People in the Highlands and Islands and other rural areas are still paying excessive delivery charges and Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey MP, Drew Hendry, has tabled a parliamentary motion calling for a “People’s Delivery Guarantee” to encourage fair charging and to stop unfair advertising. He has used the opportunity of a meeting with the U.K. Government minister responsible to further highlight the changes required.
Over the weekend, local MP, Drew Hendry asked people to share their experiences on his Facebook page ahead of his meeting, along with MPs representing rural areas, with the Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills, Nick Boles MP.
One constituent was asked to pay £90 for the delivery of a mobile phone because Inverness wasn’t considered to be part of the UK mainland, another shopper was asked to pay an extra £20 to have a drill delivered to his address in Nairn.
As shopping trends continue to move online, those living in the constituency will be penalised further based on their geographical location.
Following the round table meeting which was also attended by Citizens Advice Scotland and representatives from leading retailers, Mr. Hendry said:
“People in the Highlands and Islands and other rural areas are still paying excessive delivery charges and inevitably buying goods over the Internet will increase, which in turn means that consumers in this constituency will be penalised further. This has to change and I am committed to working with all parties to address this. That is why I am calling for a “Peoples Delivery Guarantee”, action that pulls together all the various aspects of delivery charges and guarantees that that consumers are not mislead on claims of, for example “Free Delivery too UK mainland” only to be told during or after purchase that this isn’t true. Consumers, regardless of where they live should also have the right to the lowest possible delivery cost, so I am also calling for that right as standard.
“This is an issue that transcends party politics and I commend all the actions that have been taken to date to tackle the issue of delivery charges, especially the work done by Citizens Advice Scotland and the Scottish Government on the Statement of Principles but also the work of other politicians and community action groups.
“That said, we should not want to be standing here in a couple of years saying the same thing about the inequity of service – we should all want to ensure people living here and businesses operating in the Highlands are not disadvantaged because of legislative loopholes or lack of enforcement and that is something that these measures could tackle.”
Mr. Hendry has also introduced an Early Day Motion (EDM) proposing legislative action through a “People’s Delivery Guarantee” that would ensure that consumers would have the right to the lowest possible delivery cost regardless of where they live, and that consumers are not mislead by claims of “Free Delivery to UK mainland” that later discriminate against rural postcodes with additional charges.
“I’m also calling for the introduction of a recognised fair delivery credential to identify responsible online retailers at a glance.”