Stand and delivery as Scots customers get hit with £11m in extra charges for Christmas parcels

“It is ridiculous. I have tried to explain that I’m on the mainland, not in Orkney, but companies just won’t listen.”

David said he has given up on ordering big-ticket items such as washing machines or fridges online because he gets charged an extra £30 for delivery.

“People in Rogart, just six miles down the road, don’t have to pay any surcharges because they have an Inverness postcode. I’m caught in a no-man’s land.”

In Inverness, photographer John MacPherson, 60, is also fuming about surcharges.

“I wanted to buy a crash helmet from London which offered free delivery but it cost £29 to send it to Inverness,” he said.

“I also discovered it was only £9.99 to deliver the same item to countries like Croatia and Estonia.”

John said when he also tried to order car parts online from England, surcharges to the Highlands were in the same price bracket as delivering to the Caribbean.

Following Mr Lochhead’s campaign, the Advertising Standards agency promised to issue enforcement notices to companies making excess charges, while Amazon and eBay have pledged to ban third-party sellers for overcharging.