Rip-off delivery charges must be scrapped

by Patricia Gibson
Posted on
5 years ago
2 min read

People in Scotland pay an extra £38.1m a year due to rip-off parcel delivery charges, compared to people in the rest of the UK.

The idea that much of mainland Scotland is not considered “mainland UK” by some UK retailers is ludicrous – this also includes urban areas like Inverness and Aberdeen.

This is why we’re leading the campaign to scrap unfair delivery charges still being applied in many parts of Scotland.

It is completely unjust that consumers in Scotland are expected to fork out an extra £38.1 million each year on rip-off parcel delivery surcharges – it’s time the UK government, who hold responsibility for regulation, took concrete and decisive action to stop this.

Scottish consumers in rural and remote areas – such as the island of Arran in my constituency – are often more dependent on online shopping than those living on the mainland and should not have to pay extra delivery charges just because of where they live.

It is time for a fair deal for Scottish consumers. The UK government must finally listen and set out exactly what action it will take to ensure rural consumers in Scotland are not penalised for shopping online.

On Tuesday I stood up for Scottish consumers in a debate on delivery charges in the House of Commons.

It comes almost four years after I first raised this with the UK government, and two years after SNP MSP Richard Lochead launched his Fair Delivery Charges campaign, targeting online retailers who apply excessive surcharges.

The SNP has led the campaign and repeatedly raised this issue with UK ministers, but they have sat on their hands for over two years while delivery surcharges continue to hit the pockets of families across Scotland.

We will continue fighting for fairness until this wrong is put right, and consumers are no longer discriminated against because of their address.