Delivery Surcharges (Transparency for Consumers) Bill

Debate between Christopher Chope and Robert Smith

Friday 13th September 2013 Commons Chamber

[Sir Robert Smith]

The Bill requires the Government to state in the regulations the penalties that would be applied. They would obviously have to consult on that during the process of drawing up the regulations. One penalty might be a requirement to comply, and to place the details of the charges on the website so that they are established and clear.

Members will be reassured to learn that I have opted for the affirmative process. Any regulations that are produced as a result of the Bill will have to be debated and voted on in the House, so that Members can scrutinise them in detail. We do not want to impose excessive regulation or unnecessary burdens on industry. When the market is failing, giving more information to consumers can help it to become more focused and effective and to deliver a better deal to consumers, while also ensuring that retailers can sell their products in a competitive market.

[Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch) (Con)]

The Bill is confined to online retailers. What about ordinary retailers? If someone goes into, say, John Lewis and orders some goods, the shop assistant will not say at the outset “Where do you live? If you live in X it will cost you Y.” The transaction will continue, and at the end of it the assistant will ask for the customer’s name and address, and will say “If you live in the highlands and islands, there will be a delivery surcharge.” Why should an online retailer have to say in advance what the costs will be?

[Sir Robert Smith]

Because it is much easier to ask about delivery in the shop. The nature of the exchange is more fluid. The customer can set the agenda and get the information they want before purchasing, whereas online, the information is not available until the end of the transaction. The online customer will have put in a lot of effort to get to that point of the maze and, having been led all that way, will feel immense frustration and anger at being clobbered at the end of the process. This problem has also been dealt with for airline bookings and credit card charges. They were being whacked on at the very end of the process, but now airlines have to be more upfront and be realistic about the charges.

I want to thank the Members who have supported the Bill: my right hon. Friends the Members for Gordon (Sir Malcolm Bruce) and for Ross, Skye and Lochaber (Mr Kennedy), my hon. Friends the Members for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross and for Argyll and Bute (Mr Reid) and the hon. Members for Aberdeen North (Mr Doran), for Aberdeen South (Dame Anne Begg), for Angus (Mr Weir), for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Mr MacNeil), for Isle of Wight (Mr Turner) and for Banff and Buchan (Dr Whiteford). This is an extensive problem affecting large parts of the United Kingdom, mainly in the highlands and the north of Scotland but also extending down to the borders and the islands of England—the Isle of Wight, the Channel Islands, the Isles of Scilly.

The Bill must be part of a wider awareness-raising process, because the retailers need to be more focused. They are thinking of the vast majority of their customers when they think of a delivery system, and they are not shopping around for one that will deal with those at the margins. Many retailers should consider using Royal Mail’s universal service delivery products for those areas that cannot be served by couriers. Bringing retailers together and shining a spotlight on this issue will help them to understand the frustration that is felt. The Bill would end that frustration and I commend it to the House.