Online firms penalising Scottish shoppers, says outraged MSP
Scots
will pay up to £11.4 million extra for deliveries over Christmas, according to figures.
Online firms are still penalising shoppers in Scotland, particularly those living outside of the bigger cities and towns.
MSP Richard Lochhead, who has been campaigning on the issue, said shoppers north of the Border have been forced to pay £36m a year more than people living elsewhere in the UK.
He is outraged at new figures from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre which reveal that the festive bill from October to December could account for nearly a third of this amount.
“It is absolutely astonishing that online shoppers in Scotland still face an £11.4 million penalty in the form of parcel delivery surcharges this Christmas,” he said.
“As far as some retailers are concerned Christmas is not about giving but about fleecing. This is a huge additional cost and all because of parcel delivery surcharges that are applied without any justification to mainly northern postcodes. Many retailers deliver free or for a modest cost but others apply eyewatering surcharges.”
Online retailers are now facing a crackdown on these charges as UK ministers finally admit that action to curb fees is needed.
Minister for Small Business Kelly Tolhurst has indicated that the Scottish Government could launch a review into current legislation, which could lead to new regulation on prices.
Mr Lochhead met the minister last week, soon after the Scottish Government launched an initiative to publicly name and shame firms charging massive fees for rural customers.
He said: “Rural Scotland is home to some of the most loyal online shoppers and in the run-up to Christmas. I will continue campaigning and piling the pressure on retailers to end the rip-off surcharge facing too many Scottish consumers.
“It’s now time for the authorities to act and for every retailer to review its delivery charges and to stop discriminating against many parts of Scotland.”
Charges for parcel delivery for Highlands and Islands addresses are more than 30% higher on average than those on the mainland.
In Golspie, Sutherland, David Crayton, 59, is sick of being charged extra because delivery companies refuse to believe he lives on the mainland.
He said because he has a KW postcode – the same as Kirkwall in Orkney – couriers assume he lives on an island.
‘ For some, Christmas is not about giving but fleecing