Fight "rip-off" delivery charges by backing Citizens Advice campaign, says Highland MP
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A Highland MP is urging local people to support campaigners fighting “rip-off” delivery charges across the region.
Drew Hendry, SNP member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, praised the work of Citizens Advice Bureaus in Inverness and Nairn for promoting the drive for fair delivery charges.
The two local organisations, led by Citizens Advice Scotland, are seeking to raise awareness of the detrimental impact of delivery surcharging on local people and the Highland economy.
They are also challenging the lack of transparency around the use of surcharges.
The campaign also seeks to promote the Scottish Government’s ‘Fairer Deliveries for All’ map tool, which allows consumers to explore delivery prices charged by different companies, creating a more transparent system.
Online shopping rates have grown by 129 per cent in the UK during the pandemic.
Consumers living in affected Highland areas pay an average of 30-50 per cent more to receive items bought online than the rest of the mainland UK.
Further analysis carried out by the Scottish Government in 2019 found that consumers in Mr Hendry’s constituency paid over £7,000,000 in delivery surcharges relative to the rest of the UK.
Mr Hendry has long campaigned against the rip-off charges, particularly for rural areas, and previously took a fairer delivery charges bill to the UK Parliament.
He also helped Highland Council launch a national reporting tool as part of ongoing work to end the practice - http://www.deliverylaw.uk/.
The SNP MP said: “Every one of us living in the Highlands is familiar with the problem of unfair delivery charges, whether it’s surcharges being added to delivery, or simply no delivery option available despite offering delivery to mainland UK.
“Whilst I would always urge folk to support local business where they can, we all know this is not always possible.
Consumers should not have to pay the price for companies' shortcomings.
“I’m pleased to see our local Citizens Advice teams prioritising this campaign and I would urge everyone in the Highlands to get behind it, too, to raise awareness of ongoing unfair delivery surcharging faced by folk in the north of Scotland.”
Mr Hendry is vowing to continue to press the UK government for legislation to end unfair delivery charges and take on companies charging constituents outrageous delivery charges.
He added: “We can all play our part by reporting instances of excessive delivery charges at deliverylaw.uk, and folk can also make use of the Scottish Government’s Fairer Deliveries For All tool at https://fairdeliveries.scot/explore-your-postcode”
