards Authority has revealed it received 40 complaints this year about firms backtracking on free delivery pledges once online customers reveal they are from the north.
Moray MSP Richard Lochhead and Moray MP Douglas Ross have campaigned on the issue amid concerns residents are being ripped off. Mr Lochhead said: ‘Christmas this year will be tough enough for many families without having unfair delivery charges slapped on them as well.
‘This year, more than ever, people have relied on online shopping to keep themselves and their families safe, but they should not be penalised because of where they live. I know this has been a difficult year for retailers, but consumers should not be punished.’
The Advertising Standards Authority has said in all the cases reported to them, which were pursued, the retailer amended its website to indicate surcharges apply to some postcodes.
No further action was taken against any of the firms.
One resident reported a case to Mr Ross, which involved a Fife-based distiller charging to deliver to Spey Bay, near Fochabers, in his constituency, while offering to send a bottle to Cornwall for free.
Mr Ross said: ‘We should not be punished by these firms simply because of where we live and the fact that the surcharge wasn’t mentioned on the company’s website showed they were clearly in breach of the guidelines businesses have to work to.’