Where’s Santa? Charity warns of gift delays
Half of British adults have had problems with parcel deliveries in lockdown, Citizens Advice research reveals.
The biggest problem was lateness, the Uk-wide poll found, with almost one in three customers facing delays.
It is feared those problems will get worse as courier firms face delivering an extra 200 million online orders for Christmas. The closure of non-essential high street stores across 11 Scottish council areas until December 11 means thousands more customers will shop for presents online this year.
There are doubts that courier firms will be able to cope, and Amazon last week issued a warning to customers, urging them to get their festive orders in early.
Citizens Advice said nearly one in five people who experienced a parcel issue suffered some sort of financial loss, with 40% of those losing over £20. Policy manager Tracey Reilly said Scottish consumers were more likely to face unfair charges: “Over one million Scots live in areas which face delivery charges that have been marked up by as much as 50%, based on the customer’s postcode and not related to the cost of delivering the item.”
Citizens Advice advises customers to:
● Check delivery policies before placing an order. ● Make sure you know if you are dealing with a trader or a private seller on an online marketplace as dispute processes may vary.
● Check and review if the trader is genuine.
● Speak to the trader to deal with the problem, not the courier company, if a parcel goes missing.
Paul Ramsden, executive director of Chartered Trading Standards Institute, said: “I am concerned to learn of the rise in damaged and late deliveries, many of which will affect the most vulnerable.”