Delivery Surcharges (Transparency for Consumers) Bill

David Hamilton Excerpts

Friday 13th September 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mike Weir (Angus) (SNP)]

I am pleased to support the Bill promoted by the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (Sir Robert Smith), my parliamentary neighbour. The problem hits rural areas all over the UK, but particularly the highlands and islands of Scotland. I was somewhat surprised to hear the Minister say that she does not support the Bill—I believe I heard her correctly. That could be met with some consternation in a conference taking place in Glasgow this weekend.

Nevertheless, according to Citizens Advice research, more than 1 million Scots face surcharges, late delivery or refusals to deliver when they try to buy goods online. Consumers in Scotland’s island communities face a postcode penalty of nearly £19 on deliveries, which is a 500% mark-up on the standard delivery price. Of the 534 retailers whose policies were investigated, 63% charged extra for delivery to certain parts of the UK, and 72% of the surcharges apply to consumers in Scotland, which indicates that Scottish consumers are disproportionately affected by the surcharges.

Over the years, there have been attempts to do something about the problem. The Scottish Government held a summit—of the type that has been discussed—with retailers, trading standards and council officials to put pressure on retailers. It would be good if that pressure continued, because of the extent of the problem. However, one problem is that there is no consistency in how retailers deal with it—they have different delivery policies. For example, some charge extra for deliveries north of the line that runs approximately from Aberdeen to Fort William. Others do it by postcode, but that has ridiculous consequences. For example, many will not deliver to postcodes DD8 to DD11, which covers my constituency. I live in DD9 in Brechin, which is five minutes off the main A90 dual carriageway from Dundee to Aberdeen. They will not deliver there because of the huge area that some of these postcodes cover.

[Mr David Hamilton (Midlothian) (Lab)]

I agree with the hon. Gentleman, but this is not just a highlands issue. It also happens in the borders. People who live 90 miles south of Edinburgh can face the same problems.

[Mr Weir]

The hon. Gentleman is right, and to be fair, the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine made that point.

We talk about consumers, but it cuts both ways; businesses in rural areas are also affected. Whether they are trying to get goods in or out, they cannot get couriers to deliver or pick up, so they are thrown back on the very good service that is currently provided by Royal Mail. It is, to put it mildly, ironic that this debate is taking place the day after it was announced that the Royal Mail is to be privatised, given the serious fears about the continuation of many services in rural areas. Notwithstanding what the hon. Gentleman said about this issue, those services may be under threat after privatisation and with increased competition in urban areas.

One example of the difficulties is given in the Citizens Advice report. One business faced carriage charges of £15 for a £8 plastic valve. That is uneconomic and mad. The company tried to get the supplier to send by Royal Mail, but the staff said that they did not have time to go to the post office, which seems a bit bizarre to me. The company got quotes from carriers ranging from £9.60 to £34. Part of the problem is the lack of clarity.

The report also looked at the main retailers and the views of their customers. The retailer trusted most by consumers was Amazon, because by and large it uses Royal Mail for its deliveries. The hon. Member for Christchurch (Mr Chope) mentioned John Lewis, which came in second, but way behind Amazon. If people order in store in John Lewis, it has displays giving the delivery areas. John Lewis will also deliver in my postcode area because it has a store in Aberdeen. All the major supermarkets will deliver in my area because they have stores nearby. It is about setting up a delivery system that understands the geography of Scotland, but many online retailers do not do that.

When people order goods online, they should know from the outset what delivery charges they will face. Other hon. Members may be more computer literate than I am, but I can spend a long time going through the process only to get to the end and find that I would be charged a ridiculous sum that I am not prepared to pay. I hope that the Minister will allow the Bill to make progress. It is not perfect, and it would not reduce the charges, but it would at least let people know what they face in charges. It would be a small step in tackling a difficult problem for many areas in the UK. My main interest is Scotland, but—as I pointed out to the hon. Member for Woking (Jonathan Lord)—there is evidence of a similar problem in Northern Ireland.

The problem is not confined to delivery charges. A constituent who came to see me was trying to get an assessment done under the green deal, but was told by British Gas that it did not send assessors north of Dundee. The issue affects rural areas in many ways, and I hope that the Minister will allow the Bill to make progress.