Moray shopper quoted £1000 delivery charge for £75 chair
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MORAY'S MSP has intervened after a local woman faced a £1000 charge to have a £75 chair delivered to her address.
After being contacted by the constituent, long-time campaigner against unfair delivery surcharges Richard Lochhead has written to the company involved, Daal’s Home, which was selling the chair through the website ManoMano.
He urged Daal's Home to review its "ridiculous" parcel delivery surcharges policy.
Mr Lochhead has repeatedly called on the UK Government to introduce legislation to end rip-off parcel delivery charges.
The Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) has calculated that last year the additional cost to Scotland of parcel delivery surcharges was £40 million – an increase of 11 per cent since 2017.
Mr Lochhead said: "Over the last few months, lockdown meant that people were forced to shop online and, sadly, my inbox suggests that many companies and couriers have continued to impose ridiculous delivery surcharges on customers in Moray and across the north of Scotland.
"I have to say I was gobsmacked when I heard that this company, Daal, had calculated a delivery charge of £1000 for a chair costing £75.99. It is one of the most ludicrous examples I’ve come across and I’ve now written to the company to ask that they review this ridiculous and hugely unfair charge."
He added: "I started my campaign to end rip-off parcel delivery surcharges nearly four years ago now, securing cross-party support, and what started out as a local campaign has now become a national issue.
"I welcome that progress. However, it is absolutely clear that the current laws are not working and there’s huge public support across the north of Scotland for action to be taken.
"The Scottish Government is doing what it can to address this issue but it’s the UK Government that has the power to regulate, yet all we seem to get is sympathy when what we need is action.
"Consumers in rural Scotland and the north of the country are fed up waiting for UK ministers to deal with these rip-off parcel delivery charges and they must act now."
Mr Lochhead added that as local shops were reopening, one way for shoppers to avoid the charges would be to buy local and support Moray businesses.
