Police body attacks decision to give £90,000 job to ‘company man’ Reveal real cost of buying from EU says Which?
Extra charges follow post-Brexit orders
A FORMER leader of the statutory body representing police officers has launched a withering attack on the appointment of a police commissioner’s chief officer, saying it would take the force “back to the dark days”.
Mike Stubbs, who was chair of North Yorkshire Police Federation from 2014 to 2017, has questioned Commissioner Julia Mulligan’s decision to hand the force’s former solicitor Simon Dennis
THE ADD-ON costs when buying goods from EU-based retailers should be made clearer so that shoppers are not hit with surprise fees or scammed, according to Which?.
Two-fifths of people who ordered products online between the end of the Brexit transition period on January 1 and mid-February experienced some issues, a survey by the consumer group found.
Delays were the most common issue experienced by those who ordered products online, but one in 10 people were asked to pay additional handling or delivery fees.
The average charge was £41 but some people paid up to £300.
Some shoppers also experienced difficulties when returning items to the EU.
Which? found nine in 10 people who returned items between January 1 and February 16 experienced issues such as delays, unexpected paperwork or extra charges.
Which? said that for many people, import charges and confusing returns policies have made shopping with EU retailers after Brexit much more difficult than it used to be.
It argued that a lack of clear, accessible and well-signposted information on how online shopping has been affected since the end of the Brexit transition period means many new charges and processes have not been communicated the £90,000-a-year job as the commissioner’s chief executive and monitoring officer.
His comments come weeks after Mrs Mulligan, inset, told the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel that Mr Dennis had been the outstanding candidate to apply for the role. The panel approved
clearly and have come as a shock to consumers.
Which? said the Government must work to make the processes for how these costs are charged as simple as possible for both businesses and consumers – and Mrs Mulligan’s appointment after Mr Dennis said he had experience of challenging senior figures. Mr Stubbs said: “It riled me that he tried to present himself as a hero of challenging senior officers. “He certainly didn’t do that when he was the force solicitor. companies must also be up-front about any charges.
In some cases, additional customs duties may apply if an online shopper is buying goods from the EU which originated from further afield, for example, from a seller based in China on an EU platform.
Adding to the confusion, couriers’ policies around charges and how they are applied can also vary.
Which? said there is also a risk that without clarity around the charges consumers should expect when shopping from the EU, people could be misled or scammed into paying extra costs.
It highlighted a recent surge in scam texts purporting to be from the Royal Mail and claiming that a parcel is being held due to an unpaid shipping fee.
If in any doubt over texts or emails from courier services, consumers should not enter any personal details and should contact the delivery firm directly to confirm if it is genuine, Which? said.
Suspect texts or emails can be reported to the courier and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
Adam French, Which? consumer rights expert, said: “Many consumers across the UK could have been surprised to learn how often they buy from EU-based retailers.
“After Brexit, many were caught off-guard by the new delivery charges and returns policies for parcels from the EU – and left footing unexpected bills.”
“North Yorkshire is known by the Federation’s solicitors as one of the worst for trying to deal with legal claims against. They are just utterly obstructive and that was a lot to do with the attitude developed under Simon Dennis.”
Mr Stubbs claimed while Mr Dennis had been the force’s solicitor he had been “a company man”, serving as an enthusiastic advocate of the force’s “abysmal failure to properly administer the 2009 Special Priority Payments scheme”.
Giving an example of his willingness to tackle senior officers, Mr Dennis told the panel he had been closely involved with the departure of Cleveland Police’s Chief Constable Mike Veale.
Mr Stubbs said the Cleveland Chief Constable’s situation had been untenable before Mr Dennis acted, and added Mr Dennis had left it to the North Yorkshire
Police Authority to oversee the departure of chief constable Grahame Maxwell, who kept his job after admitting gross misconduct.
The Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire was presented with Mr Stubbs’ claims, but did not respond to them directly.
A spokesman for the commissioner’s office said: “Simon Dennis was selected as the preferred candidate for the position of chief executive and monitoring officer of the Office of the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner following an open and transparent recruitment process, which included a partnership stakeholder panel and an independent member on the final interview panel.” Chairman of the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel, Councillor Carl Les declined to comment.
After Brexit, many were caught off-guard by the new delivery charges Adam French, Which? consumer rights expert