New consumer body targets unfair rural delivery costs

SNP MP Patricia Gibson raised the problem of unfair delivery charges in the Highlands in the House of Commons. Picture: contributed

The new consumeradvice.scot service, which launched in April, is working with Highland Council Trading Standards to provide free advice on delivery law and is encouraging customers to report misleading advertising and sales tactics.

The move comes as a debate in Westminster yesterday saw the UK government challenged to take concrete action to stop Scottish shoppers being penalised by extra delivery surcharges.

According to the Office for National Statistics, rural areas accounted for one-in-six online purchases in the UK in 2017, but customers in these areas pay an average of 30 per cent more for delivery than those elsewhere in the UK.

Last year research from the Scottish Parliament’s information centre, SpiCE, said that 510,238 Scots were impacted by delivery surcharges in rural areas, with the total amount charged rising from £36.3 million in 2017 to £38m. It said the average additional annual cost per Scot impacted by delivery surcharges was estimated at £74.64.

Yesterday SNP MP Patricia Gibson raised the issue in the House of Commons, and said: “It is completely unjust that consumers in Scotland are expected to fork out an extra £38.1m 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.

“The UK government must set out exactly what action it will take to ensure rural consumers in Scotland are not penalised for shopping online.”

The new body – consumeradvice.scot – is urging shoppers affected by unfair delivery charges to contact it, and it will pass on incidents to Trading Standards for investigation.

Chris Cowles, an adviser with consumeradvice.scot in Stornoway, said: “I know that too many people living in remote and rural areas find online bargains have hidden charges or small-print delivery information that can be missed at the point of purchase. One immediate way forward is using consumer rights legislation to challenge misleading advertising and sales tactics.

“The new consumeradvice.scot service provides free, impartial and practical advice on shoppers’ rights and how to challenge these additional costs, and we encourage consumers to report instances to us where they believe they have been unfairly treated.”