Excessive delivery charges 'completely unjust', says north MP
North MP Jamie Stone has declared that no-one should be "penalised for their postcode" by having to pay excessive delivery charges.
He was speaking after tabling an early day motion calling on the UK government to give the Competition and Markets Authority the power to authorise a cap on charges to all areas of the country.
Working in conjunction with Caithness Citizens Advice Bureau on its Fair Delivery Campaign, Mr Stone hopes to raise awareness of the impact on consumers, small and medium-sized enterprises and the local economy.
Following what he called a disappointing initial response from the government, stating that delivery companies should just be transparent about their delivery charges, Mr Stone is insisting that delivery charges across the UK must be capped.
“To put it simply, people on basic incomes are having to pay far more for many consumer items than their friends and relations have to in Glasgow, Edinburgh or Aberdeen," the Liberal Democrat MP said.
"That is completely unjust as we pay the same tax up in the Highlands.
"If this inequality is not addressed, many local people might simply decide that life elsewhere would be a lot easier and move away. No-one deserves to be penalised for their postcode."
The objectives of the Caithness CAB campaign are to:
- Raise awareness of the detriment to consumers and small to medium-sized enterprises caused by location-based delivery surcharging
- Raise awareness of the lack of transparency around the use of delivery surcharges for clients and the public and empower people to take action.
- Promote the Scottish Government Fairer Deliveries for All map tool (when it is live) and encourage clients and public to engage with it
- Obtain client feedback on and evidence of parcel surcharging.
There have been around 40 responses to the survey so far.