Clampdown on misleading delivery charge adverts
NEWS that the Advertising Standards Authority is to clamp down on misleading claims around parcel deliveries to remote and rural areas has been welcomed.
Argyll and Bute and Highlands and Islands consumers are often subject to additional charges to have goods delivered, though some retailers do not make surcharges clear and upfront in their advertising.
The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP), which is part of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) regulator, has now issued an ‘enforcement notice on advertised delivery restrictions and surcharges’ which is applicable to all advertisers across the UK with immediate effect. It rules that adverts which ‘mislead on parcel delivery and surcharge practices’ have been banned, forcing companies to be open with consumers from the outset as to how much they will need to pay in delivery costs for goods.
According to research from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe), those living in the Highlands and Islands pay an estimated £33.4 million more in delivery charges each year.
Argyll and Bute MP Brendan O'Hara welcomed news of the enforcement notice to force firms to be more transparent.
The practice of advertising ‘free UK delivery’, but then adding charges for remote areas late in the ordering process, may now be subject to enforcement action. This includes legal proceedings against any companies which persist with this practice beyond the May 31 deadline.
Mr O’Hara said: ‘This is a significant first step in the fight against unfair delivery charges for many of us in Argyll and Bute. It’s high time this step was taken by the regulator.
‘Free UK delivery should be free UK delivery. Why should so many people in Argyll and Bute pay so much more for delivery than anywhere else in the UK?
‘I sincerely hope those retailers and their couriers sit up and take notice of consumers in more rural parts of Scotland. This has been a sharp practice, misleading and discriminatory to non-urban consumers.
‘More still needs to be done and in the three years I have been the Member of Parliament, this issue has come up time and time again. It’s beyond belief some firms don’t classify mainland Scotland as mainland UK.
‘Ultimately, if companies truly value their customers in rural and northern Scotland, they shouldn’t be discriminating when it comes to delivering goods.’
Argyll and Bute MSP Michael Russell also welcomed the news.
He said: ‘My colleague Richard Lochhead has been fighting a strong campaign against discrimination on delivery charges and I am more than aware of the real difficulty this causes through Argyll and Bute.
‘I have been providing him with information and evidence from across the area and I am glad the Advertising Standards Authority is now indicating it will not tolerate deceitful and inaccurate advertising on the matter.
‘Good as this is, there is much more to be done and I will continue to press for fair charges from every retailer which take account of real costs, not imaginary distances or complete ignorance of where customers actually live.’