Rural shoppers paying ‘unfair’ delivery costs

CONSUMERS living in rural parts of Scotland are paying excessive delivery costs due to the “discriminatory and unfair” policies of some online retailers, a survey has found.

According to research by the Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) service, many firms refuse to deliver at all to areas such as the Highlands and Islands or charge substantial fees to send goods despite offering “free delivery to the UK”.

Many shoppers have abandoned purchases at the online checkout because of high delivery charges.

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A total of 863 consumers responded to the CAS, mostly from the Highlands, but also from Orkney, the Western Isles, Argyll and Bute, Moray and Aberdeenshire.

Overall, 84 per cent said they had been refused delivery altogether because of their location, and 85 per cent said they had warned friends and family against using certain companies for this reason.

A total of 82 per cent said they had to buy items they did not need to increase their order to the level that allowed for it to be delivered.

The report says: “The responses show that many rural and island consumers are angry at what they see as discriminatory and unfair policies by online retailers, including many household names.”

More than 300 different retailers were named by customers as either charging high delivery prices or refusing to deliver to them at all, from household names to smaller firms.

They are not being identified at this stage, but CAS is conducting further research, including reopening the survey to enable more people to report their evidence, and plan to release further detail in the new year.

Angela Murphy, the campaign’s co-ordinator, said: “This survey reveals that rural people feel exploited, and frankly discriminated against. They are very angry and want something done about it. And so do we.”

CAS is to pass on the survey results to the UK and Scottish governments, as well as the Office of Fair Trading and Trading Standards.

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It also plans to ask companies named by customers to change their policies in the light of the evidence. It wants retailers to comply with the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 by clearly displaying delivery costs on their website prior to the point of sale and to offer delivery via Royal Mail wherever possible.

Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and a Highland MP, said: “Wherever people are being refused delivery or face unreasonable surcharges, I would urge them to complain and – if possible – take their business elsewhere if they do not receive a satisfactory response.”

Last month Highland Council also launched a website as part of a campaign to remove surcharges to deliveries.

Scottish Retail Consortium Director Ian Shearer said: “Responsible retailers do their best to satisfy customers wherever they are in the UK. Delivery charges are always made clear before a purchase is finalised, but indicating these early in the process can be difficult because they depend on how much is bought and delivery options.

“The report itself indicates that only ‘some retailers… who may be unaware of their obligations under distance selling regulations’ may not be complying.”

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