A local councillor has hit out at firms who charge excessive delivery surcharges to Scottish consumers, with one company charging an additional £25 – £40 in Renfrewshire, but free delivery in Glasgow.
Kenny MacLaren, SNP councillor for Paisley Northwest is highlighting a new report from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre which highlights that Scottish shoppers are forced to pay out an extra £38.1 million each year in delivery surcharges.
SNP MSP Richard Lochhead launched his Fair Delivery Charges campaign over a year ago to target online retailers who apply excessive delivery surcharges to Scottish consumers. The campaign has received cross-party support in the Scottish Parliament and has been backed by online retailers such as eBay.
The Advertising Standards Authority has also investigated a dossier of over 200 companies referred by Mr Lochhead.
Cllr Maclaren said: “It’s not just people who stay in the Highlands and Islands who suffer from extortionate delivery charges, some companies target Paisley residents as well.
“Richard Lochhead MSP has done a tremendous amount of work in highlighting the unfair delivery charges faced by many people in Scotland, including areas such as Paisley.”
One company charges an additional £25 – £40 in Renfrewshire with PA postcodes listed as an extended area.
Kenny added: “For instance, the online retailer Wayfair.co.uk offer free delivery to most of mainland Britain but Paisley is listed in its ‘extended areas’ which incur an additional £25 – £40 delivery charge.
“This is bizarre as deliveries are free to Glasgow even though most of the goods from this company would have to drive through the M8 in Renfrewshire to get to Glasgow!
Maclaren told Renfrewshire News there appears to be a postcode penalty paid by Scottish households and businesses and not just in rural areas.
He added: “Having to pay extra delivery charges can really hit families in the pocket, especially when buying Christmas presents for friends and family.
“It is time for the UK Government, who hold responsibility for regulation, to consider what more can be done, otherwise more Christmases will come and go with Scotland’s delivery surcharge bill just getting higher and higher.”