The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Perthshire folk hit by £2.4m postcode lottery
Demands to challenge ‘manifestly unfair’ rural delivery surcharges
Perthshire residents are forking out more than £2.4 million a year in online delivery surcharges.
A repor t by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre found people in Perthshire North were charged £1.4m more than other areas of the UK and those in Perthshire
South and Kinross-shire paid more than £1m.
In Mid Scotland and Fife, the figure is almost £3 million.
Whisky trader Ewan McIlwraith, right, of Robertsons of Pitlochry, said he has parcels sent to his home in Dunblane to avoid paying a Highland Perthshire delivery charge.
He said the fees were hitting businesses and the public. “The charges put people off,” he said.
Roseanna Cunningham, SNP MSP for Perthshire South and Kinross-shire, said it was time for the UK Government to regulate parcel deliveries. “People should not be penalised purely on postcode alone – it is manifestly unfair,” she said.
Online shopping d e l i v e r y surcharges for Per thsh ire residents total more than £2.4 million, a situation branded “manifestly unfair”.
The figures come as part of a report by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, published on Monday.
The report highlights that numerous Scottish Parliament constituencies are impacted by parcel delivery surcharges.
Shoppers in Perthshire North faced an additional cost of almost £ 1.4m – relative to other areas of the UK – while in Perthshire South and Kinross-shire, shoppers paid more than £1m.
Me a n w h i l e , in Mi d Scotland and Fife, the figure is almost £3m. Other areas of Tayside and Fife were not mentioned in the report.
It estimates the total additional cost of delivery surcharges to Scottish shoppers as being £43.1m
– a rise of £6.7m over the past three years.
Ewan McIlwraith, of Robertsons of Pitlochry, which stocks whiskies and gins from across the UK, said he has parcels sent to his home in Dunblane to avoid paying a Highland Perthshire delivery charge.
He added: “I would think that places should look where businesses are and realise some are not that remote.
“If you are in Perth, it is not that far to come to other areas of Perthshire.”
Mr McIlwraith believes excess delivery fees will also put shoppers o ff buying online.
He said: “The charges would put people off as they would not pay that.”
Roseanna Cunningham MSP, who represents the Pe r t h s h i r e South and Kinross-shire constituency, said: “It is absolutely ridiculous that people in Pe r t h s h i r e South and Kinross-shire are having to pay over the odds for deliveries – more than a £1m more than others in
Scotland and elsewhere in the UK.
“At present, it is up to the UK Government to regulate parcel delivery but they refuse to do so, despite all the evidence and the charges continue to skyrocket. People should not be penalised purely on postcode alone – it is manifestly unfair.”
John Swinney, MSP for Perthshire North, said the situation is “hugely unfair”, adding: “Over the course of the pandemic, the people of Perthshire will have been forced to turn mo r e frequently to online shopping.
“For them to be penalised based solely on their postcode is not acceptable.
“It is past time that there is UK-wide action taken to ensure that this practice is eradicated.”
In response to the MSPs’ concerns, the UK Government said it is “working with consumer groups to assess what more can be done to protect remote communities”.