New campaign for fair delivery charges 10/9/13

A new campaign has been launched calling on online retailers to give rural customers a fair deal on delivery charges.

Scottish Liberal Democrat MP Sir Robert Smith urged islanders to sign a petition for suppliers to stop refusing delivery to remote areas and to end excessive delivery surcharges when they do.

Sir Robert has proposed a new law to make websites declare what surcharges consumers face right at the start. His bill will be debated in Parliament on Friday.

As well as highlighting excessive surcharges, Sir Robert is calling on retailers who charge surcharges to offer delivery by Royal Mail as an alternative. Because of the universal service obligation, Royal Mail delivers packets and packages at a uniform price across the UK.

Sir Robert said: “Consumers are particularly frustrated by websites that do not declare the extent of surcharges until the end of the shopping process.

“This is against current consumer law and if anyone has experienced this recently please do get in touch so the website can be reported to trading standards.

“However I want websites to be even more transparent and declare any surcharges before you even start shopping. That way consumers could decide whether it’s worth their while to take the time to browse the website.

A Citizens Advice Scotland report last year showed that islanders could face delivery charges up to five times as high as elsewhere in the UK.

The petition is available at: www.fairerdeliverycharges.net