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Figures Show North-East Consumers Pay More Than £1M in Delivery Charges
Figures have revealed north-east residents are paying a combined cost of more than £1million in delivery charges because of where they live.
Aberdeenshire East MSP Gillian Martin and Gordon MP Richard Thomson have hit out at the additional costs which were revealed in an assessment by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe).
Consumers in both Aberdeenshire West and Aberdeenshire East pay £633,000 in delivery charges bringing it to £1.26million.
The research highlights the disproportionate impact of surcharges on constituents across many parts of Scotland but also highlights the impact of the pandemic on consumers and the rise of online shopping due to restrictions.
And the findings show a substantial shift in behaviour to online shopping has had a range of policy implications for Scottish consumers, including those disadvantaged by digital connectivity issues, parcel surcharges, late delivery or those refused delivery altogether when trying to buy goods online.
Commenting, Gillian Martin MSP said: “It is completely unacceptable that people living here in the north-east are being penalised with excessive delivery charges.
“My colleague Richard Lochhead MSP has done a brilliant job in recent years of highlighting this issue and it is now on the companies that set these delivery charges to act and stop these unnecessary costs. People are already living with additional financial pressures without facing one that is needless.”
Gordon MP Richard Thomson said: “It is hugely frustrating to see that shoppers in the North-east have been forced to fork out a huge amount of money on parcel delivery surcharges simply because of where they live.
“Given that online shopping is on the rise, particularly due to the pandemic, the postcode penalty paid by households and businesses in the North-east is particularly unacceptable. Companies need to level the playing field for everyone and stop these surcharges.”
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